Cheap, home made hand sanitizer.

[Perry Rose]

I looked at the ingredients on a store bought label and it's 70% alcohol. I had an almost empty bottle of Avon Skin So Soft insect repellant so I filled it with alcohol, shook it up and poured some in a small spray bottle. Now I have an insect and a bug repellant. Plus it smells better than the store bought stuff.  For the decadent folks you can get a gallon of FAI fuel and use that.

[john e. holliday]

Does the use of kerosene, antifreeze and thinners count toward cleaning/disinfecting the hands?  Almost forgot the running of engines.

[Brian Hampton]

With sanitisers etc it's recommended to use those with at least 60% alcohol. But remember that the alcohol to use is ethanol, NOT methanol as in FAI fuel or indeed any type of glow fuel. Methanol is deadly poisonous and gets absorbed through the skin, let alone drinking it!

However, the other day I checked the msds for methylated spirits (or whatever you guys call it) because I'd always thought it was ethanol laced with ~5% methanol to make it undrinkable. To my surprise it simply had ~5% demineralised water added to it! So I guess a box of tissues, a quick spray of metho on a tissue and and you have a home made sanitiser. Use it to wipe the hand that held the pump nozzle next time you fill the car's tank with petrol .

[Steve Helmick]

This has already been discussed in another thread. Methanol is not good for you and absorbs through the skin. Ethanol (drinking alcohol) or Iso Propyl Alcohol are ok. The first should be available from your moonshiner buddy, and the latter from the drugstore. In that other thread, I made a crack about not liking IPAs (India Pale Ale).  Steve

[Brian Hampton]

This has already been discussed in another thread.

Yeah, I realised that Steve after I posted mine then went to look at the next thread of interest to me. Oh well .

[qaz049]

With sanitisers etc it's recommended to use those with at least 60% alcohol. But remember that the alcohol to use is ethanol, NOT methanol as in FAI fuel or indeed any type of glow fuel. Methanol is deadly poisonous and gets absorbed through the skin, let alone drinking it!

However, the other day I checked the msds for methylated spirits (or whatever you guys call it) because I'd always thought it was ethanol laced with ~5% methanol to make it undrinkable. To my surprise it simply had ~5% demineralised water added to it! So I guess a box of tissues, a quick spray of metho on a tissue and and you have a home made sanitiser. Use it to wipe the hand that held the pump nozzle next time you fill the car's tank with petrol .

Mix a Litre of Methylated Spirit with five of Orange Juice and you have a weekends supply of delicious soft drink with a bit of a kick.

[Craig Beswick]

Got to put some boot polish with that orange juice and metho mate!

[GregArdill]

Got to put some boot polish with that orange juice and metho mate!

I thought the boot polish was to make the metho look like scotch.  But I'm not an expert in this regard, I'll defer to regular drinkers. 

[GregArdill]

Regarding hand sanitiser. how is it that humankind has manager to survive for millions of years without the need for such things, but somewhere in the last 20 or so years, a hand sanitiser is essential for the species survival.

A good wash with soap and water is the most that is needed in MOST instances.

[Joseph Patterson]

  IVORY BAR SOAP
        Doug

[John Park]

For drinking purposes amongst the poorer class of rummies, the favourite used to be 'Red Biddy' - which was cheap red wine laced with methylated spirit, or so I'm told.  It wouldn't be strong enough for hand sanitiser, though, unless you used some of the vin ordinaire I've come across in certain regions of France - that ought to kill every bug known to man, judging by the way it tastes.

[katana]

Regarding hand sanitiser. how is it that humankind has manager to survive for millions of years without the need for such things, but somewhere in the last 20 or so years, a hand sanitiser is essential for the species survival.

A good wash with soap and water is the most that is needed in MOST instances.

IMO - that's what has gotten us into this position! A little dirt keeps you health ie. keeps the immune system working, too clean puts it to 'sleep' so when something a bit nasty comes along the body doesn't know what to do! Every body has an inbuilt obsolescence and 'sell by date' - trying to beat the natural course of life is a self defeating exercise and doesn't help the species thrive, it just produces a population with no resistance!

[phil c]

Hand sanitizer is something for when you don't have water and soap readily available.

Otherwise, a few ounces of a gel cosmetic and isopropyl or ethanol is a fairly cheap substitute.