Homemade Hand Sanitiser

With supermarket shelves cleaned out of personal and staple products in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, hopefully we can help out with a recipe for homemade hand sanitiser.

The CDC recommends washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds as the most effective way to reduce the spread of germs, viruses and bacteria. Soap binds with dirt particles which are then washed away.

If you don’t have access to soap and water, hand sanitisers with at least 60% alcohol can be effective at killing germs. It’s handy to keep your homemade hand sanitiser on you at all times to reduce the risk of the spread of disease. During this outbreak, use it after touching any public surface. Also, hand sanitisers will not be as effective if your hands are visibly dirty, as the dirt will neutralise the disinfectant. Check out our article on the difference between cleaning and disinfecting.

This homemade hand sanitiser is based on guidelines by the World Health Organisation.

The key point is that the final formulation should be at least 60% alcohol. Less than that may not be strong enough to kill germs. If the formulation is too strong however it may evaporate too fast before killing all the germs.

- The water is also important as it causes the cell walls of bacteria to open, thereby letting the alcohol in to kill the cells from the inside.
- The glycerol or aloe gel is mainly to alleviate the harshness of the alcohol on the skin and provide some moisture.
- The hydrogen peroxide is just to eliminate any bacteria that may be present in the production and not an active disinfectant.

Homemade Hand Sanitiser Recipe

Ingredients

This recipe makes 500ml of homemade hand sanitiser.

- 99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol – 376 ml (75% final concentration)
- 3% Hydrogen Peroxide – 21 ml (0.125% final concentration)
- Glycerol or other humectant such as aloe vera gel – 8ml (1.45% final concentration)
- Sterile (boiled and cooled) or Distilled water – 95 ml (23.425% final concentration)

If you want to make a different quantity, the final concentrations should be the same.

You will also need:

- - - a large mixing bowl
    - 100ml sealable bottles
    - a funnel
    - a whisk
    - a measuring jug
    - a measuring dropper

Method

1. Sterilise all the equipment using boiling water. Allow to dry completely.
2. Measure and add the Isopropyl Alcohol to the bowl.
3. Add the the Hydrogen Peroxide to the bowl.
4. Measure and add the Glycerol to the bowl.
5. Using the whisk, mix thoroughly until Glycerol disappears.
6. Measure and add the Water to the mixture.
7. Using the funnel, carefully transfer the mixture to the bottles.