Should I stock up on liquor to make my own hand sanitizer?

Not unless you want to. But here’s what you really need for your hands.

Welcome to Not a Doctor, the only (free!) newsletter about health and science that talks about hand grenades.

I’m Melody Schreiber, a journalist, the editor of What We Didn’t Expect (out in November), and decidedly not a doctor. I am someone who asks way too many questions — but this time, the question is coming from outside the house.

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DIY disinfectant

Should I start buying whiskey in case I need more disinfectant? I mean, alcohol kills germs, right?

Thanks, reader, for an excellent question. I’m planning an open Q&A thread for tomorrow where anyone can post their thoughts and questions, but I wanted to talk about this today because I’m seeing it a lot.

Yes, (some) alcohol kills (some) germs. But what’s important, as you may know by now, is what percent of alcohol kills those germs — and, in this case, what percent works best against SARS-CoV-2,* the virus that causes COVID-19.*

The key number here is 60% at least. The CDC* says that when handwashing is not available, you can fill the gaps temporarily by using a hand sanitizer containing 60% to 95% alcohol. The higher the percentage, the better your chances of killing the virus.

Rubbing alcohol should fall within this 60-95% range. I keep a bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol on hand (ha) as a backup disinfectant and to clean my electronics.

You might have come across a recipe on this ol’ Internet machine for your own DIY hand sanitizer. Yes, it can be done — but just keep in mind, there are chemists who still don’t feel confident making their own disinfectants properly. And if you take a look at the official WHO recipe, you’ll see it’s pretty complicated to make.

If you do need to make your own, though, keep this in mind: when the alcohol is mixed with anything else — like aloe gel or lotion — it needs to be a concentration greater than 60%, because that extra stuff dilutes it. Mix accordingly.

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Blame it on the alcohol

Okay, so: Whiskey. If the alcohol content needs to be 60% at least, that’s going to rule out a big part of your liquor cabinet, depending upon you tippling preferences. Unless you have some rare vintage (does liquor have vintages?), most booze isn’t boozy enough to kill SARS-CoV-2.

Beer and wine are definitely no-gos. Whiskey usually doesn’t get above 50%, while vodka is closer to 40%. Nope, nope.

Bacardi 151 is 75%, so, okay. Everclear is 95%, proving it’s useful for something other than agony and regret.

So, I guess if you want to buy these, no one is stopping you? Except for perhaps the police, when your hands smell STRONGLY of grain alcohol.

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There’s just one thing

But people: This isn’t the Walking Dead! You don’t need to mix Everclear in a hand grenade to stay alive! (And where did you get that hand grenade?!)

In all this hand-wringing over sanitizer, we can miss one important fact: regular old soap is the best way to kill this virus.

It’s actually really, really good at it.

Photo: Arlington County/Flickr

Here’s why: Like many of us after a long winter, the virus is encased in a nice fatty layer, called a lipid, to keep it feeling safe and comfortable. (Maybe it dipped into its coronavirus rations early.) It’s kinda like a thick layer of grease, coating the important virus-y parts inside.

And what cuts through grease? SOAP.

Just like when you're scrubbing grime off dishes, washing your hands is a way to scrub off that fatty protective layer and expose the delicate virus within. Once it’s exposed, the virus dies. And then all you have to do is rinse clean.

Palli Thordarson @PalliThordarson

1/25 Part 1 - Why does soap work so well on the SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus and indeed most viruses? Because it is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. A two part thread about soap, viruses and supramolecular chemistry #COVID19

You probably know by now, of course, that you can't just run your hands under water or slap on a little soap and call it a day — you have to wash for 20 seconds or more. (Here’s a list of some great songs to sing while you're washing, and here’s a guide to the parts of your hands that sometimes don’t get clean.)

As one expert put it: Wash your hands like you just cut up hot peppers and now you have to go change your contacts.

With all that washing, here’s what you should actually stock up on: lotion. It doesn’t have to be fancy, unless you want it to be. I’m partial to Nivea Crème or Eucerin, but whatever works for you. In addition to keeping a bottle by the sink, I also like to carry some of my favorites in my purse and in the car.

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Let’s get personal

Okay, I need to be honest with you. Sometimes, I feel utterly hopeless. I hear stories about people not being tested even though they have all the symptoms; I hear about people who break quarantine to go get their nails done; I watch an address to the nation and wonder where the policies are to fix all of this.

These are scary times. We are all uncertain and apprehensive about what's going to happen. We need fast, decisive, comprehensive action in the next days and weeks from our elected officials and local leaders — and we aren’t sure when and if that will happen.

But I have to focus on not giving in to these hopeless feelings — not letting them rule me. There are things we can do. They may feel little, but they're not.

You are protecting yourself and others from this virus every single time you wash your hands. For every story about someone being an idiot, there are a thousand more untold stories of people taking the small but necessary precautions to protect themselves and others, even when it’s inconvenient, even when it seems silly.

Every time we learn more about what you can do to prepare and protect yourself and those you love, we make a little more progress. Every time we share this information with people who need to hear it, we gain a little ground.

That's how we're going to end this epidemic: a whole lot of little actions that begin to add up.

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Glossary

CDC: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

COVID-19: A form of pneumonia caused by the virus SARS-CoV-19

lipid: a fatty acid; in the case of SARS-CoV-2, it’s the outer layer protecting the virus that can be destroyed by soap and certain concentrations of alcohol

SARS-CoV-2: The virus, part of the coronavirus family, that causes the disease COVID-19.

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Tomorrow, I’m opening up a Q&A at 9:30 am. I’d love to answer your questions, but I also want to hear your own tips and thoughts on what we can do to prepare. What’s working for you — both the practical advice and the more personal side of gearing up for this pandemic?

In the meantime, or if you’d like a little more privacy, please reach out with questions, concerns, feedback, and recipes for hand grenade sanitizer at melodyaschreiber@gmail.com. As always, if you know someone who might appreciate this newsletter, please feel free to share it with them.