COVID-19 can spread through person-to-person contact (within 6 feet). A person with the illness can pass it on to others through a handshake. Or if an infected person touches an object and a healthy individual comes in contact with the same object, they can contract coronavirus. That said, you can easily minimize the risk of getting sick by frequently washing hands or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that kills germs within a matter of seconds.
But there’s one problem. After the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, grocery stores and pharmacies across Pakistan started running out of hand sanitizers. If you are looking for a hand sanitizer in Pakistan and can’t find one, don’t worry! Here is a homemade hand sanitizer recipe that you can easily make on your own.
Let’s get started!
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE HAND SANITISER
If you are someone looking for a recipe for making natural hand sanitizers, you have landed on the right page.
You can make your homemade hand sanitizer using only three ingredients. Remember, sanitizers are to be used only when there is no availability of soap and water. If water and soap are available, then wash your hands, frequently, for 20 seconds to protect yourselves and others from contracting coronavirus.
DIY RECIPE OF HOMEMADE HAND SANITISER
Let’s take a look at the homemade hand sanitizer recipe you can try at home. All you need are a few plastic bottles, a funnel to store the homemade hand sanitizer spray in the bottle and the following ingredients:
- 2/3 cup of 99% isopropyl alcohol
- 1/3 cup of aloe vera gel
- 10 drops of essential oils
These three ingredients must be measured accurately to yield the desired results. Follow these steps to make an effective hand sanitizer at home.
- Pour the above-mentioned quantity of isopropyl alcohol and aloe vera gel into a container. Since hand sanitizers need to have at least 60% of isopropyl alcohol in order to be effective, keep a 2:1 ratio of isopropyl alcohol to aloe vera gel.
- A word of caution: isopropyl alcohol is flammable, has a strong odor and is colorless. Make sure isopropyl alcohol is kept away from any fire source to avoid accidents. Wear protective gloves when preparing the hand sanitizer at home to stay safe. Keep children out of reach, as isopropyl alcohol can be poisonous if you consume it.
- For every 2 parts of isopropyl alcohol you add, mix 1 part of aloe vera gel or if you are unsure about the measurements, follow the above-mentioned quantities.
- As the last step in making this natural hand sanitizer spray, add essential oils if required. If you don’t like how the isopropyl alcohol smells, then add a few essential oils with a nice fragrance. Moreover, you can add essential oils that are antiseptic in nature to provide enhanced protection against viruses and germs.
- Mix the ingredients using a spoon and pour them out in plastic bottles with the help of a funnel. There you go! Your DIY hand sanitizer spray is all ready to be used.
This sanitizer spray won’t be like the usual sanitizer gel you get in the market, but the efficacy remains the same.
Keep the bottle of your homemade hand sanitizer in your purse or laptop bag, whichever article you carry daily to work, and use it for sanitizing your hands frequently, especially after touching doorknobs, laptops, buttons in the elevator and other objects.
HAND WASH VS. HAND SANITISER
Although you can easily make your own hand sanitizer at home, this doesn’t mean that you totally skip washing hands as recommended by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
The best way for washing hands is to make a soapy lather for 20 seconds and rinse with water. You can use the liquid hand wash available in the market or regular soap, whatever you prefer. Washing your hands properly is necessary, especially when your hands look visibly dirty.
If your child is playing out in the garden, then his hands should be thoroughly washed with soap and water for a good 20 seconds to wash off any kind of germs or viruses.
If you are traveling in a bus and there is no availability of soap and water, then you can use this DIY hand sanitizer spray to keep yourself and others protected from contracting coronavirus.
So, this is one of the most effective ways to make your own hand sanitizer at home.