What Does Hand Sanitiser Do?

During the pandemic, the demand for hand sanitiser sky-rocketed and producers of alcoholic spirits like gin and vodka have turned over large parts of their production to make it. Whether it’s a hand pump on the entrance to a shop, on desks throughout an office, or in the washroom next to the sink, there are a few key things you need to know about how liquid hand sanitiser works…

How does hand sanitiser work?

Liquid hand sanitiser is between 60-90% alcohol. When you rub this over your hands, the alcohol kills microbial cells. The reason we don’t want 100% alcohol in our hand sanitiser, is that a little bit of water actually helps penetration through a virus’ outer coating or a bacteria's membrane. However, while hand sanitiser kills many bacterias and viruses, it’s not actually effective at eliminating all germs. 

Does it replace soap?

Using hand sanitiser does not remove the need to wash hands properly with soap. Hand sanitiser is a disinfectant and kills many germs, but soap and water are more efficient at removing them from your hands in the first place. Good hand soap works as a detergent and when lathered up will remove water, dirt and oils. You can see it as a mild degreaser, allowing everything to be removed from your skin effectively, providing that you wash your hands in the proper manner. When our hands are dirty, even mildly dirty, then alcohol based hand sanitisers aren't going to work effectively. For the best results, you should wash your hands thoroughly, dry them, then apply hand sanitiser.

Hand sanitiser reduces the risks

While it may not always be feasible to wash our hands constantly, regular hand sanitising is a strong way to reduce the spread of bacteria, germs and viruses, Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, strategic placements of hand sanitiser stations encourage visitors and employees to re-apply hand sanitiser before they touch communal items such as phones, keyboards, drawers and door handles. 

Things to be careful of

You should be careful when selecting your hand sanitisers. Some sanitisers that have a high level of alcohol present can often lead to very dry, often sore hands - for which hand moisturisers and balms may need to be used once or twice a day. There have also been some cases of burn-like reactions to those with sensitive skin, so care needs to go into choosing the right hand sanitiser for your business. 

If you would like to talk about hand sanitiser dispensers or how to effectively implement them into your premises, please get in touch with one of the team on 01202 650900.