I buy these, pack them into 1 quart ziploc freezer bags, add about 300ml (a little over a cup) of disinfectant, and you have disinfectant wipes. Alcohol runs $70 to $150 per gallon. I recommend you dilute to 70% and add 1% glycerin to prevent your hands from turning white from oil loss. Do not use more than 1.4% glycerin, according to the CDC. If you want a more cost effective disinfectant that is water based, I recommend a formulation based on benzalkonium chloride. Amazon sells 50% benzalkonium chloride in another listing. That 50% 500ml bottle will make hundreds of gallons of sanitizer. Alcohol deactivates the virus almost instantly. Benzalkonium chloride in dilution takes longer, but only about a half second to do the same thing. The advantage is benzalkonium chloride wipes diluted with water will say wet for a long time. I left a open ziploc of wipes in the fronmt seat of my truck in the texas 100* heat for about 4 days, and no sign of evaporation. My alcohol wipes dry out quickly, in a double sealed bag, and in about 3 to 10 minutes in the air. Benzalkonium chloride will cost about a dime to a quarter per pack of 40 wipes, alcohol is closer to $5 to $7 per pack. Benzalkonium chloride at .25% (one quarter of one percent) is about right for hand wipes. There will be a thin film of benzalkonium chloride that can last up to 8 hours. Alcohol doesn't do that. Bactine is .12% benzalkonium chloride My preferred hand wipes are .25% benzalkonium chloride Surgeon scrub is .4% benzalkonium chloride My surface wipe formula runs .5% to .9% For liquid pump dispensers, you can go anywhere from .25% to .4%, depending on how much you get in a pump motion. I'd do .4% in a 1ml pump. For foaming dispensers, start with .4%, and go up only if the foam is not good enough. Benzalkonium chloride has a low toxicity is these dilutions, and is gentle to the skin. My wife's skin peels off if she uses the wrong soap, she has noticed a lack of peeling skin since using .25% BZK 1.4% glycerin in a water base. Benzalkonium chloride is a pharmaceutical disinfectant and preservative, sometimes found in things like eye drops. Hands wet from a wipe can rub the eyes with no effect. DO NOT FORGET to properly dilute benzalkonium chloride, DO NOT use it at full strength, it will cause irritation. Buy the "benzalkonium chloride 50% NF" listing. NF means national formulary, it is a set of standards for chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry, NF grade is highly refined and of reliable quality such to make it pharmaceutical grade. Other sources of benzalkonium chloride may not be very pure, so avoid anything that isn't NF, if you want to be sure you really have benzalkonium chloride. It is sold as 50% solution because above 50% it will form crystals that require special equipment to make it dissolve, so 50% is used as a stable concentrated solution but MUST be diluted before use. I've been manufacturing wipes for family and friends for free, my cost about $1.10 per package. A small investment to keep family and friends safe. DO NOT FLUSH these wipes, they are made of spun polyester, and will not break down in septic or sewage.
