Since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, people around the world have resorted to hand sanitizers as one of the means to protect against the virus, but these methods leave an unpleasant smell when used and it is not known why.
According to a report published on the Wirecutter product review page in The New York Times, the unpleasant smell of hand sanitizers comes from a natural by-product of ethanol or ethyl alcohol, a major ingredient that kills germs.
Many commonly used antiseptics are made from ethyl alcohol or a close substitute.
"This pungent scent, sometimes described as spoiled or tequila-like garbage, is the natural by-product of ethanol made from corn, sugar cane, beets and other organic sources," said Brian Zlotnik, from the perfume company Alpha Aromatics. He pointed out that many of the new antiseptic brands are made from deformed ethanol.
Zlotnik explained that this type of ethanol costs much less than filtered ethanol using activated carbon filtration, which usually removes almost all pollutants and unpleasant odors.
The US Food and Drug Administration said that deformed materials could include methanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone and diatonium, which made it less attractive to swallow, and this could be an additional advantage at a time when people should avoid touching their faces, according to experts.
"The unpleasant smell is a strong behavioral message to keep our hands out of our faces, which is something we should do anyway. Although I don't usually want to smell my hand smells like a farm, only It definitely prevents me from putting my hand anywhere near my face, and that could be a good thing! ”
Shoppers should be aware of the essential ingredients of their antiseptics, as the US Food and Drug Administration issued a recent warning of some hand sanitizers that have been shown to be positive for methanol, which can be toxic to the body.