Question about antibacterial wet wipes. Is there something that can be added to

[Arkansas Granny]

plain wet wipes to make them antibacterial? Wondering if this is possible. The antibacterial wipes are gone from the shelves and I can't find them online, but I have some plain wipes.

[procon]

1. There's a CDC list of approved antivirus products.

The problem, as I see it, would be knowing how much to add to the package to make every wipe uniformly effective. Maybe you could dip or spray each wipe with the antiviral separately. You can also make up your own solution with aloe vera and a suitable antiviral ingredient and use that with paper towels.

I can't tolerate bleach as it triggers a severe asthma attack. I use the thicker tissues like Puffs in a Ziploc bag with enough alcohol to keep them wet for personal use as a hand sanitizer.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. vinegar

As part of research aimed at preparing us for a flu pandemic, UK researchers found that malt vinegar, much like bleach and washing up liquid, can rapidly inactivate the flu virus.

More recently, US researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that vinegar efficiently killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis — the bacteria that causes tuberculosis — after 30 mins of exposure to a six per cent acetic solution.

Professor Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician at the Australian National University's medical school, says: "TB is a hard-to-kill bacteria, so the fact that it works against them means most other bacteria will likely be killed by vinegar as well."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2018-01-12/does-vinegar-really-kill-household-germs/8806878

[procon]

7. Be careful with info you find on the internet.

The article you cite is two years old, long before the current Corona virus appeared. Not to disparage any foreign study, but since it doesn't coincide with the CDCs more recent report, I'd be extra cautious as they could not have tested it against the virus we're dealing with today.

Without searching for the CDC list, I know vinegar was not of their list because I looked specifically as it's one of the few cleaning products I can use safely. I was disappointed that it wasn't effective against this nasty virus, maybe subsequent studies might be different. That's why I went with alcohol.

Stay safe.

[underpants]

2. Google "making antibacterial wipes". Lots of options

https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/How-Make-Cleaning-Wipes-29438958


What You'll Need

One-pound coffee canister with plastic lid
Paper towel roll
Sharp knife
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
1 teaspoon liquid dish soap
10 drops essential oil (optional)
Spray paint (optional)
Needle
Scissors

[lark]

3. Problem is all the alcohol is gone, even from Amazon.

Damn!

[underpants]

5. Peppers love pet stores

Lots of things there with dual use for humans.

I will offer this - the poor can't afford to hoard
Chain grocery stores in poorer areas tend to stay more stocked for longer. Also there are Dollar General type stores which don't stock a lot of one item but have pretty much anything you could need crammed into one small store.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. I made some last week, when you could still get alcohol from Amazon.

I used heavy-duty paper towels (the blue shop towels), cut them into smallish squares and soaked them in the home-made sanitizer I made (a solution of 3/4 of 99% isopropanol and 1/4 aloe gel with a few drops of lavender essential oil) and put them in a ziploc bag. There must be some rubbing alcohol somewhere (and I expect it will be restocked before long). If not, ferment some fruit and make your own (I'm not kidding; I did that once as a science experiment - it's pretty easy. I got alcohol that burned with a clear blue flame).