In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, people found themselves in a frenzy, trying to purchase hand sanitizer and disinfectant products in bulk to defend against the spread of germs. 

As demand for sanitization products escalated, the price of hand sanitizers also increased and became harder to come by, leaving consumers and businesses to turn to wholesalers to retrieve these essential items during a global health crisis. 

With such high demand and scarcity of these disinfectant products, many brands saw an opportunity to rake in money quickly, bypassing safety and efficacy guidelines to produce and bring to market as many disinfectant products as possible. This means that when you are purchasing hand sanitizer in bulk, it is important to do your due diligence to ensure that you are purchasing safe and effective products that contain the necessary properties to actually protect and defend against the spread of the coronavirus. 

Whether you own a medical practice or simply work as a teacher for a school, it is important that if you are providing hand sanitizers to the public, that they are reputable and are safe and effective for public use. In this guide, we’ll be going over everything you need to know about buying hand sanitizer in bulk to help make sure you are deriving value from your purchase and that the products you are purchasing are safe and effective. 

Hand Sanitizer Safety and Efficacy Guidelines

On April 15 of 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to relax the rules and guidelines governing hand sanitizer manufacturers as a response to the ongoing pandemic,  high demand and growing scarcity of hand sanitizer products. Unfortunately, the lack of regulation led to massive recalls of hand sanitizers due to the discovery of a hazardous chemical, methanol within the hand sanitizer products. Wholesalers were including the chemical in their hand sanitizer products to make the products more inexpensively and drive higher profit margins.

If you’re wary that a hand sanitizer you may be using may contain methanol, it’s highly recommended that you stop using it immediately. There are a series of serious side effects associated with the chemical that may be able to penetrate the skin when a hand sanitizer is rubbed in. Always make sure to contact your local emergency services if you experience any life-threatening symptoms.

Besides the presence of toxic ingredients in some of the hand sanitizer brands being sold on the market, there were also a number of false claims being made by many wholesalers to encourage people to buy their products. Many brands were promising that their products were completely effective and protective against the noble virus when in reality, they were lacking the necessary properties to properly protect consumers. According to guidelines from the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in order for a hand sanitizer to be effective, it should have at least 94.9 percent alcohol by volume. Unfortunately, many wholesalers were putting out products containing very minimal to zero alcohol content.

In addition to false claims, certain hand sanitizer brands’ lacked denatured alcohol to prevent users from mistakenly swallowing the product which could be toxic when ingested. Adding denatured alcohol to hand sanitizers creates an unpleasant taste and smell to the product that immediately serves as a warning sign that it should not be ingested. Hand sanitizer manufacturers should avoid adding fruity or sweet smells to their products, which could encourage ingestion, putting many lives at risk, especially those of children who are likely to accidentally ingest things that should not be swallowed. Tragically, lack of regulation amongst hand sanitizer manufacturers and certain hand sanitizers brands’ lack of concern for consumer’s wellbeing has ended up putting many children’s lives at risk who mistakenly confused the product as edible.  It’s important to know that it only takes a small amount of the product to potentially cause serious adverse effects, including death.

What Should You Look for When Buying Hand Sanitizer?

When buying hand sanitizer in bulk, you want to make sure that you are purchasing safe and effective hand sanitizers from a reputable brand that were manufactured following necessary health and safety guidelines, and that they have not been adulterated by any toxic chemicals to make a cheaper product. Also, we advise taking a look at the expiration date, as hand sanitizer does expire. Look into the brand’s manufacturing process to make sure that the product is safe and effective for each of your clients, patients, or students to use.