Can A Hand Sanitizer Expire?

Hand sanitizer is one of the easiest and fastest solutions to clean and kill germs on hand in the absence of soap and water. Most people prefer hand sanitizers over alcohol as most alcohol tends to dry the hands. Some hand sanitizers contain moisturizer and are available in different scents, which is why most people prefer using it than alcohol.

But do hand sanitizers expire? Just like most things made by men, hand sanitizer also has an expiration. Manufacturers are required to include the expiration date on the packaging of the sanitizers. Most unopened hand sanitizers usually last for about three years, after that it may not work as effective as it is supposed to be. 

Used or an opened bottle of sanitizer actually expires earlier as the alcohol content decreases due to evaporation. A hand sanitizer to be effective needs to have at least 60% of alcohol in it, once the alcohol evaporates over time it decreases the capacity to kill germs. However, an expired sanitizer can still be used especially those that are left unopened. This is because it still contains alcohol and since it is still sealed, only a few amount of alcohol has evaporated. In reality an expired hand sanitizer that is unopened has more amount of alcohol content compared to an opened bottle wherein most of the alcohol had evaporated already.