It’s inevitable that our hands will come into contact with surfaces, and pick up germs and potentially viruses over the course of the day.
At a time when coronavirus is spreading like wildfire in various parts of our country, it’s very important we wash our hands and use hand sanitizer regularly. There are some differences, however, between soap and water and sanitizer.
When it comes to disease-carrying germs and viruses, hand sanitizer and soap-and-water work in different ways.
What Does Hand Sanitizer Do?
Hand sanitizer is meant for on-the-go use. One of the better pocket-sized hand sanitizers are the Divine Essence Hand Sanitizer - Ravintsara sprayer which contains 70% ethyl alcohol and 15 essential oils; made in Quebec, Canada. WHO recommends wash you hand regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer if you don’t have access to soap and water.
Checking if the hand sanitizer contains at least 60%-75% alcohol is very important when buying hand sanitizer.
Purell hand sanitizer is a great example. It is very effective at killing viruses. Ideally, you want a sanitizer that’s alcohol-based and with an alcohol concentration of 60% or above. Most Purell products, as does Divine Essence Hand Sanitizer, contain 70% alcohol.
Sanitizer like Divine Essence lets you disinfect your hands, without having to stop and wash them in a sink. When soap and water aren’t available, sanitizer works. Hand sanitizer helps reduce virus transmission, in most cases. They are virus neutralizers, in a sense.
For those that would rather have a gel, the IC-GEL, Antiseptic Skin Gel has 70% alcohol as well. Using hand sanitizer or antiseptic gel, you will want to rub it on your skin until it dries. Unlike soap and water, you don’t want to rinse or wipe sanitizer off once you’re done rubbing your hands together.
What Do Soap And Water Do?
Because our skin’s oil and grease, germs easily stick on to our skin. Soap and water effectively remove germs, and is generally recommended over hand disinfectant products. This is because soap-and-water’s cleaning mechanism is more thorough than any sanitizer: soap molecules is bonds with water and it is hydrophilic, when washing hand with soap, these molecules is a mediator between water and oil, when rinse with water, germs and oils on skin will be wiped off
Although sanitizers are great, they don’t clean. They disinfect. They neutralize but they don’t remove anything. Hand gels clean and remove. They bind to viruses and helps to literally take them off your hands.
Sanitizer or Soap-And-Water, Which is Better for Coronavirus?
Both hand sanitizer and soap-and-water can kill COVID-19, fortunately. While you’re out and about, keep some sanitizer on you. Use it regularly. Ensure it has an alcohol concentration minimum 60% or higher. The alcohol is key to being able to kill viruses like coronavirus.
When you’re not moving and/or if there’s time while you’re out, stop and wash your hands. Nothing’s better at taking care of coronavirus than soap-and-water. That said, hand sanitizers absolutely have a role to play in the fight against COVID-19.
Whether you’re using sanitizer or soap, technique is also critical. Be thorough with covering your hands and rubbing them down with soap-and-water. If you’re using sanitizer, ensure it fully dries without rubbing off on anything else.
As we continue to contend with COVID-19, hand sanitizers are in high demand. They’re often completely sold out at local stores. If you want to save yourself the search, visit Lierre.ca today. We’re fully stocked with hand sanitizers, antibacterial products, and more, and we deliver! Shopping for your COVID-19 essentials, there’s no better place to check out than Canada’s own Lierre.ca.