How To Make Your Own Sanitizing Wipes – Video Included
Sanitizing wipes are kind of like that super hot toy during the holidays right now. You set your alerts, you check every website every morning and you still can’t get any. You continue to come up empty and it isn’t for lack of trying, that is for sure. Even when wipes do come into stock they vanish within seconds or they disappear during checkout. Hand sanitizer used to be just as hard to come by but other businesses have stepped up to help with demand. (If you still need hand sanitizer check here). Clorox, Lysol and others have come out and said there will not be a wipes reprieve until sometime later this summer. So what are we to do? How are we supposed to sanitize our groceries and Amazon deliveries without wipes? Did you know you can make your own? Even better, you can make them with items you likely already have at home! I put together a quick video on how to make your own sanitizing wipes and I will give you a step by step guide here as well.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional I am just sharing what I found during my research.
Step By Step Guide: How To Make Your Own Sanitizing Wipes With Rubbing Alcohol
You can watch the video above that shows how I made my wipes but I will give you a break down here as well. Please be sure to subscribe to the Miles to Memories YouTube channel and give the video a thumbs up. We will be creating more content there going forward.
You can make wipes with rubbing alcohol or bleach. I personally prefer rubbing alcohol since the smell isn’t as harsh and no mixing is required. Here are the step by step instructions:
Ingredients Needed:
- Rubbing Alcohol – 70% or greater alcohol content per the CDC in order to kill germs.
- Wipes – paper towels or baby wipes work well
- Container – storage bag, Tupperware, baby wipes container etc.
- Additive – essential oils or baby lotion
Step 1: Make Sure You Have Rubbing Alcohol With A 70% Or Greater Alcohol Content
You need to have enough alcohol content in order to kill as much virus as possible and 70% or above is what is recommended by the CDC.
Many people have some rubbing alcohol leftover in their house already. If not it is a little bit easier to track down than wipes have been. Another option to get your hands on some is to reach out to a distillery etc. in the area that is making hand sanitizer and see if you can purchase some off of them before they turn it into sanitizer.
Step 2: Fill Your Container With Alcohol & Your Additive (If You Choose To Use One)
Next up you want to fill up whatever container you are using to coat the wipes. This could be a bowl, Tupperware, a ziplock bag etc. Pretty much anything you have at home available to you. Pour some of the alcohol in and then mix in your additive.
I went with Thieves essential oil as my additive because it has some cleaning properties on it’s own and I like the smell. The main key is to help with the smell and to help somewhat on your skin. Another option is to add baby lotion to the mix etc. to soften it up. This is preferred if you use paper towels as your wipes. If you use baby wipes like I did then they already have some of that built in.
Step 3: Coat Your Wipes
Now is the time to dip in your wipes and have them soak up the alcohol mixture. I decided to use baby wipes because they are more suited for this in my opinion and easier to store. You want to let the wipes soak for around 5 minutes.
Be sure to mix these in smaller batches. This makes them easier to soak and easier to handle. The CDC also warns that these wipes may only be effective for 24 hours so only make as many as you are likely to use.
Step 4: Store The Sanitizing Wipes
You now have you sanitizing wipes all ready to use. But you still need to store them somewhere while you are using them to ensure they don’t dry out. There are several options like a Ziploc bag, Tupperware with a lid, baby wipes holder etc. I decided to go with a flushable wipes containers we had on hand. A true baby wipes holder would be best, since the flushable wipes container was a little too small, but use what you have. I prefer the wipes containers because then you can easily pull one out at a time while keeping them stored.
How To Make Sanitizing Wipes With Clorox Bleach
I will give a quick overview on how to do the same thing with bleach since bleach seems to be easier to track down. I say it in the video but it is worth repeating, do not use no splash bleach since that does not have germ killing ingredients. Make sure your bleach says kills 99.9% of germs.
Per the CDC you can prepare a bleach solution by mixing:
- 5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water or
- 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water
- Bleach solutions will be effective for disinfection up to 24 hours.
It is a good idea to use paper towels and cut the roll in half or thirds to get more out of each roll. Put the roll into the bag or jar and soak in the bleach mixture for 5 minutes. If you use a jar you can pull out the cardboard roll in the center of the paper towels. Then they will come out of the center one at a time just like Clorox wipes do. You do not want to mix bleach with anything besides water so be sure to use clean towels versus baby wipes etc. like you can with rubbing alcohol.
Final Thoughts
Remember to make only as many as you need for the next day or so since they only remain effective for 24 hours. Slow and steady wins the race here. I plan on making some before doing my grocery shopping or when I want to wipe down some areas of the house. It is annoying that we can’t keep them long term like the real thing, but we do what we can right now. If you go with the bleach and paper towel option I think they will end up being cheaper versus purchasing traditional wipes as well.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas on how to make your own sanitizing wipes. It may be the only option we have for the next few months. Thanks for reading and for watching the video!
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Don’t go crazy going above 70% alcohol. 70% is optimal. 80% will work but as you increase above 70 the sanitizing properties actually go DOWN. This is because water is required to kill the suckers. There is a reason 70% is standard — something like 90% won’t work.
Great info – thanks Bill!