This Distillery Uses A Byproduct Of The Alcohol They Bottle To Make Hand Sanitizers

By Mayukh Saha / Truth Theory

Coronavirus is on the rise and world governments are on their knees begging people to stay inside and cleanse their hands with sanitizers. Just a small catch- people love to hoard stuff, especially sanitizers, disregarding the fact that someone else might be in dire need of it.

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While the ensuing curfew can be bad for business, most industries are trying out something innovative to give back to society. Just like a Portland distillery, which is creating sanitizers out of waste alcohol for public use.

Shine Distillery and Grill, the Portland distillery has decided to create sanitizers out of the leftover alcohol they use in making spirits. Interestingly, they have always been using alcohol to clean their surroundings and bars. Ingenious indeed!

The owner Jon Poteet mentioned that the idea came to him when a customer asked if she could have a few ounces of the potent cleaning alcohol they used.

Even though he had a noble idea, he still had to pass it through authorities who would determine if it was safe for him to create sanitizers. The clauses were simple – he couldn’t legalize it as a medical product or sell it.

Shine Distillery in N. Portland is now bottling hand sanitizer to give to customers. The owner said they already used the concoction to clean around the place anyway! It’s made from a byproduct of the alcohol they bottle. 80% alcohol, xanthan gum, and a little water. pic.twitter.com/OnGuBIs0WM

— Audrey Weil (@audreytweil) March 10, 2020

The sanitizer itself was easy to create. All Jon had to do was mix 80% cleaning alcohol with Xanthan gum. Interestingly, his cleaning solution had a higher alcohol content than the limit prescribed by the CDC. After that, all he had to do was add in some water and slap on a label.

Most customers are quite grateful to Jon Poteet and his distillery due to sanitizers being in extremely short supply. The owner believes that it is his responsibility as a member of society to come forward in such distressing times.

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Remember, the best way to deal with this pandemic is through social distancing and consistent cleansing. Don’t touch your face with dirty hands, and always clean your hands with soap-water, or sanitizer. Exercise caution, be safe.