The hand sanitizer does not stain clothes rather it does something worse. It removes the color from the clothes that seems to be a white stain.
The components in the hand sanitizer are mainly bleaching agents or stain remover. As a result, if the sanitizer gets on clothes it removes the color from that particular area and leaves a white spot.
Will Hand Sanitizer Stain Clothes?
When we try to apply hand sanitizer, sometimes it splatters or spills onto our clothes or other surface areas. In addition, when they come into contact with fabrics or other surfaces, it leaves a stain.
Although, this stain or mark is not what we think of. In addition, there are different types of hand sanitizer, which have different effects on different fabrics.
What is a Hand Sanitizer Stain?
The term “Hand sanitizer stain” means the marks or spots left on the clothing after the hand sanitizer contacts the cloth surface. As it sounds, it is not accurately a stain.
When the components in the hand sanitizer do a chemical reaction to the fabric, it leaves a white mark. This is a colorless fabric. Which means the reaction fades away the color of the fabric.
So the stain we see is not really a stain, rather it is dye loss of the fabric. It happens due to the bleaching ingredients of the hand sanitizers.
What are the Types of Hand Sanitizer?
There are two types of hand sanitizer. Alcohol-based and non-alcohol-based or alcohol-free hand sanitizer.
1. Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer
The first type is an alcohol-based sanitizer. To kill the germs and viruses it needs to be at least 60% of alcohol. Normally ethanol or isopropyl, which we also know as rubbing alcohol.
2. Non- Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer
Non-alcohol types are the second type of hand sanitizer. The name says that it does not contain any alcohol.
Alcohol-free, Instead of alcohol, this type of sanitizer contains a high bleaching component which is “Benzalkonium Chloride”. This is mainly used for killing all germs. These are more liquid than gel and create foam-like soap.
What Are The Damages of Hand Sanitizers on Different Fabrics?
Even though both alcohol-based sanitizers and alcohol-free sanitizers contain different ingredients, they both damage the fabric and cause bleaching stains. Hand sanitizer can damage all kinds of fabrics.
Nevertheless, depending on the type, its effect may vary from greater to mild. Naturally, dyed fabrics like cotton, silk, linen, and leather are especially prone to damage. Here are some examples of clothing that you don’t want to spill sanitizer on them:
1. Dark Colored Clothing
Dark-colored clothes are the most affected by hand sanitizers. Because of the bleaching agent and chemical reactions, the sanitizer leaves a bigger white spot on the fabrics.
2. Leather Garments
Leathers are usually dyed with other colors. Therefore, when the hand sanitizers land on them, it bleaches the dye color from that particular area. But you can remove the stain from the affected areas.
3. Suede
Another type of cloth is suede which is susceptible to hand sanitizer. This type of clothing absorbs the fluid fast, that’s why if the hand sanitizer lands on them, they are more likely to be more affected.
4. Silk and Chiffon
Silk and chiffon are some of the most delicate fabrics. These actually fragile kinds can be damaged in rubbing alcohol also.
What Are the Tips to Get Rid of Sanitizer From the Clothes?
We all know accidents happen so even if we get a stain from hand sanitizer we can reduce its damage. Yes, we may not be able to recover from the damage fully but we can still make the damage minimized. Here are some tips to recover your clothes,
1. If sanitizer spills over your clothes, as fast as possible remove it so that it can not be able to damage the fabric. Try to rub it gently but not too forcefully or else you will damage the fabric. Along with that, wash the fabric gently.
2. If still, your fabrics get bleach spots, you may have to camouflage your fabric using a marker pen or colors. If your clothes are dark-colored, they will have an eye-catching bleaching spot. It is better to cover up with colors.
3. But if the fabric is leather or any delicate fabric, it will be best to seek help from a professional. If you do not do so, it may bring you more damage.
It is saddening but true that once sanitizer damages your fabrics, it is not fully recoverable. However, we still have to do our best to recover the fabrics.
Sanitizer as a Stain Remover
We all know that alcohol is an effective stain remover. As the hand sanitizer contains 60% or more alcohol in it, we can use it as a stain remover also. First of all, before using you have to check whether your fabric can tackle alcohol or not.
As hand sanitizer can also bleach your fabrics, you have to check which type of stain you can get rid of using sanitizer. It can be pen marks, ketchup stains, hot sauce stains, grease spots, grass stains, and makeup of almost every kind including lipstick.
To remove the stain using sanitizer, you have to work quickly. Apply a good amount of sanitizer to the stained area and let sit for some time. You can rub it off if it is a hard stain. Lastly, you can wash it off with water.
Does Rubbing Alcohol Fade Clothes?
Alcohol works as a stain remover. In rubbing alcohol there is at least 60% alcohol in it. However, despite that much alcohol in it, hand sanitizer also contains some harmful agents for the fabrics.
Although, not all fabrics will be affected by these. Some delicate fabrics like rayon, wool, acetate, or silk, can be faded if rubbing alcohol encounters them.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Does clear hand sanitizer stain clothes?
Whether it is clear or not, if the hand sanitizer contains a bleaching agent, it will damage the clothing and can fade the color away.
Even alcohol-based clear hand sanitizers can harm the clothes and leave a white spot if the clothing is unable to tolerate the chemical substances in the substances.
Are liquid hand sanitizers better than gel sanitizers?
Both liquid and gel hand sanitizers effectively kill germs. The only difference is that the gel one takes more time to kill than the liquid one. In the context of time, the liquid is faster than gel sanitizers.
Conclusion
As we know, getting rid of hand sanitizer is not an easy job. Alternatively, you can not recover your fabric’s damage. Therefore, we should avoid getting hand sanitizer on our clothes.
While using hand sanitizer, we have to keep a distance from our clothes. Furthermore, we have to wait for the sanitizer to dry before touching our clothes. With these, we can avoid staining our clothes.
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