Should I not throw out this "silver ion" hand sanitizer?

June 16, 2020 9:12 AM

Is this "silver ion" sanitizer I just received from China useful for anything? I ordered it months ago, it just arrived, and it turns out it contains no alcohol. I think I should probably discard it, but I wondered if anyone has information on it or an alternative use for "gel"

I ordered this hand sanitizer a loooooong time ago through Amazon. It just arrived a couple of days ago. It's got no alcohol in it, which I know is a red flag. Apparently it contains silver ion? The listing has even been deleted from Amazon, but I what looks like the same product here.

Can I use it as a hair gel or burn ointment or something?

posted by amtho to Grab Bag (15 answers total)

You can keep it as a souvenir but that's about all the value it's got. It's useless.
posted by phunniemee at 9:21 AM on June 16, 2020

The description you linked to says it contains alcohol so if the actual product doesn't I wouldn't trust it to contain silver ions at effective concentrations even if those were effective as an antibacterial.
posted by Mitheral at 9:23 AM on June 16, 2020

Then again if the description says it contains alcohol but the product package says it doesn't, then return it and also submit that "product description is wrong" feedback thing so maybe the vendor gets kicked off the platform.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:38 AM on June 16, 2020

My bad - my actual product does not say "Alcohol compound" on the front. I think it's probably slightly different.

The listing I ordered from has deleted from Amazon (I ordered it mid-March, knowing it was something of a gamble).

In any case, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't depend on it as a sanitizer. I'm interested in whether it has other uses. For example, I wasn't kidding about the hair gel idea.

Also: I'm allergic to most ultrasound gels. Could I use this for that?

Paint medium? Hinge lubricant? Anything?

Ingredients listed on the box: purified water, silver, carbomer, triethanolamine
posted by amtho at 10:04 AM on June 16, 2020

Also - it took waaaay too long to arrive. I believe Amazon has already refunded my payment.
posted by amtho at 10:05 AM on June 16, 2020

At the very best, silver ions are bactericidal , so not much use against coronavirus
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:32 AM on June 16, 2020

That carbomer would make a good hair gel, and the silver would be SPARKLY.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:41 AM on June 16, 2020

I know that at least some types of silver are unsafe to apply to the skin. Personally, I would throw this out.
posted by pinochiette at 11:51 AM on June 16, 2020

I would not use mystery gel from China on your body either as hair gel or ultrasound lubricant (!). Throw it away.
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:13 PM on June 16, 2020

Thanks. Sadly, there is zero indication of how much silver is actually in this. The gel looks totally clear.
posted by amtho at 3:12 PM on June 16, 2020

> burn ointment

No, please don't put sketchy substances on burns.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:13 PM on June 16, 2020

Nthing not using it on your body/hair. It doesn't contain alcohol, or I'd suggest using it as a solvent to remove paint or stains. My best suggestion is to test it on several surfaces and see if it can at least be used as a spot cleaner (removing certain types of stains on clothes before washing, maybe?) Otherwise, yeah, sad to say this looks like it should be thrown out.
posted by satoshi at 4:51 PM on June 16, 2020

Add plastic fish for a decorative aquarium? Model of a cell?
posted by momus_window at 7:18 PM on June 16, 2020

I tested it and found that it does evaporate reasonably quickly, so my current plan is to try mixing it with acrylic or watercolor paint and make art with it. Not sure when I'll get around to that, though.
posted by amtho at 7:00 AM on June 19, 2020

Use it in place of shaving cream in those DIY marble paper crafts?
posted by FirstMateKate at 7:43 AM on June 19, 2020