When looking for a disinfecting agent, all we could find was a 1 gallon bottle of “denatured alcohol”. (We were looking for isopropyl alcohol but couldn’t find any.)
Can this be safely used as a household disinfectant (e.g., for door knobs, faucets, packages, etc.)?
There is no percentage figure on this like you would find on a “70% Isopropyl Alcohol” label. Does this need to be diluted before use? To what percentage?
The label has dire warnings about not letting it touch your skin or breathing the fumes. Is this CYA on the company’s part, or is this stuff really dangerous?
I’ve used isopropyl alcohol on painted cabinet doors without damage. Can this stuff be used on painted doors?
It’s probably denatured ethyl or methyl alcohol, or some combination of the two, with other denaturing substances. Try doing a search for the product’s SDS, like:
That is sometimes used as a stove fuel for backpacking and is a semi-common subject on long distance hiking forums. The consensus is it’s at least 50% ethanol, but could be much higher. Normal denaturaing agent is methanol, but that’s no guarantee that’s what it is. Different brands seem to have different concentrations, and slightly different stove performances, including some people reported a somewhat unpleasant though mild light headed effect from the vapor coming off the stove.
So from that it’s a crap shoot, and vapors at least when burned can affect a person.
Most stuff is denatured with stuff that is mostly not extremely dangerous, but is a little bit dangerous. There are standards for what can be allowed in that stuff. For example, it probably doesn’t contain acetone, but may contain methanol. But even if it wasn’t denatured, ethanol can cause skin irritation or contact dermatitis, may be carcinogenic, and it’s not safe to inhale the fumes: the fumes make you drunk, which is an occupational health and safety risk.
We shoudl put warning labels on Sodium Chloride and Dihydrogen Monoxide too, then.
*What are some of the dangers associated with DHMO?
Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment. Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:
Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
Contributes to soil erosion.
Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.
Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere, and in hurricanes including deadly storms in Florida, New Orleans and other areas of the southeastern U.S.
Thermal variations in DHMO are a suspected contributor to the El Nino weather effect.*
Any organic alcohol/ketone can be used to denature ethanol ie make it unpotable.
By far the most common use industrially are n-propanol and isopropanol. Others could include butanol or MEK. Methanol is not common because the industrial application is in making the ethanol less polar ie less soluble in water or more soluble in fat/oil and methanol is more polar than ethanol. Inclusion rates would range from 5% to 35% depending on the application. All the denaturants are more expensive than the ethanol.
Denatured ethanol would be safer than 70% isopropanol, can make no comment on whether it would be as efficacious.
Alcohol based hand sanitisers are 60-80% ethanol so ethanol denatured with 10% IPA would be significantly higher ethanol content.