View Full Version : 90% rubbing alcohol instead of hand sanitizer gel ?
Is packing/using 90% rubbing alcohol instead of hand sanitizer gel a good idea? The idea here is to increase the options for multiuse and possibly reduce weight. Multiuse options include backup heat source if one runs out of denatured alcohol for their stove and for rubbing feet or anywhere else where rubbing alcohol is normally used.
Appalachian Tater
11-02-2006, 16:15
Yes, but it's not a great back-up fuel because of the 10% water.
For sanitation, the higher the concentration of alcohol, the more effective it is. You need at least 60% alcohol to be effective and 90% is much better. Some sanitizing gels have only 40% alcohol and are ineffective.
Could you not just use denatured alcohol to clean hands/wounds?
Appalachian Tater
11-02-2006, 17:33
Not if it contains methanol which is posonous and can be absorbed through the skin.
Lanthar Mandragoran
11-02-2006, 18:02
Not if it contains methanol which is posonous and can be absorbed through the skin.
Not to mention if you get it in an open wound... :eek:
90% IPA (rubbing alcohol) is likely to smoke / soot when it is used in an alcohol stove, however it should work. It won't work as well as DNA, but it will work.
Better yet, it'll work GREAT as a fire starter (where soot / smoke) really doesn't matter.
Skidsteer
11-02-2006, 18:31
Is packing/using 90% rubbing alcohol instead of hand sanitizer gel a good idea? The idea here is to increase the options for multiuse and possibly reduce weight. Multiuse options include backup heat source if one runs out of denatured alcohol for their stove and for rubbing feet or anywhere else where rubbing alcohol is normally used.
The problem trying to save weight I think would be using/applying a small amount at a time like gel sanitizers. Seems like it'd be easy to goof and waste alcohol. Maybe a squirt bottle with a very small opening or an old hairspray bottle so you can just 'mist' your hands?
You know what would be cool? 90+% gelled hand sanitizer.
freefall
11-02-2006, 21:17
Yes, but it's not a great back-up fuel because of the 10% water.
For sanitation, the higher the concentration of alcohol, the more effective it is. You need at least 60% alcohol to be effective and 90% is much better. Some sanitizing gels have only 40% alcohol and are ineffective.
I use 90% instead of denatured. Denatured vaporizes and thus, burns quicker but not more efficiently when it's hot outside.
Tater, is that you?
But any form of alchohol will dry your skin out badly and you will need to carry lotion hence defeating the weight purpose, of course lotion comes in handy for lots of things too :rolleyes: !!! I recommend carrying plenty of 100+ proof alchohol of the drinking variety, talk about multi uses: sanitizer,cooking fuel, firestarter,disinfectant, pain killer, friend maker, etc etc, !!!
RAT
Jim Adams
11-02-2006, 22:29
hand sanitizer has a lubricant in the gel to aid in keeping your skin from drying out. I go through a bottle a week on the ambulance. If I used iso my hands would have rotted off by now.
Most rum, moonshine and some vodka will burn efficiently in stoves but if you use it as hand sanitizer, you will get strange looks licking it off.
geek
freefall
11-02-2006, 22:42
But any form of alchohol will dry your skin out badly and you will need to carry lotion hence defeating the weight purpose, of course lotion comes in handy for lots of things too :rolleyes: !!! I recommend carrying plenty of 100+ proof alchohol of the drinking variety, talk about multi uses: sanitizer,cooking fuel, firestarter,disinfectant, pain killer, friend maker, etc etc, !!!
RAT
I didn't use any sanitizer very often(never got sick on the trail). As amatter of fact, I didn't wash my pot except when I got to town and only when I remembered. It(iso) would dry your skin out for sure if you used it regularly.
BUT if you used moonshine, you'd have a multi-purpose item AND the licking of the hands would put a little moisture back in them!:D
Can we think of more than one use for lotion if one were to carry it on the trail? :-?
I am estimating the use of the alcohol on the hands at twice a day - any guesses how long at that level of use while hiking would it take before the hands would be too dry / cracked?
orangebug
11-03-2006, 09:22
Folks in hospitals and medical offices use alcohol gel a heck of a lot more than twice daily. I think we are inventing a problem. I'd not use rubbing alcohol, as I can control how much gel is used, can put it where I want to start a fire and can avoid sloshing or leaking in my pack.
Kaptain Kangaroo
11-03-2006, 15:24
I used denatured alcohol as hand sanitiser on my thru hike this year, used it several times each day & never had any problems with it drying out my hands. I'm still alive so there can't have been any other serious health problems with using it......... twitch, twitch :-)
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Most rum, moonshine and some vodka will burn efficiently in stoves but if you use it as hand sanitizer, you will get strange looks licking it off.
geek
My experience is that most booze of the 80 proof variety-being only 40% alcohol-is quite hard to keep burning in a stove let alone being efficient at doing so. Even the common drugstore variety 70% rubbing alcohol is difficult to keep burning effectively and its reduced BTU's with the added water makes it take far to long to boil, and so is much to heavy to really be effective. The 150+ proof drinking alcohols will burn but still take far to long to heat the water, too, and are far too expensive so why even try to use it? Drink it instead.
The best alcohol fuel is denatured alcohol- 200 proof and 100% alcohol. Anything less will be correspondingly less 'efficient' and 40% booze horribly so. Drink the booze and dont waste your time trying to cook with it.:D
Oh my God. Don't overthink stuff so much. Just hike and live and love and cook you danged food.
Oh my God. Don't overthink stuff so much. Just hike and live and love and cook you danged food.
Do you really think its overthink?
I think its straightening underthink!:)