Alcohol has the remarkable ability to deactivate the proteins in both viruses and bacteria in a process called denaturation, which effectively kills them, removing any danger. 

No, best not! While splashing some alcohol on your hands would kill off some of those germs, pure alcohol is super drying for your hands. It is also not totally effective on its own and benefits from being mixed with a little water and some emollient to protect the skin on your hands. 

While some products have a fairly endless shelf life, hand sanitiser is not one of them. Time and exposure to air destroys the most active and essential ingredients. Stick to fresh bottles of hand sanitiser (such as the ones in our Hygiene Packs) and you’ll know you’re safe. 

To be effective at killing germs and viruses hand sanitiser needs to have a very high concentration of alcohol, which simply can’t be guaranteed with home-made versions. Plus, the DIY stuff is more likely to dry out your hands, which is dangerous because cracked or damaged hands are more vulnerable to picking up diseases. Stick to the professionally made hand sanitiser and give yourself peace of mind.

Another no. Think of hand sanitiser and hand washing as a double defence – both are super important. Thorough hand washing (remember the 20 second rule and use lots of soap) should be a regular part of your daily routine, but it’s obviously hard to do when you make your occasional trips outside to pick up groceries or run essential errands. This is when hand sanitiser becomes your saviour and the thing to use until you get home and can resume hand washing.