A couple of weeks ago I was concerned about how much anti-bacterial hand gel we had left. We hadn’t bought any new bottles specifically for coronavirus, but had some alcohol-based ones around which are mainly used when we’re out with the dog. I looked online and couldn’t find many options left, and those that I could find I wasn’t sure how effective they would be. While researching I came across this article on Wired. Not only does it list the ingredients needed for a gel, it also lists those for a spray. A spray which is based on a WHO hand rub guide. I’m not afraid to make lotions and potions, and so I bought the raw ingredients and some 100ml glass spray bottles. They arrived during the week. Today Richard and I double checked my calculations (I’d adjusted them to be amounts I could accurately measure based on 1, 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon measures). Having reassured ourselves that the final solution came in at over 75% alcohol, we got to work.

Our ingredients were:

  • 180ml of Isopropyl alcohol 99.8%
  • 10ml of Hydrogen peroxide 3%
  • 3.75ml of Glycerol 98%
  • 44ml of cold boiled water (distilled water would also work)
  • A few drops of essential oil (to try and reduce the pure alcohol smell). We chose Frankincense.


This has been decanted into two 100ml spray bottles. And the extra has gone into a small jar which I guess we’ll use for cleaning down surfaces.