COVID-19: HOW EFFECTIVE ARE HAND SANITISERS?

The simple answer to "How Effective are Hand Sanitisers" is this:

• Washing with soap and water is best, as that breaks down the fatty outer 'lipid envelope' of the virus, and makes it impotent

• Hand sanitisers are only really effective with over 60% alcohol

Hand sanitisers marked "antibacterial" are to kill bacteria, and have little or no effect on a virus like the one that causes COVID-19, below.  Unless the sanitiser happens to contain a high concentration of alcohol.

Cross-section of SARS-COV-2 virus.  The RNA that reproduces the virus is inside

Here's the advice on hand washing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA.


Here's also an explanation from 'Which?', including a review of some specific products available in the UK.

Consistent with these is this extract from an article in Wired.co.uk, a UK science publication:

"Your hands are one of the main routes that viruses make their way from surfaces to your respiratory system, so keeping them clean is one of the most effective things you can do to stop yourself contracting the virus. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water where possible and if you can’t get to a sink, an alcohol-based hand sanitiser will do the trick.

While the effectiveness of alcohol gels depends on the virus being targeted – which is why some alcohol hand rubs aren't very effective against norovirus – the coronavirus has an envelope structure which alcohol can attack. Hand sanitisers with more than 60 per cent alcohol content are most effective at killing microbes, but don’t try and make your own sanitiser at home. At best, it’ll probably be less effective than high-street versions and at worse you could end up severely damaging your skin."

But do remember that it is believed that the main route of transmission of COVID-19 is through the air in the breath of an infectious person, especially before they display symptoms.   We need to take precautions about that too.