What Happens If You Leave Hand Sanitizer in Your Car?
The effects keeping a bottle of hand sanitizer in your car for an extended period of time
As we adapt to life during the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone keeps a bottle of hand sanitizer in their car to use when running errands. But if you leave that hand sanitizer in the car for a prolonged period of time, what could happen? Does it make the germ-killing solution less effective — or possibly even explosive?
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Will hand sanitizer explode?
After certain posts went viral that depicted the explosive damage an overheated hand sanitizer bottle can wreak, people became concerned that having a bottle of hand sanitizer in a hot car could result in a spontaneous explosion or fire.
However, Snopes has debunked that widely circulated picture and the claim that hand sanitizer could explode. According to the National Fire Protection Association, hand sanitizer would have to be heated to temperatures above 700 degrees Fahrenheit to ignite. That’s not a temperature your car’s cabin will ever reach.
So far, no fires have been reported that have resulted from hand sanitizer being too hot.
Will it still be effective in the heat?
If you leave hand sanitizer in a hot car for an extended period of time, will it still be effective at killing germs? The solution includes large quantities of isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol, which tear apart the fatty coating of bacteria. So, if the hand sanitizer loses its alcohol, it won’t do its job. According to The University of Texas at Dallas Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, “If the alcohol evaporates, the hand sanitizer is less efficient.”
Alcohol’s evaporation temperature is around 170 degrees F, and on an extremely hot, sunny day, your car’s cabin could heat up to 130-170 degrees. So, some alcohol might evaporate out if the cap is open and the bottle is left in the sweltering heat.
Is it still safe on my skin?
Commercial hand sanitizers consist primarily of alcohol, with some water, fragrances, and gels mixed in to make it easier and less caustic to rub onto your hands. Heat does reduce its gelatinous properties, making it runny and more liquid. Even if its consistency is less thick, it still interacts with your skin the same way — as if you were pouring warm rubbing alcohol over your skin. As long as the sanitizer isn’t hot enough to burn you, it would just dry out your skin a bit more than usual.
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Could the sanitizer freeze?
What about if you leave the bottle of sanitizer in your car during winter and the temperature drops steeply overnight. Could the liquid freeze?
Although water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the majority of hand sanitizer consists of ethyl alcohol freezes, which freezes at -174 degrees. Its presence lowers the freezing temperature of the water slightly. So although cheaper sanitizers can start to separate as the water freezes, products with higher alcohol contents can remain intact at temperatures below 0 degrees.
If hand sanitizer does freeze and separate, just warm it back up gradually. The alcohol will still be present and effective.
Will the plastic container melt?
Most hand sanitizer containers are made of polyethylene terephthalate (recyclable 1), which has a melting point of 491 degrees Fahrenheit. If your car cabin ever reaches that temperature, you’ll have more problems than just a melted plastic bottle.
Keeping hand sanitizer in your car for frequent use will help keep your hands germ-free on the go, but it’s better to take it with you in your purse or bag on a hot day instead of leaving it in the car.
Aaron is unashamed to be a native Clevelander and the proud driver of a Hyundai Veloster Turbo (which recently replaced his 1995 Saturn SC-2). He gleefully utilizes his background in theater, literature, and communication to dramatically recite his own articles to nearby youth. Mr. Widmar happily resides in Dayton, Ohio with his magnificent wife, Vicki, but is often on the road with her exploring new destinations. Aaron has high aspirations for his writing career but often gets distracted pondering the profound nature of the human condition and forgets what he was writing… See more articles by Aaron.