DIY - Do It Yourself

Days before I got sick with COVID-19, I had been preparing for an uncertain future.  By now, stores were selling out of toilet paper, paper towel, alcohol, sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, among other things.  I was okay with the paper items.  I would always joke that I may not have food in my house, but I have toilet paper.  I had disinfecting wipes, having ordered online from Staples, where not many people thought of looking.  I also ordered items from Amazon and the Vitamin Shoppe to make my own sanitizer and wipes, just in case I ran out of what I had: aloe, Vitamin E, and essential oils.   I checked out the labels on all the items in the house that could possibly be added or used to make the sanitizers or wipes:  Hydrogen peroxide, Listerine, astringent, bleach, not mixed together, of course.  I looked for directions to make them.  It became an obsession.  I sent this photo of my stockpile to the siblings, along with the instruction on how to make sanitizers and wipes.  I joked that I was becoming a chemist. I could have become a supplier of Heather Dawn's Corona Knockout Hand and Surface Cleaners.  Instead, Corona knocked me down.

Let's DIY together, but take heed.   Do not mix certain products together.

Don't forget the gloves as you mix these solutions.

Using bleach:

To make a bleach solution, mix:   5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water OR 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of waterBleach solutions will be effective for disinfection up to 24 hourshttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/disinfecting-your-home.html  

Multiple sources give different bleach-to-water ratios for use with regular bleach. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that “unexpired bleach will be effective against coronaviruses” in a 1:48 solution (⅓ cup of bleach per gallon of water, or 4 teaspoons per quart). Clorox recommends a slightly stronger 1:32 ratio (½ cup per gallon or 2 tablespoons per quart). Mark Warner recommends a much stronger 1:10 ratio (about 1½ cups per gallon of water, or about ⅓ cup per quart). Some medical disinfectants are basically the same solution. https://www.nytimes.com/article/disinfectant-coronavirus.html, 

Making hand sanitizer

Mix three parts alcohol with one part aloe vera gel, which prevents your skin from drying out. (If you can’t find pre-made aloe gel, you can also scrape some out of the leaves of an aloe plant. Cut the sides of a leaf and remove the top skin. Using a spoon, scrape the gel out. In a high-speed blender, blend the collected gel for two to three minutes, then use a strainer to filter the gel and remove leaf debris.)  If you want, add a few drops of essential oil to the mix for a nice scent.  Transfer your sanitizer to a clean, empty container. You can refill empty hand sanitizer bottles, or use any small container that’s easy to carry with you. Karunarathne said that if you see cloudy sedimentation, shake the container.  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-make-disinfectant-kill-coronavirus_l_5e95fe81c5b6a7e383dfbba5

DIY Disinfecting Wipes

Ingredients

2 cups Distilled water

1 cup Isopropyl alcohol at least 70-91% concentration

1 TBSP Dawn dish soap

3 drops Tea tree oil (optional)

1 Paper Towel Roll

Instructions
Cut your paper towel roll through the middle with a serrated knife.
Flip them over and stick into a jar or previous Lysol/Clorox wipes box.
Mix together the water, rubbing alcohol, and dawn dish soap.
Pour around the edges of the paper towel roll. Let it soak in for 2 minutes
Pull the middle paper towel roll out and throw away. 
Now you can pull  from the middle.
Store in a closed container with lid.
https://myheavenlyrecipes.com/how-to-make-homemade-disinfecting-wipes/

Aloe, Vitamin E, essential oils, rose water may also be used with the alcohol.  Be careful, not to water it down below 60% alcohol.

What does a bottle of conditioner have to do with anything Corona-related?  When I went looking for sanitizers, there was none available.  But looking closer, there were refills.  That bottle of conditioner, which I emptied and washed and dried thoroughly, became the container for my sanitizer.

In many Jamaican households, this is/was a staple.  It is an antiseptic, used on wounds, used for bathing, used to disinfect.  It was nowhere to be found in my largely Jamaican neighborhood.  Sister Sandra found it in hers and bought me my own.

I searched labels for everything alcohol.  This is only 21.6% alcohol.  Here is what the company, itself, have to say:

No. LISTERINE® mouthwash has not been tested against any strains of coronavirus. Only some LISTERINE® mouthwash formulations contain alcohol, and if present is only around 20% alcohol. LISTERINE® mouthwash is not intended to be used, nor would it be beneficial as a hand sanitizer or surface disinfectant.  (https://www.listerine.com/covid-19-update#listerine-mouthwash-brand-has-antiseptic-products-do-these-kill-the-germs-that-cause-covid-19)

Distilled White Vinegar

Disinfection recommendations using vinegar are popular online, but there is no evidence that they are effective against the coronavirus.   https://www.consumerreports.org/cleaning/common-household-products-that-can-destroy-novel-coronavirus/

Mr. Wray and his nephew is 63% alcohol, but in my home this is for rum punch and baking, 

I also ordered commercial.  Didn't know how hardcore I would have to go to clean floors and other surfaces 

Be safe as you DIY.  Use popular ventilation.  Don't mix chemicals.  Check and double check instructions and guidelines.  Use gloves.

Take note below which cautions against making your own sanitizer.  If we can't find them in the stores, what is a person to do!!

You’re probably seeing all sorts of hand sanitizer recipes floating around your social media and the internet, but Thomas at Upstate Medical University advises against making your own. “People don’t know the right ratios to use, and the internet won’t give you the right answer,” he says. “Not only can you hurt yourself, but it could give you a false sense of security.” Sachleben seconds that advice. “I’m a professional chemist, and I don’t mix my own disinfectant products at home,” he says. “Companies spend a bunch of time and money to pay chemists specifically to formulate hand sanitizers that work and that are safe. If you make it yourself, how can you know if it’s stable or if it works?”  e effective against the coronavirus https://www.consumerreports.org/cleaning/common-household-products-that-can-destroy-novel-coronavirus/