Have you come across a hand sanitizer that smell partly moldy?
January 12, 2023 5:50 PM Subscribe
I'm talking a mix of sanitizer and mold. How is that possible? How can mold live in alcohol even if the percentage of alcohol is not the highest? What am I missing?
Best answer: The weird musty ass-like smell you're noticing might not be mold; rather, it may have something to do with various contaminants in denatured ethanol or unfiltered ethanol made from various grains.
posted by blerghamot at 7:25 PM on January 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by blerghamot at 7:25 PM on January 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Best answer: FDA: Hand Sanitizers Consumers Should Not Use - scroll down for manufacturers/product names/contaminants.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:49 PM on January 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:49 PM on January 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Not all sanitizer was made to the highest standards. it's almost as though the pandemic didn't bring out the best behavior in everyone. It's possible that yours doesn't contain the amount of alcohol it claims.
I have a bottle of nail polish remover which 'contains no acetone.' It smells like acetone, and on the back it lists the ingredients: Acetone.
If you buy truffles they absolutely contain no truffles. Most honey is not honey. Extra virgin olive oil is almost certain to have once been near an olive tree. Probably.
There was a time when you could trust manufacturers. It's largely gone, especially if you're buying stuff manufactured offshore.
At the other end of the scale, I had a bottle of distilled water that grew long grey filaments of something. There's almost nothing that won't support some kind of life.
Your sanitizer probably combines both of these effects.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 1:04 AM on January 13, 2023
I have a bottle of nail polish remover which 'contains no acetone.' It smells like acetone, and on the back it lists the ingredients: Acetone.
If you buy truffles they absolutely contain no truffles. Most honey is not honey. Extra virgin olive oil is almost certain to have once been near an olive tree. Probably.
There was a time when you could trust manufacturers. It's largely gone, especially if you're buying stuff manufactured offshore.
At the other end of the scale, I had a bottle of distilled water that grew long grey filaments of something. There's almost nothing that won't support some kind of life.
Your sanitizer probably combines both of these effects.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 1:04 AM on January 13, 2023
Best answer: Absolutely check your brand of sanitizer against Iris Gambols list first. But if it's one of the okay brands there - is it possible your sanitizer is using an unusual scent?
....Had that thought because: my company made a bunch of DIY sanitizer for staff at the beginning of the pandemic, and when we were discussing what essential oil to add for the fragrance, my boss (whose tastes are....quirky) insisted that we use vetiver. Which is a legit essential oil that gets used in perfumes a lot....but straight vetiver oil smells kind of like wet leaves, and so it's very much a "you love it or you hate it" kind of thing. (I think we very gently pointed that out and said that we could make some just for him, but we were going with orange for the rest of the staff.)
Maybe the sanitizer you got is using some kind of scent that just reads like "mold" to you. Again, check it against that FDA list first, and have a look at the contents; but if it looks like it's okay and it passes the FDA's list but still just smells weird, that could be all that's going on. And - if you don't like how it smells, it's okay to get rid of it and get something that smells better to you.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:10 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
....Had that thought because: my company made a bunch of DIY sanitizer for staff at the beginning of the pandemic, and when we were discussing what essential oil to add for the fragrance, my boss (whose tastes are....quirky) insisted that we use vetiver. Which is a legit essential oil that gets used in perfumes a lot....but straight vetiver oil smells kind of like wet leaves, and so it's very much a "you love it or you hate it" kind of thing. (I think we very gently pointed that out and said that we could make some just for him, but we were going with orange for the rest of the staff.)
Maybe the sanitizer you got is using some kind of scent that just reads like "mold" to you. Again, check it against that FDA list first, and have a look at the contents; but if it looks like it's okay and it passes the FDA's list but still just smells weird, that could be all that's going on. And - if you don't like how it smells, it's okay to get rid of it and get something that smells better to you.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:10 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you all. That's a long list (FDA's) in that website by Iris Gambol, (username above not website) I scrolled for a long time and I was only halfway to the end. I'll have to try it on a desktop or laptop.
posted by amfgf at 10:31 AM on January 13, 2023
posted by amfgf at 10:31 AM on January 13, 2023
Best answer: Do other things also smell like mold? This is a COVID symptom.
posted by spiderbeforesunset at 4:30 PM on January 13, 2023
posted by spiderbeforesunset at 4:30 PM on January 13, 2023
Response by poster: metahawk,
The ingriedients are just the major 3 ones. I have to get back here.
spiderbeforesunset,
It's just some sanitizers, both in public places, not something I bought. One of them I can read the ingredients, (only the 3 essential I guess) the other it's not possible to see.
posted by amfgf at 6:34 PM on January 16, 2023
The ingriedients are just the major 3 ones. I have to get back here.
spiderbeforesunset,
It's just some sanitizers, both in public places, not something I bought. One of them I can read the ingredients, (only the 3 essential I guess) the other it's not possible to see.
posted by amfgf at 6:34 PM on January 16, 2023
Response by poster: Iris gambol that link, is great. Best answer.
I thank all who answered, also useful answers.
posted by amfgf at 1:39 PM on January 21, 2023
I thank all who answered, also useful answers.
posted by amfgf at 1:39 PM on January 21, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by metahawk at 6:02 PM on January 12, 2023