Most hand sanitizers claim a 99.99% germ killing effectiveness; does that make them all equally effective?
No. Labeling laws do not yet require sanitizer manufacturers to define their effectiveness, except in a very broad and general way. Therefore, any product, which contains alcohol as an ingredient, can make the 99.99% claim. The truth is, there are huge variables which determine the true killing efficacy such as: solution contact time, effectiveness of coating the hand surface, evaporation time, type of alcohol, effects of non-alcohol ingredients on killing power, lab tests in vitro (test tube) vs. in vivo (on live skin). Different microorganisms/viruses respond differently to various hand sanitizers with regard to the speed and efficiency that they can be killed.
