Ingredients to make homemade antibacterial wipes:
Food Storage, Gardening, and Self-Reliance for Busy Moms
One of my long-term goals is to be more intentional with my money. To me, intentional means spending my money wisely, not wasting it on something I don’t really need, and looking for ways to make items at home for less money. What’s more, antibacterial wipes are in huge demand now during the coronavirus outbreak, which turned many of us into borderline hypochondriacs virtually overnight.
And last but not least, I love being able to control the ingredients of items that I put on (or in) my family whenever possible. I found a video for homemade antibacterial wipes and thought I would give it a try. I added a little twist of my own by adding essential oils.
We use these homemade wipes at home and I also keep them on hand in the car. Since I have the ingredients on hand, I thought I would put a batch together and tell you about the results.
Sometimes when you are out of the house, it’s not practical to do regular hand washing, with ordinary soap, which is the best way to fight germs and avoid getting sick. Fragrance-free alcohol hand sanitizers are good options when no sink is available – like a school classroom, or at the grocery store, for example.
However, those contain harmful chemicals, colors and fragrances. This homemade antibacterial wipe recipe is 100% natural, effective, and won’t dry out your skin with repeated use.
Place equal parts of homemade lotion and rubbing alcohol plus at least 15 drops of essential oil in a Ziploc bag or similar container. You need something you are able to kneed, to get it mixed together the best you can. I used a 16 oz bottle of alcohol and a 16 oz of homemade lotion.
Cut the paper towels into smaller sizes. I used the heavy duty Kirkland brand, and the towels are huge. Bigger than I need my wipes to be – so I cut them into thirds. I ended up with 120 individual wipe pieces.
Place the cut paper towel pieces in your container and pour the liquid over it. Allow it it sit for at least 30 minutes so it will soak up all the liquid. I ended up turning the container upside down several times to make sure the paper towels were completely saturated.
I could probably have added even more paper towels, they might be a little on the “wet” side.
I split the batch into 3 separate Ziploc bags, added a few more drops of essential oil for good measure, and placed one in my car to use on grocery shopping trips and on the go, one in my 72-hour kit for future use, and one in the kitchen for daily use.
-// Paper towels 1/2 a roll $1.25
-// Rubbing alcohol $ 1.99
-// Homemade lotion $1.50
-// Essential oil $.75
I feel pretty good about this! I saved a bunch of money, I know what ingredients I’m putting on my skin, and I have another item made for my car kit and our 72-hour kits.
For these DIY antibacterial wipes (and any kind of homemade disinfecting product) use a brand with an alcohol content between 60% and 80%. For antibacterial wipes to be effective at killing the nasties, coronoaviruses included, you also need to make sure that after adding all other ingredients (lotion, essential oils) the alcohol concentration of the wipes sits around those numbers.
When the alcohol concentration drops below 50%, the effectiveness of sanitizers dramatically drops as well. And keep in mind that no amount of alcohol can kill things like noroviruses or
If you’re thinking about simply using pure alcohol concentrations of more than 90% on their own or with very few added extras to nuke germs out of existence, think again. Because of the lack of moisture, +90% alcohol evaporates faster than 70% alcohol leaving less surface contact time to eradicate the bad bugs. Also, high alcohol concentrations might give off toxic fumes and are considerably pricier than 70% alcohol solutions.
In some areas, rubbing alcohol might be very hard to find or be insanely pricey. Because of the Corona scare, prices have skyrocketed from around $2 per quart to a whopping $10 per one quart bottle, or even more.
If you have a bottle of grain alcohol with a high alcohol content in your stash, you could use it in this recipe. Look for alcohol concentrations of 190 proof (or 80% alcohol by volume or ABV) or higher for the most effective DIY ethanol-based sanitizing wipes.
You could swap rubbing alcohol with liquor like this rocket fuel-like Polish vodka if the spirits are bottled at 150 proof or higher. In the U.S., slash the “proof” of a bottle of spirits in half to find its alcohol concentration, e.g., 151 proof means 75.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). In the U.K, multiply the ABV by 1.75% to find the proof, while in France the proof equals the ABV.
Update: These DIY antibacterial wipes have worked really well and I am going to make another batch. I did find that the three-ply paper towels separated after awhile, so I had to take more than one out at a time. I wonder if I could use rags or old t-shirts in place of the paper towels and how they would wash up afterward?
Share your ideas in the comments below.
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I use those swifter type cloths. Can be used over and over.
Lysol has a new laundry sanitizer protect. Can sanitize your washable cloths, floor wipes.
You could also try those blue towels that are sold at auto stores because they are tough and will hold up? Also what kind of rubbing alcohol?
SCOTT blue shop towels…will hold up great. Much better than regular paper towels
I have heard coffee filters work good.
Have to try that. Just need to compair cost of coffee filters vs using the non sanitary wipes you can buy in the store.
An you use cooking oil if you don’t have essential oils?
I believe the essential oil is just for fragrance. Lavender is a natural disinfect so that’s a good choice.
Hi, Essential oils make it smell good but you don’t need them to make these.
Essential oils are for sent. DO NOT use cooking oil
Some scents have antibacterial properties. While they can be an enjoyable aroma, there are possible other benefits 🙂 I agree 110%, DON’T USE COOKING OIL! You’ll find it to be a waste and a mess.
Has anyone thought of using regular face wipes ( baby wipes or facial wipes) or the new flushable wipes and simply adding alcohol to the package I understand it is not a complete homemade version but the wipes are strong and can be acquired in many handy sizes for use now in our new Covid-19 virus time. The packs can be bought at the Dollar stores and any pharmacy as they are not the sanitizer type of wipes. I am mixing up a batch to test.
I was wondering about that too. I know alcohol can evaporate, but if you pour it over the wipes and keep the original container closed, I believe it could work.
I was thinking of trying that with the Fragrance & alcohol free wet ones .
Thank you for bringing this up! I just added rubbing alcohol to a pack of make up removers. I’m going to use them as hand wipes. I’m sure they will work just fine!!
I am going to do this. I am going to add a mixture of alcohol and aloe gel. I wonder if using peroxide would work? has anyone else tried this? If so, please tell me how they turned out! Thank-you!
Unfortunately, you will most likely not achieve the recommended level of isopropyl alcohol concentration if existing wipes that are damp. You would need use reach 60% as a minimum. Wipes, while not dripping wet (usually) are fairly saturated in the commercial packaging and can only absorb a limited amount of liquid, such as adding isopropyl or ethyl alcohol.
Without actually testing the resulting dilution levels, you are probably not doing anything more than giving yourselves a false sense of protection.
Use a dry source for wipes where you can know, by volumes of ingredients mixed, what minimum level of effective alcohol concentrations you are using.
And following the original recipe at the top will not yield the recommended minimum level of alcohol, even if 100% isopropyl was used. Since 91% and 70% are commonly found (or…were common), the resulting mixture would be even less than 50% alcohol, not enough to be effective as defined by the W.H.O. and many other medical organizations. I would highly recommend the easily remembered “2 parts alcohol, 1 part ” plus optional essential oils if I was using 99% isopropyl but closer to 3 parts alcohol to 1 part other if using 91%.
DIY, but do it smartly. Getting close to effective isn’t the goal, right?
What if the baby wipes were dried out first? or at least partially? could you just pour in 91% alcohol mixed with a few drops of lavender and/or lemon? or would you still need a carrier like coconut oil or aloe vera?
I agree with Eric.’s 03/24/20 comment.
This is what I originally thought before reading his comment.
I do not believe the alchol or peroxide will spread “evenly” thru the wet ones inside.
But, I would do this…and this would be time consuming and a mess, but at least you could be sure everyone has the disinfectant part on all parts–dry out the wet wipes. And after dry then pour your alcohol or peroxide and some water. (Proper ratio mixed in separate bowl so mixed properly) to the now dry wipes. The alcohol will now spread thru the wipes evenly. I cannnot try it as I cannot get the baby wipes. All gone.
Hi Sven!
That’s a great idea. Just let us know how it went.
And thank you for stopping by!
You can purchase dry paper wipes in bundles of 100. Various places sell them, I purchased mine from Amazon. They are a perfect size-a bit smaller than the store-bought baby wipe size.
I do not believe the alchol or peroxide will spread “evenly” thru the wet ones inside.
But, I would do this…and this would be time consuming and a mess, but at least you could be sure everyone has the disinfectant part on all parts–dry out the wet wipes. And after dry then pour your alcohol or peroxide and some water. (Proper ratio mixed in separate bowl so mixed properly) to the now dry wipes. The alcohol will now spread thru the wipes evenly. I cannnot try it as I cannot get the baby wipes. All gone.
I have been using personal wipes with alcohol poured over them! When I am unable to get alcohol, I will be using the leftover bottle of whiskey my brother left here last year!
Hello Sharon!
I wouldn’t recommend substituting whiskey for rubbing alcohol. For maximum antimicrobial efficacy, a disinfectant should have an ethanol content between 60% and 85%. Whiskey stands at just 35%-50%. Ironically, your impromptu personal wipes could be effective against the dreaded COVID-19, as German researches have reportedly found that it can be eliminated with alcohol concentrations as low as 30%. But I wouldn’t bet my life on it.
Thank you for visiting PreparednessMama!
Hello
Do you know if the lotion holds on to or protects the bacteria or virus by giving it a medium to grow in?
Any research on that would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Kathleen
Hello Kathleen
I am not aware of any study on the topic. There are some concerns, though, about the lotion rendering the alcohol less effective in killing the nasties as it prevents it from having direct contact with the skin. You could always add some ingredients with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties like tea tree oil or just swapping the lotion with aloe vera gel. Or you could use higher concentrations of isopropyl alcohol, but make sure that the water content isn’t lower than 10% if you want the isopropyl alcohol to do its thing. I think by trial and error you’ll find more answers.
Thank you for visiting PreparednessMama!
Someone mentioned weather old t-shirts would work. The best thing I have found is to buy some flannel baby receiving blankets at the local thrift store for about a buck apiece and cut them into squares around 10 to 12 in. Put them into a jar or a baby wipes container and pour your liquid over them. They make great wipes of various kinds!
Hi! Maybe I did something wrong but I thought I followed the directions to the “t” and ended up with a really greasy mess. I made the lotion which is a combination of 5 different oils and bees wax. When combining with alcohol, it did not blend in well at all but I squished it around in the ziplock a long time…pouring that mixture over my cut coffee filters, created very greasy towelettes. I cant imagine wiping anything down with this. I disposed of them. Washing the dished I used was nearly impossible…my dish soap wouldn’t cut thru the oils…Did I do something wrong? I only used half the lotion, so I have some left and will use it for lip balm and for very dry skin. It’s a lovely balm.
Kathy,, i think this recipe is more for wiping skin. The lotion part is the giveaway. I have used all of those except the bees wax and alchol in lotion I make for my feminine personal use and as a skin lotion for dry skin. It could not be used to clean stuff with. These are more hand wipes that do not kill your skin like the bottles of hand sanitizers do.
Also coffee filters would be too rough unless you use on your feet. You need somethinv like flannel or the shop wipes. Or some other durable but soft material. Tshirt might work. But i would say this would be better as a hand sanitizer. but i have not made it yet. Just basing on my version of the homemade similiar lotion.
knead*
When making hand sanitizer or wipes how can you test to dee if alcohol content is hi enough to be sanitizing and what should the alcohol content be to be effective?
Hi Betty!
Calculate the percent of each ingredient in your final solution and make sure that alcohol stays at 60 – 70% or more. I recommend concentrations of 80% alcohol by volume (ABV) or more for this recipe.
Take care!
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