Simply Soothing Blog

As we head into summer, there has never been more of an importance placed on clean hands. According to WHO (Worldwide Health Organization), clean hands are key in saving lives. This is important to remember as we go about our daily lives.

As a small, family-owned business, we are a part of the community, and the families within it. As such, we are working to get hand sanitizer bottled and out there to help keep your family safe when you’re out and about and don’t have access to soap and water.

Additionally, we’ve proudly partnered with another Iowa-based family-run business, The Mississippi River Distilling Company. This means you’ll be able to keep your hands clean while buying from and supporting two local businesses. We are so proud of the way we continue to see our fellow Iowans supporting each other. It’s especially important right now for our state, our country, and our world, to unite like never before. #IowansUnite #MadeinIowa #MadeintheUSA

In this blog post, we’ll discuss why keeping your hands clean is paramount during this time, as well as details about our new hand sanitizer 

Read on for more information.

Why Hand Sanitizer?

Simply Soothing is a small, family-run company. We started out of the desire to ensure that our families stay happy and healthy without harsh ingredients.

Our most popular product, Bug Soother, was created with our founder’s grandson in mind. Not wanting him to be exposed to DEET, Freda created a simple, natural, yet effective formula that smells great, but bugs hate it! After giving it to family members to try, it was proven incredibly effective…and the rest, as they say, is history!

Because Simply Soothing’s ethos is all about protecting our family, as well as yours, we felt that working with The Mississippi River Distillery to offer a hand sanitizer was a perfect addition to our products, especially at this time when we are all looking for effective ways to keep everyone’s hands clean while we’re running errands or out in nature.

How is Our Hand Sanitizer Brand Different From Other Brands?

Simply Soothing Hand Sanitizer is a spray instead of a gel. This allows for much more versatile use, as well as allowing you to use it to clean on the go. You can use our sanitizer to spray carts at the grocery store before and after use, as well as on many other communal surfaces.

Our hand sanitizer is made up of 80% alcohol, meaning it meets Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) guideline on alcohol-based hand sanitizer. According to the CDC, a hand sanitizer must have a base of 60% alcohol to be effective, and we are proud to not just meet that standard but to surpass it.

During these unprecedented times, we’ve partnered with Mississippi River Distilling Company, a family-run spirits business, located in SE Iowa.

By purchasing our hand sanitizer, you’re not just helping to spread clean hands around the area instead of germs, but you’re also proudly supporting two Iowa-based, family-run companies.

Why Is Hand Washing Important?

Hand washing has always been important, but in these times, the importance of it has been further highlighted.

Although many of us take hygiene for granted, the WHO has always stated that hand washing is imperative to keep healthy. In countries where there is not access to clean water or hand sanitizer, there are often instances of people dying from preventable diseases.

Washing your hands is an important step in preventing oral transmission of viruses and bacteria. It is also paramount in preventing bacteria and viruses from entering your body via your nose and eyes.

During the day, we often touch surfaces that have been handled by many different people. We also place our hands near human waste each day (Yuck). Bacteria and viruses live in human waste and on many surfaces. If we don’t wash our hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, it can lead to serious consequences, including health issues.

When Should I Use Hand Sanitizer?

According to both WHO and the CDC, you and your family should always opt for washing your hands with soap and water first. This is your front-of-the-line defense and assures that you get most of the germs from your hands to prevent the transmission of viruses.

Hand sanitizers will often simply stop the growth of germs instead of killing them. While this can be effective in stopping the spread of viruses, it is clear that hand washing is the best bet in this instance.

Luckily, Simply Soothing offers two options of soap for its customers, both available on our website. Our soothing hand soap and cold process soap are both equally effective in the fight against germs, providing you use the proper hand washing technique.

However, if you do not have soap and water available, hand sanitizer is your second-best option. Putting hand sanitizer in your purse, bag or diaper bag is a great idea to ensure you have it with you at all times. Leaving a bottle in your car can also be helpful.

When you’re out running errands or in nature if you do not have access to clean water and soap, you should use your hand sanitizer after touching communal surfaces, after using the bathroom and before eating.

Additionally, you should use hand sanitizer or wash your hands after:

• Coughing or blowing your nose
• Sneezing
• Before making food
• Before and after touching an open wound
• After you handle animal waste
• After playing with animals
• After feeding animals
• After touching garbage
• After changing diapers or helping a child use the toilet
• After vomiting or caring for someone who has just vomited

When Hand Sanitizer is Not Effective

According to the CDC, there are instances when hand sanitizer is not effective, and soap and water must be used. This is something to think about if you’re taking a trip into nature with your family or running errands around town.

If your hands, or your child’s hands, are greasy or visibly dirty, hand sanitizer will not cut it. This is because the hand sanitizer is not able to both wash away the grease or the dirt as well as clean your hands completely. In this case, you’ll need to wash your hands with soap and water.

Additionally, hand sanitizer cannot cut through all of the grease and dirt your child may collect on their hands when playing with a ball outside or playing in communal areas. If your hands get greasy after playing baseball, basketball or after touching communal surfaces, you’ll also need soap and water.

Hand sanitizer is also not effective if you have touched harmful chemicals. In this case, you’ll need to wash your hands with soap and water. If the chemicals are incredibly harmful, you’ll need to call the local Poison Control Center.

How Do I Use Hand Sanitizer?

When applying hand sanitizer, it should mimic that of washing your hands with the proper technique.

Our hand sanitizer is a spray, so you’ll want to spray it liberally on your hands and on your children’s hands. Once the sanitizer is on both of your hands, place both palms together and rub them. Then, cross your fingers and make sure the sanitizer gets between them.

After that, place the hand sanitizer on your nails and rub it in with your other hand. Once you’ve finished, place the sanitizer on the backs of your hands and rub the entire surface.

Then, spread the sanitizer over each of your thumbs and down over your wrist. If you need to spray your hands multiple times, don’t be afraid to do so. You can’t really use too much of it when putting it on your hands.

Once you’ve finished putting the hand sanitizer on, allow your hands to dry for a good couple of seconds. Do not wipe your hands on your clothing or other surfaces, as this will defeat the entire purpose of the hand sanitizer.

Hazards of Hand Sanitizer

Keep our hand sanitizer, and any other, out of reach of small children. If swallowed, it can cause alcohol poisoning due to the high level of it within the mixture.

Purchasing Our Hand Sanitizer

Right now you can purchase our hand sanitizer online, as well as all of our other products.

Take a moment to browse our selection of products to get your sanitizer, and anything else that catches your fancy, get sent straight to your door without any hassle. Live local to Columbus Junction, IA? Skip the shipping! You can submit an order for our retail products through our website and select “Pick Up” instead of “Ship” to pick up your safe, “no contact” order from our location.

To learn more about our Simply Soothing Hand Sanitizer please visit us here

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