6 secret uses for hand sanitizer

Our sanitizer is excellent for cleaning your hands and surfaces. You, valued customer, already know that. What you may not know is that there are also several lesser-known uses for sanitizer besides that.

So if you were one of the many (many) people who purchased more sanitizer than they knew what to do with during the pandemic, here are a few ways to use it, adapted from the folks at Lifehacker.

1. Removing stubborn stickers

One of the great frustrations of life is peeling a sticker off a plastic or glass container to find that it only sort of half comes off. You can remove that gunk by mixing a bit of hand sanitizer with water. The alcohol in the sanitizer will help neutralize the sticky substance.

2. Impromptu deodorant

Body odour is caused by bacteria — not the same bacteria that is found on your hands, mind you. But if you’re in a situation where you need to freshen up and don’t have deodorant on hand, applying a bit of hand sanitizer to your underarms can kill the bacteria causing the unseemly smell. Just beware the burn if you’ve just groomed.

3. Polishing silverware

According to the New York Times, alcohol-based sanitizers are effective at removing the tarnish from your silverware. Just apply a little to a cotton swab or cloth and wipe it down.

4. Cleaning makeup applicators

Hand sanitizer is a safe and quick way to remove the bacterial buildup that accumulates on makeup brushes, including those used to apply concealer and lip gloss, as one makeup artist told Into the Gloss.

5. Erasing permanent marker

If you’ve accidentally used permanent marker on a whiteboard, fear not. Applying a little hand sanitizer to a paper towel should allow you to rub it away, perhaps with a little effort.

6. Mosquito bites

Hand sanitizer is great way to sanitize mosquito bites, lowering the chance of it becoming infected if you’ve been scratching at it. Plus the light sting of the alcohol provides some relief from the itching sensation.

Of course, hand sanitizers are most effective for keeping your hands free of bacteria and other harmful germs, and our all purpose cleaners are great for cleansing high traffic surfaces, including work surfaces like your mouse and keyboard.

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