Company is telling Twitter users not to use its vodka for homemade hand sanitizers

With stores and online retailers running out of hand sanitizers in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, some have turned to the internet for recipes to create your own gels.

Several sites have posted guides to concoct the hand-cleaning mixture at home using alcohol and aloe vera gel, and adding scents or lotions, if one wants to get fancy.

But one vodka company is warning people not to use their vodka — or really any vodka or strong alcoholic beverage that doesn’t contain the recommended amount of alcohol — to make the gel.

Responding to several users on Twitter, Tito’s Handmade Vodka has posted this message: “Per the CDC, hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol, and therefore does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC.”

Per the CDC, hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito's Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol, and therefore does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC. Please see attached for more information. pic.twitter.com/J5ifkV3Jah

— TitosVodka (@TitosVodka) March 5, 2020

“As soon as we saw the incorrect articles and social posts, we wanted to set the record straight,” a spokesperson for Tito’s, based in Austin, Texas, said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. “While it would be good for business for our fans to use massive quantities of Tito’s for hand sanitizer, it would be a shame to waste the good stuff, especially if it doesn’t sanitize (which it doesn’t, per the CDC).”

In order for hand sanitizer to work, the formula must contain 60% alcohol, according to the CDC.

Combine in a bowl:
⅔-cup rubbing alcohol (99% isopropyl alcohol)
⅓-cup aloe vera gel.
Stir. Decant into a clean soap or pump bottle.

That's it, that's the recipe. Originates with a 2019 post by biomedical PhD @azareal: https://t.co/nmxCOfqojL

— Maryn McKenna (@marynmck) March 2, 2020

The homemade gels will work, again, as long as they contain least 60% alcohol, but they may dry out your skin.

The CDC recommends people wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds to help prevent the spread of disease. When washing hands is not an option, the agency recommends using a hand sanitizer.