Most of us like to keep a tube in our bags or a container on our desks in the office, but have you ever actually stopped to wonder how promotional hand sanitisers work? While it's fairly common knowledge that these hand cleaners contain alcohol, what else makes them effective and how can we best utilise them?

Custom Branded Hand Sanitisers

Promotional hand sanitisers are frequently recommended as an alternative method to soap & water for keeping hands free of bacteria and viruses. Hand sanitiser liquids and gels are so good at removing nasty bugs that they're used not only in clinical settings by doctors and nurses; they're kept in handbags and backpacks around the world.

Most hand sanitisers are made using the alcohol (usually ethanol) with a hint of isopropanol (common in rubbing alcohol). Some popular additives include fragrances (so your hands smell refreshed) and other additives to cause the alcohol to take a gel form, with probably the most interesting addition being chemicals that leave a nasty taste in your mouth so you won't drink the sanitiser under any circumstances.

The alcohol blend incapacitates and kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria on the hands, and thankfully detonating bacteria using alcohol doesn't cause the bugs to develop into antibiotic-resistant strains - making hand sanitisers the best way to instantly remove these nasties from your fingertips. But don't mistake virus and bacterial removal as actual cleaning - if you've been out in the dirt or have stained your hands, promotional sanitisers aren't cleaning agents like soap so you'll still need to give them a clean under a tap with warm, soapy water before getting on with your day.

Details first spotted here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/518013/how-hand-sanitizer-works-and-why-it-isnt-substitute-soap

Content Updated 13/03/18: Video blog added.