Hand Sanitizer Recall
Got a recall issued for any Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer that uses Methanol.
7/27/2020 PRESS RELEASE - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Reiterates Warning About Dangerous Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol, Takes Additional Action to Address Concerning Products
7/2/2020: UPDATE - FDA warns consumers of risk of methanol contamination in certain hand sanitizers
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-methanol
Mostly from Mexico.
strangerdanger Thank you Strangerdanger... I just checked my bottles and the only main ingredient on one bottle was ethyl alcohol!! It’s now in the garbage!
Spring fever Ethyl alcohol is supposed to be the main ingredient. Methanol is the one that is potentially toxic. Now it has been found that methanol is contaminating bottles of what is supposed to be correct. Unfortunately, unless you make your own, you will find ethanol or ethyl alcohol (same thing) as the main ingredient in all proper hand sanitizers. You will only know if methanol is in it if it gets tested.
Mel81 
Bug3Ethanol catches fire, too... so that's hardly a tell-tale sign of methanol contamination.
ianimal OK, stop the boat ---- good chance anything US is OK. But when in doubt....
I got MOXE citrus; they indicate OK on website. And Hand-in-Hand, they personally assured me..... And will have it on website soon. Hand-in-hand are environmental types, MOXE seems customer focused too since announcing you're OK on the website could be company ending if wrong.
I only like the stuff when I am outdoors, keep a bottle in the shed where it can blow up at will...... Indoors, soap and water does the trick.
Wish the FDA could tell us what's good....versus what's bad and the fact that there may be others lurking......
Methyl alcohol, is otherwise known as Wood Alcohol.
It's used as anti-freeze in some products.
It is highly flammable, and the vapor is heavier than air.
It is the alcohol used in camping stoves. China uses a lot of it, for fuel in some of their vehicles.
Embryodad Bug3, rubbing alcohol can be as much as 40% water and that's why methanol is quicker to burn.
MK There are currently 94 entries on the FDA website to check for:
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-methanol
As any of us who have moonshiners in our family history and/or watch the "Moonshiners" program on TV can tell you Methanol, aka "Wood Alcohol" is produced at the beginning of the run of the distillation process. That and lead poisoning from using old auto radiators in the distilling process is part of why the BATF try to shut down illegal stills and that's probably what they'll tell you rather than the main issue, of lack of tax payments to "the man", LOL.
Methanol has a lower boiling point than Ethanol, the drinkable alcohol many know and love, so it's produced in the "head" (no, not the bathroom), which is the beginning of the distilling run. That's normally poured off and discarded and the Ethanol collected. Besides the possibility of accidental ingestion, which in the case of Ethanol is just drunkenness (deadly in larger doses), Methanol has nearly immediate effects of blindness and toxicity. Unfortunately, Methanol can be absorbed directly into the skin. In the case of hand sanitizer, you're poisoning yourself by applying it to your hands.
It's hard to say whether the producers were fully aware of its toxic effects by any means other than ingestion. Either that, or they need to be held criminally liable if they knew of the effects, yet to increase the alcohol %, used it anyway.
By the way, rubbing alcohol is usually Isopropyl alcohol, though it can also be denatured Ethanol. Methanol, Ethanol and Isopropanol are all flammable, though their flash points are different, so they aren't quite equal in flammability.
Phil D. 70% isopropyl is all we use - the other stuff smells like a drunken pirate...
thaimaster1978 Ok phil, you gots me. After your treatise, I’m goin back to soap. Oh no, animal fat like what burns on my bbq. What’s a quarantined boy supposed to do. Just don’t put it in the fireworks bag when you’re driving down the road.....
Strangerdanger
Personally I don't like the smell of most of the hand sanitizers, nor the feel of them. I only use them if required. I stick by the old standby of soap and water myself, preferably Palmolive Green soap since it's mild (or the Soft soap stuff). Dislike Ivory, since it's 99.9% pure-ly going to make my skin break out, though I also like some of the Yardley's and other custom soaps;-)
"Ianimal
Try burning rubbing alcohol...thats ethanol...methanol burns much easier"
As mentioned, "rubbing alcohol" is isopropyl alcohol... ethanol is "Everclear"; do you contest its flammability?
Us long winders need to stick together ;-) against them short stoking thumb-talkers.
Always love your dissertations.
EVV EVV
I've seen it in stores. Proctor & Gamble just doesn't seem to advertise it like they used to. That's why I made the 99.9% joke of course. The "antibacterial" stuff seems all the rage with advertisers. I wash my hands so many times a day I have to use moisturizers to keep them from cracking, especially in the Winter time.
I saw some Blumen hand sanitizers in Shop Rite today - meant to call to be sure they knew about the recall - will call in the am
4catmom Ianimal
Here ya go...they evaporate at the same rate...not as bad as methanol
https://journal.com.ph/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/ethyl-or-isopropyl-alcohol
If you put an ethyl alcohol based hand sanitizer in a hit car nothing will happen..its safe.. but if you put a methyl based hand sanitizer in a hot car on a really hot day there is a very good chance it could catch fire... all those internet stories that say hand sanitizers cant catch fire are assuming its ethyl alcohol based not methyl
Wow Bugs3 - I did not know that. Thanks for that information. I'll be checking my car hand sanitizer for sure now.
Hopeful Wife found a few bars of Life Boy yellow soap. That's what I use.
Remember the old old Life Boy from in the 50's that stunk.
Don't forget...... Ivory is the soap that floats, and it's 99, and 44/100's% Pure!
Hmmmm..... Pure of What?
Lol... Bug3, quit spreading misinformation. There is zero chance of hand sanitizer catching fire in a car, regardless of whether its pure ethanol based or tainted with methanol. the danger lies in the toxicity of methanol to humans and the repeated application and absorption to and through the skin and its impact on the central nervous system
Just FYI the AIT for Methanol is 470 degrees F, but Ethanol is 365 degrees F.
Neither are going to combust in a car, but if anything Ethanol would catch fire first.
GC 
ah.....it's like our own version of myth busters....always good to remain on point.
I guess you guys better inform this fire department
https://www.fox6now.com/news/fire-department-warns-against-leaving-hand-sanitizer-in-cars-after-dashboard-fire
Lynnada Leaving a bottle of water in your car can also cause a fire, just so you know.
The clear liquid acts like a magnifying glass, focusing the suns rays, which on a nice sunny day can heat up a small area to the point of combustion.
Hand sanitizer, usually being clear, could do the same thing if left up in the open where it can focus the sun's rays. This is true no matter what time of year it is, as long as the day is sunny or possibly even brightly overcast. Just a Public Service Announcement since we diverged a bit, though still related. Be careful with where you put hand sanitizer or any clear liquid or gel. The trend towards light printing on the clear bottles, rather than paper labels has made this more of a concern of late.
If you check the article itself, it states "Hand sanitizer is much more prevalent stored in many different places in cars right now. This one was sitting on top of the dashboard directly in the sun. The issue is not as much about the sanitizer as it is liquid in a bottle directly in the sun." It also goes on to state that "According to an April video from the National Fire Protection Association, while hand sanitizer is certainly flammable, it still requires an ignition source to catch fire. And the World Health Organization (WHO), citing a 2007 study that looked at decades of hand sanitizer use in hospitals, said that fire hazards were extremely rare: There were a total of seven "non-severe fire incidents."
It's going to end up as an "Urban Myth" that it just explodes. It's much more likely that the clear container focused the rays of the sun, igniting the plastic on the dash, which then melted the plastic of the bottle and ignited the sanitizer. Those pics show a very localized, though intense, burn, rather than explosion. I wish these articles would be clearer, rather than trying to only sensationalize. ANY clear bottle of liquid shouldn't be left anywhere in the car where it can focus the sun's rays. If it's in the cupholder in your console, etc. simply cover it up with something opaque.
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