Rubbing Alcohol

[Scythe13]

I'm sure many of us know that alcohol can be used to clean wounds, sanitize utensils, and the alike. Yes, it's a good old germ killer.

Has anyone taken into account what would be required to get alcohol to the purity required for these kinds of uses?

I don't drink, and the idea of brewing alcohol has never appealed (kombucha aside), but this thought suddenly hit me. It would be so unbelievably helpful as an anti-bacterial! You would be able to literally GROW your own Detol haha.

It would be good to get views, ideas, thoughts, and experiences on this subject.

[CharlesHarris]

[Mortblanc]

The problem with this rationale is that I can not make bleach, I can make alcohol, and even if it is not quite as good I still have it.

and I can not see alcohol harming tissue any more than a solution of bleach and water. Bleach can do nasty stuff to raw tissue.

Besides, both patient and myself are going to need a stiff shot after I treat any medical condition worse then a paper cut, and I'm not drinking that bleach stuff!

[Straight Shooter]

I have Iodine in my preps....lots of it.....this was always used when i was a kid.....its no longer easy to get hold of....pharmacies do not sell it...i tried four, but they no longer stock it....got mine from Amazon....however you can get it from farm supply outlets ...so i am told.

[Mortblanc]

[Tartar Horde]

I'm sure many of us know that alcohol can be used to clean wounds, sanitize utensils, and the alike. Yes, it's a good old germ killer.

Has anyone taken into account what would be required to get alcohol to the purity required for these kinds of uses?

I don't drink, and the idea of brewing alcohol has never appealed (kombucha aside), but this thought suddenly hit me. It would be so unbelievably helpful as an anti-bacterial! You would be able to literally GROW your own Detol haha.

It would be good to get views, ideas, thoughts, and experiences on this subject.

Simply look into home distillation, very easy to do, the Still/s are easy to source, there are ample instructions how to do it, and you will never be without Alcohol in its various strengths.

[Mortblanc]

The backwoods hillbilly method is to run your product, knowing the first run will not be used. You pour off the methyl and run it again.

The second run will be tested for strength by the old gunpowder and match method. If it does not burn and flash the powder it is not strong enough. Run it again.

When it flashes off the powder it will be usable. The quicker it flashes the powder the stronger the proof. If you want it stronger run it again.

For killing germs, especially virus, you want it up above 100 Proof at the 50% level. That is going to take a couple of runs and you loose a little each run.

[Tartar Horde]

The backwoods hillbilly method is to run your product, knowing the first run will not be used. You pour off the methyl and run it again.

The second run will be tested for strength by the old gunpowder and match method. If it does not burn and flash the powder it is not strong enough. Run it again.

When it flashes off the powder it will be usable. The quicker it flashes the powder the stronger the proof. If you want it stronger run it again.

For killing germs, especially virus, you want it up above 100 Proof at the 50% level. That is going to take a couple of runs and you loose a little each run.

We use Hydrometers and refractometers these days Mort, much more reliable than Hillbillies, gunpowder and High proof hooch, which I'm sure you agree is a volatile combination.

[Mortblanc]

Yes and the medical professionals do surgery in operating rooms under sterile conditions too. That does not mean that what they know can not be put to use in the basement of a bombed out building.

If you are at the point where you need to make alcohol for medical and cleaning purposes you might not have access to technology that has only been available for the short term and is only in the hands of dedicated hobbiests and liquor factories. Humans have been distilling spirits for 1000 years without those nice devices that produce a repeatable precision product.

I doubt that anyone ever blew themselves up on a pinch of gunpowder and a spoonful of white whisky. I take that back I do know some people that could do that. You people are so far absorbed by the risk aversion thing I don't see how you get buy sometime.

At any rate the alcohol can be produced by anyone that took secondary school chemistry, or even less education, but they are not likely to have a hydrometer out in the garage or stuck back in the garden shed even though they might have the makings for the still if they rub their brain cells together.

The ability to make rubbing alcohol at home was very close to being put in use just a few weeks back when practically the world supply went dry. Even now hand sanitizer is difficult to find as is high concentration rubbing alcohol in my area. There is a factory down the road that is working three shifts seven days a week trying to fill that demand but it took them almost a month to get their raw materials sourced.

There was no high strength alcohol and aloe jell to make it from.

We were out. OWT! out!

Remember that bog roll scramble, the debates over proper use of the butt rag, shelves empty of kitchen roll, no disinfectant anywhere, bath soap stripped from the shelves?

And yes, there was a run on our liquor stores also. Their shelves got a little bare just after they called for the now seemingly forgotten "lockdown".

[Pete Grey]

I keep plenty of methylated spirit in our medical preps, for wipes and to sterilise instruments. It also kills covid-19 ( everything coming in to the house is wiped down with meths). If TSHTF alcohol could also be a useful fuel source. Amongst our preps we have some basic school chem lab equipment (originally collected to possibly make medicines or even penicillin) so we could distil a limited amount of alcohol but a proper still would be better.