How Much Hand Sanitizer My Family of 4 Is Using

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. 

Sanitizing Dishes if You Don't Have a Dishwasher

I believe that this first tip comes from Kris (here in the comments) from some time ago. I wanted to share this for anyone who is concerned that they don't have an easy way to sanitize dishes without a dishwasher.

If you have a plastic-coated dish drainer that fits in your sink, after you wash and rinse all of your dishes, put them in the drainer in the sink. Then bring a tea kettle of water to a boil and pour the contents completely over your washed dishes.

Alternatively, you can plug your sink, place all of the cleaned dishes in the sink, and pour the boiling water over all to immerse the dishes. This may take a couple of kettles of water. Allow to soak for at least 30 seconds. the temperature of the water would need to be at or above 170 degrees F for the duration of the soak. (source:http://stopfoodborneillness.org/news-from-stop-clean-sanitize-disinfect/)

The website Stop Food Borne Illness also recommends a bleach/water solution for sanitizing dishes. When I volunteered for kitchen duty for fund-raisers at our church, we were instructed to add a small amount of liquid bleach to a sanitizing water after dishes had been washed and rinsed. 1 tablespoon of liquid bleach to 1 gallon of cool water (hot water stops the sanitizing effect of the bleach). Allow dishes to sit in this solution for at least 1 minute. Wear gloves when handling dishes.

What I've always heard is that it is better to allow dishes to air-dry, as opposed to towel drying. So, don't feel like you're being lazy when you let the dishes dry on their own! One less chore!

Anyway, check out that website linked to above. If one member of your household does become ill (with any virus), these instructions could help prevent infection with the rest of the family members.

If you do have an automatic dishwasher
My family does have a dishwasher and we've begun washing on a higher temperature setting than usual. This may cost a bit more in electricity, but worth the expense for peace of mind and perhaps keeping us all healthier in cold and flu season.