I’m a fan of hand sanitizers! Busy moms need healthy, quick, resources.

At home, I much prefer old fashioned hand washing with soap and water. I feel it is cleaner. I read that it gets more viruses too — as long as you wash for long enough.

Soaps and Hand Sanitizers: What Works Best Against Germs?

To the kids they can’t understand how such a small amount of liquid is able to clean their hands. Sure I could answer it and say that it’s because of the alcohol content. ( alcohol breaks up bacterial proteins, and kills them.) But instead I choose to make a science project out of it. Join us!

Take these out:

bowl
spatula
funnel
plastic bottle with pump or squirt top (cleaned)

Homemade Hand Sanitizer:

Ingredients

3 oz. filtered water
1 tsp. aloe vera gel
10 drops peppermint essential oil
10 drops clove essential oil
10 drops rosemary essential oil
10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
20 drops lemon essential oil

Instructions: Mix ingredients in a 4-ounce spray dispenser, and shake gently. Spray onto hands (3-5 sprays) and massage the spray into hands for 5-10 seconds.

Alcohol kills most bacteria, and hand sanitizer contains a high amount of alcohol. When it is rubbed on the hands for about 30 seconds, it really will eliminate many forms of bacteria and also many viruses. It has been proven very effective against some dangerous forms of bacteria, like methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which can cause the deadly and frightening flesh-eating bacteria.

If you like those above and the idea of bringing do it yourself science to your little ones, check these links out:

EASY useful science projects for kids

Icky, Creepy, and Just Plain Gross Science Projects