I opened this bottle of hand sanitizer about 10 days ago and placed it on the kitchen table. I would guess that most of our use of this bottle has occurred in the last 7 days. We are primarily using soap and water for hand-washing and backing that up a few times (5 or so) per day, each, with the hand sanitizer.
We've had 2 very mild viruses in the house in the past week, so I'd guess that our usage has been moderate. For moderate use, it appears that we are going through about 1/3 of an 8-ounce bottle every week to 10 days. (The black pen line on the bottle is the actual level.)
At this rate (should no one become more ill than minor viruses) an 8-ounce bottle should last my family about 3 weeks to 1 month. Should we increase our usage, due to major illness in the family or visitors (not likely), we would probably use the hand sanitizer at almost double the current rate, or an 8-ounce bottle every 2 weeks. I bought three 8-ounce bottles in February, so we have enough here for between 6 weeks and 3 months, depending on need. Six weeks brings us to about April 10, and 3 months brings us to about May 22.
I understand that our local Target was completely cleaned out of hand sanitizer a week ago, before the terrible news of this past weekend. I don't know if they've been restocked since. Even if I couldn't find hand sanitizer in my local stores this week, I do believe that I will be able to find some by early April, at the very latest. The current, regional hand sanitizer shortage is not indefinite. Store shelves and websites will have it again in a matter of weeks.
I just wanted to share our usage so that if you've only been about to find a small amount of hand sanitizer, you would have an idea of how much this family of 4, who also is using soap and water, is using under our current circumstances. And, if you're thinking you need to buy several gallons, this might help you understand that not only would that be more than average families might need, but it would hoard quantities that others can't find. Also, it doesn't keep forever (so would just be a waste of money). Hand sanitizer has an expiration date on the bottle because it does lose effectiveness over time.
If you can't find any hand sanitizer at all, there are alternatives. Ethyl alcohol is the active ingredient in most bottled gel hand sanitizers. Some folks pour ethyl alcohol into a small spray bottle (think purse-size spray bottles that you can get from places like Amazon and fill with your favorite perfume) and spritz their hands, rubbing together well.
