Fears over catching serious illnesses like coronavirus and the flu have led to mass purchases of products like hand sanitizer. The question is, does hand sanitizer kill viruses as much as the public may believe it does?
Hand Sanitizer Effectiveness
Hand sanitizers can be effective in killing germs on our hands, but they will not kill all types of pathogens that we should be concerned about. Moreover, hand sanitizers are only truly effective for certain germs when used properly.
Does Hand Sanitizer Kill Viruses?
There are a number of viruses that hand sanitizer can kill if found on your hands. This includes COVID-19 (coronavirus), the flu, rhinovirus and the H1N1 virus. It also can kill some types of fungi and bacteria. However, in order for the hand sanitizer to work, you need to observe the following:
You must wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds prior to using the sanitizer. If your hands are dirty, hand sanitizer will not work very well, if at all.
The hand sanitizer must be at least 60% alcohol, and the higher the percentage above 60 the better, up to 95%.
You can use either antibacterial or antimicrobial versions of hand sanitizer, but the antimicrobial version is the more effective pick.
You must use enough hand sanitizer to cover your hands fully with approximately 2.4 to 3 mL of the gel. In a typical hand sanitizer with a pump, this would take several pumps to achieve that amount on your hands.
Once you have covered your hands with the gel, you must rub your hands with the sanitizer on for at least 20 to 30 seconds.
You must allow the hand sanitizer to dry fully.
It's important to note that sanitizer will only kill germs found on your skin where you use the hand sanitizer. It will not protect you if the germs fall on other parts of your body or are inhaled by you.
What Does Hand Sanitizer Not Kill?
Hand sanitizer is not as effective with other types of harmful pathogens. It cannot kill parasites such as cryptosporidium which causes diarrhea. It also is not effective against norovirus, poliovirus, polyomavirus, calicivirus, hepatitis A virus, foot-and-mouth disease virus, and Clostridium difficile.
Where to buy reliable alcohol hand sanitizer spray?
Just search “hand sanitizer” on www.enegitech.com, then you can buy it.