100% alcohol is not better than 60% alcohol-based sanitizer – Here’s Why

As Covid 19 made its way across the world, hand sanitizer went from being a forgotten accessory in pharmacy check-out aisles to the kingpin of human sanity and survival. However, not just any sanitizer will do; it needs at least 60% alcohol to be effective.

So why not douse each other in leftover vodka? If 60% alcohol is enough, is 100% alcohol better?

It turns out, no. So to everyone out there raiding their liquor cabinets before doing their grocery shopping, keep it for your Zoom pub quiz.

Alcohol is key as it can effectively kill various microbes by penetrating the cell walls and deactivating their proteins – a process called denaturation, which kills them. At least 60% alcohol is needed for this penetration to occur, making alcohol-based sanitizer the best way forward.

In simple terms, 100% alcohol would still penetrate the cell walls, but is too quick and causes blockages. A small amount of water (ideally about 25%) slows the process down just enough to prevent those blockages from occurring.

OmniProtect is an alcohol-based sanitizer with 70% alcohol, making it stronger than the average sanitizer but not too strong in that it becomes ineffective. Follow global advice and keep safe with OmniProtect, available as a bulk hand sanitizer.