By Matilda Rudd For Daily Mail Australia 00:27 GMT 17 Mar 2020 

As supermarkets and chemists sell out of hand sanitisers and alcohol wipes amid panic buying caused by the coronavirus pandemic, many people are turning to do-it-yourself recipes to make their own high-grade disinfectants. Sydney-based chemist Michelle Wong said there are both 'good and very bad' examples of recipes being copied from the internet. 

She said the key to making your own product is to ensure that the final concentration of alcohol/ethanol used in the mixture ends up at greater than 60 percent, as lower strengths will not be effective in killing the virus. 

Recipe for hand sanitiser: 

1/3 cup of 96% ethanol

1/4 tsp of 98% glycerin

1 tsp of hydrogen peroxide 

1/2 tbsp distilled water

This gives a final concentration of around 80% ethanol

The ethanol, or alcohol, kills the protein that surrounds the virus, disabling it before it can infect you. 
The glycerol moisturises hands because alcohol can dry out your skin, and the hydrogen peroxide kills any remaining bacteria that might have grown while you made the recipe. 


There is currently no known evidence to say that essential oils like lavender and tea tree will help stop the spread of this particular virus, so any DIY recipe containing only these ingredients is ineffective.  

You can also try mixing one-quarter of a cup of aloe vera gel and two-thirds of a cup of 99 per cent rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) to get a result.

Ms Wong said those tempted to use strong drinking alcohol will not work, as it does not have a high enough concentration to kill the germs.

Once you've applied the sanitiser it should stay 'wet' on your hands for 20 seconds, and there is no need to rinse them after.

When it comes to making your own alcohol wipes, you can use the hand sanitiser mixture of aloe vera gel and alcohol dipped in paper towel for an on-the-go fix.

Otherwise Miss Wong recommends using bleach to wipe down surfaces. 

WHO is still strongly suggesting that people wash their hands with soap and water and use wipes and hand sanitiser as a last resort when they're on the go.

Source:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8119145/Chemist-provides-DIY-recipes-alcohol-wipes-cleaning-products.html


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