So we’ve been thinking a lot about hand sanitizers lately. We recently teamed up with a local distillery called Spirit Hound Distillers to make a small batch for our community, and we’re working with manufacturing partners right now to produce even more. We see how essential they are for those moments when you don’t have soap and water and need to clean your hands--especially right now.
But what if you’ve looked all over and can’t find any or you have cuts on your hands? What if your skin is sensitive to the alcohol in hand sanitizers? We paced around a good bit and then a memory of camping popped in our heads. We know that not everybody goes camping, but if you do and you’ve been pretty far out in the wilderness then chances are you’ve made some sort of mobile handwashing station.
Usually these are things of necessity, so you either use the big bladder of water you’ve brought or you gather some from a nearby river or lake. From there the process is pretty simple: splash some water on your hands, lather up for 20 or 30 seconds, and rinse. Why not apply this ingenuity to our current situation?
If you have to go somewhere and don’t have any hand sanitizer, make a mobile handwashing station for the trip. In its simplest form, all you’d need is some soap; a surplus bottle, cup, or jar to put water in; some water; and a hand towel. We have hiking backpacks that are perfect for this. The water bladder is built in and there’s plenty of room for soap and a towel. We’re guessing liquid soap would be the easiest, but an old bar would work too. Maybe plan ahead for how you might store the bar of soap once you’ve used it. You probably have a reusable container of some kind that’s the right size. Whatever form your kit takes, stash it in your car--in a box or a bag or on the floorboard--and when you get back to your car you can wash up.
This article from Vox is another reason we’ve been thinking about how useful it would be to be able to wash your hands on the go.
Sanitizers are a great tool, but nothing beats soap and water if your purpose is fighting the COVID-19 coronavirus. According to the article, the sudsy duo actually kills it. So even if you have sanitizer, a mobile handwashing kit might be a better way to go.
So what about you? Do you have a kit that you take with you if you’re traveling during this time of social distancing? Do you have an easy solution for carrying handwashing supplies? Maybe you add gloves and a mask if you’re coughing or sneezing. Let us know in the comments so that we can spread the word and #SpreadGoodness.
