Homemade hand sanitizers show mixed results
As the war against Covid-19 continues, and hand sanitizer shortages dominate headlines, off-market contributors have been getting in on the game. Shine Distillery and Grill, based in Portland, Oregon, had already been converting its alcohol byproducts into cleaning products, but has now switched operations to create its own version of hand sanitizer. Made of 80 percent alcohol, xanthan gum, and water, the solution is free for members of the local community. But not all small-batch sanitizers are created equally: One New Jersey 7-Eleven franchise owner was arrested for selling a homemade spray that wound up burning four children. “She wasn’t trying to make a lot of money and obviously didn’t mean to hurt anybody,” a law enforcement official told the Pascack Valley Daily Voice. “But she’s no chemist.” (Also, ICYMI, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has enlisted the help of inmates to produce 100,000 gallons of sanitizer for state residents. Critics note that inmates are not allowed to use the sanitizer themselves, a dark irony.)
