At the “Pandemic Preps” section of the popular internet message board Reddit, one user on March 1 posted two recipes for “Do It Yourself Hand Sanitizer,” involving alcohol and aloe vera, linking to 2009 posts at a website called Utah Preppers. At the website Pinterest, where the standard fare is drapery ideas and cookie recipes, homebrew hand sanitizer recipes also took off in March.
Local news channels soon followed suit. Morning shows featured those segments where the smiley hostesses in pretty aprons stand before mixing bowls on a counter — and this time, they were mixing rubbing alcohol, aloe, glycerin, plus some tea tree oil. Folks on the internet found a 2010 document published by the World Health Organization that included hydrogen peroxide in the recipe.
This was all a reaction to the Purell shortages triggered by the coronavirus. People desperate to kill the germs that cause COVID-19 who encountered empty shelves at Walmart and CVS turned instead to the internet to buy the raw ingredients. The preppers at Reddit soon reported that isopropyl alcohol stocks were running low on Amazon.
Not everyone thinks this is a great idea. “Just because you can make your own hand sanitizer doesn’t mean you should,” was the headline at Lifehacker.
The first danger is that you’ll make hand sanitizer that doesn’t sanitize. If it’s not 60% alcohol, you’re not killing the germs.
The second danger is that the stuff is too harsh on your skin — rubbing alcohol isn’t exactly gentle. This could actually expose you to infection risk if the irritation causes you to cut back on washing and properly sanitizing your hands. The experts all say nothing beats soap and water.
But if social distancing and school closures leave you home with your kids, maybe a little science experiment isn’t the worst way to spend your time.
