Store supplies scarce? DIY Hand Sanitizer!

Greetings Humans!

There’s a lot of craziness going on all around us due to COVID-19 with folks buying up all the toilet paper and bottled water in many stores, leaving the rest of us questioning why toilet paper and water? In addition, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizers are becoming extinct as well.  It takes a few hoarders to kind of ruin it for the rest of us.  That being said I thought I could provide you all with a DIY hand sanitizer and a disinfectant.  You may already be on the same page looking for something similar, and if so, well, then, great minds think alike!

The most critical cleansing anyone can do is thoroughly washing hands with warm water and soap (Soap Essential Soap-haha!) for 20 seconds.  Don’t forget to get the areas between your fingers.  Clasping hands with alternating fingers and sliding them up and down gets the areas that are sometimes missed with hand washing.  Do this frequently, before and after you eat, if you’ve sneezed or coughed (and hopefully into a tissue and not your hand), after a training bout at the gym, or after being in a public place where you’ve touched things others have touched, and any time after handling money are just a few suggestions.

When you can’t wash your hands immediately a 60% alcohol solution of hand sanitizer can provide assistance.  So here’s a simple, easy to prepare, hand sanitizer recipe:

5 oz 190 proof Vodka or Everclear (OR 91% Isopropyl Alcohol)
3 oz Aloe Vera Gel (as pure as you can get)
1/3 tsp Tea Tree Essential Oil
¼ tsp Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Using an 8 oz jar pour the essential oils in followed by the alcohol and tighten the lid.  Shake well.  Add the Aloe Vera Gel ad do the same thing.  Transfer into smaller bottles for use.  Tea Tree is anti-microbial and can help fight bacteria and Eucalyptus is a natural disinfectant.  You could use a Thieves essential oil blend or a combination of Tea Tree and Lemon.  These essential oils aid in disinfecting and microbial migration.  The reason you need 190 proof and not regular Vodka, is 140 proof is only 70 percent alcohol.  190 proof is 80 percent alcohol.  You combine the 80 percent alcohol with the Aloe Gel and this further dilutes the alcohol content to around 60-70 percent.  Perfect for hand sanitization.

Next, a super simple DIY disinfectant spray.  Mix this in a large spray bottle to use around your home or even pour some into a smaller two-ounce spray bottle and take with you on the go if disinfecting wipes are becoming scarce in your area.  You can’t even find them where I live in Utah.

½ cup high proof Vodka (seems Vodka is good for more than just consuming!)
½ cup white vinegar
¾ cup water
½ tsp Tea Tree Essential Oil

First, pour Vodka and then essential oils into a 16 oz spray bottle.  Shake the bottle to combine.  Add the vinegar and water and shake again.  Shake each time before use.  Vinegar is not safe to use on stone surfaces.  Additionally, disinfecting happens after cleaning.  Clean your surface with a surfactant (soap that will lift dirt, grime, etc.) and then disinfect with this natural disinfectant.  If you’re out, and you have no sanitizing wipes to wipe down an area you might be spending a little time, a small bottle of this to spray can go a long way in feeling at ease.

Hope you found these little tips helpful!  Keep your sane hat securely attached, use preventative measures, and we’ll all get through this…..together.

PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

Stay safe SE Tribe.

Forever your champion!

XO

Samantha