The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has become a global pandemic. Countries have been putting their capitals and other major cities under lockdown. People have been panic buying left and right and this has led to a shortage of supply for necessities — particularly hand sanitizers.
If your local drugstore or grocery has run out of them, here’s how you can make one at home…
Washing your hands is one of the best ways to avoid becoming carriers for this disease but you won’t always have access to soap and water! Carrying a hand sanitizer with you is one of the best options.
Take note that you need to be very precise with your measurements or your solution will not be potent enough. You also need to make sure you sanitize the tools (particularly the pump or spray bottles) you’ll be using in order to avoid contamination of your mixture.
It is also recommended to let the mixture sit for 72 hours so that the solution has time to kill any bacteria that may have gotten in during the mixing process.
There are two recipes — one is much quicker to make and you probably already have the ingredients at home. The other is much more potent but might require some shopping that not everyone has the opportunity to do.
Ready to start making your own hand sanitizer? Here are the recipes!
Recipe A: Quicky and Easy
You’re going to need these materials…
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- Aloe Vera Gel
- Tea Tree Oil (optional)
And these tools…
- Hand pump bottle
Recipe B: Complex but Potent
You’re going to need these materials…
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- Glycerol or glycerin (optional)
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Distilled water
- Essential oil (optional)
And these tools…
- Spray bottle
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Here’s how you can make your own hand sanitizer at home…
Recipe A: Quicky and Easy
- Mix 3 parts isopropyl alcohol to 1 part aloe vera gel.
- Optional: Add a few drops of tea tree oil to give it a pleasant scent.
- Load the solution into a hand pump bottle.
IMPORTANT: Make sure to let your solution rest for 72 hours in order to let the sanitizer kill any bacteria introduced during the mixing process!
Recipe B: Complex but Potent
- Mix 1 ⅔ cups alcohol with 2 teaspoons of glycerol. Glycerol will help keep the alcohol from drying out your hands. You can do away with glycerol but make sure to moisturize your hands after using this solution.
- Mix in 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide, then another ¼ cup of distilled or boiled (then cooled) water. If your rubbing alcohol has less concentration, make sure to use less water. Your final mixture has to be made up of 2/3 alcohol.
- Optional: Add a few drops of essential oil to make it smell nicer.
- Load the solution into spray bottles. You can also wet a paper towel with this to be used as a wipe.
And that’s how you can make your own hand sanitizer at home! Remember, nothing is better than washing your hands and hand sanitizers should be used as a last resort.
In conclusion, you can make your own hand sanitizer using either rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, lemon juice, or hydrogen peroxide. The key ingredient is 6% (5 ml) of 3% (30 ml) isopropyl alcohol.
Make sure to send this article to anyone you know who might need it… you could be saving lives!
