Buying Hand Sanitizer Online
Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, we began to limit our movement. Nowadays, popping into the store is no longer something we do on a whim. We go less frequently, make sure we have everything we need for a reasonable amount of time, or just order online. Otherwise, you wear a mask and generously lather yourself in hand sanitizer before and after your excursion. One of the biggest problems though, is panic buying. Out of sheer fear, we stocked up on everything from toilet paper to hand sanitizer, and soon enough, the shelves were bare. The simpler option is to buy your hand sanitizer online.
Buying hand sanitizer online saves you a trip to the store and the time you would otherwise take to find and pay for it. That’s if you can find the one you want. There are so many hand sanitizers on the market these days, it's easy to get confused.
However, when you shop online, you aren’t limited to whatever happens to be on the shelf that day. You have more time to read the details to find out precisely what you are buying and search for the right product; and know that it is in stock. Not all hand sanitizers are up to scratch, but luckily, we can help you find what to look out for when you are buying hand sanitizer online.
What Makes a Good Hand Sanitizer?
If you aren’t a frequent hand sanitizer user, it might be because you haven’t found the right one. Once you have found a good hand sanitizer, you will feel comfortable using it more frequently. A good hand sanitizer may take a little more time to find, but it's worth it.
All manner of pathogens exist wherever we go. Just because we can’t see them doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be aware of them. These invisible organisms are the source of everything from the common cold to Ebola. While your city is highly unlikely to ever encounter Ebola, you will come in contact with people every day who may be carrying e. coli, strep, staph, COVID-19, or candida. Some of these illnesses are less harmful than others, but they are not worth the risk either way.
What to look for when buying hand sanitizer online:
The appropriate alcohol content – the incorrect alcohol content will render your hand sanitizer useless. The CDC and other health organizations recommend a concentration of at least 60% alcohol in your hand sanitizer to effectively kill 99.9% of germs. If the alcohol content is too high–above 90%–it will evaporate too quickly to actually kill the germs. The best alcohol content is between 70% and 80%.
The type of alcohol – stay away from hand sanitizer which is methanol-based. Methanol may cause permanent blindness or death when ingested. While you probably won’t ingest it, its toxins can still be absorbed through your skin. These toxins are dangerous, and they should not be used on your hands, especially not as regularly as you would use hand sanitizer.
Is the product FDA registered – not all hand sanitizers are recognized as safe and tested by the FDA. This is vital because the FDA ensures the efficacy of the hand sanitizer you buy online. The FDA is continually testing hand sanitizer to ensure it has the right alcohol content, it doesn’t contain toxic ingredients such as methanol, and that it works as advertised.
What are the ingredients – sanitizers contain more than just isopropyl or ethanol. You want to ensure that your hand sanitizer has moisturizing ingredients, it actually contains alcohol, and that there is nothing in the ingredients you may be allergic to.
Is it eco-friendly – not all hand sanitizers are made with the environment in mind. Using grains and sugarcane to produce ethanol rather than employing petrochemical processes is just one aspect of creating an eco-friendly hand sanitizer. The other ingredients should also contain no synthetic ingredients such as fragrances or petrochemicals, which may harm the environment or accumulate in the environment because they do not break down.
The wrong hand sanitizer will:
- Dry your hands out and make your skin crack
- Make your hands sticky
- Evaporate too quickly to kill viruses and bacteria effectively
- Not be proven to be effective against viruses and bacteria
- Be toxic
- Not contain a high enough alcohol content to kill germs
- Not contain alcohol at all; biocidal agents alone are not enough to effectively kill viruses and bacteria
- Have expired, or is older than two years from its manufacture date
Shipping the Hand Sanitizer You Bought Online
If you order your hand sanitizer online, it is up to the seller to ensure that your hand sanitizer can be delivered to your home or to your office. If there are any constraints, be they logistical or legal on account of hand sanitizer's flammable nature, the online shop also needs to specify these constraints. These companies will clearly label your package as a hazardous material if necessary. Some shipping companies may be unable to ship large quantities of hand sanitizer, while others may have permission to ship larger quantities.
What If I Want to Make My Own Hand Sanitizer?
The World Health Organisation does not recommend making your own hand sanitizer. There is a glut of hand sanitizer recipes online, which makes it tempting to give it a go. The problem is that there is so much which can go wrong.
From finding a legitimate recipe and getting your hands on the exact ingredients and mixing them, the exercise may be more trouble than it's worth. What’s more, you may also yield a batch of ineffective hand sanitizer without even knowing it. Mixing chemicals is wholly unlike cooking; there is no room for mistakes, substitutions, and ‘winging it.’ If you want a hand sanitizer that is guaranteed to kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, buy it from a reputable brand.
If you want to be sure that you have an effective hand sanitizer, it's best to buy some online. Elyptol has a great range of hand sanitizer sprays, gels, and sanitizing wipes, and we deliver throughout the US; right to your door.