Quote Originally Posted by treydampier View Post
That is true, but you can not actually make 100% ethanol (even if that is what is says ont he bottle). The best you can do is 95% without a very good lab and you won't buy the 100% in your local drug store. I use bleach on the blades before I start sanding. But, beware it is very bad for blades and will stain a nice razor, so I do not recommend it on nice clean looking razor. I also rinse it thoroughly and then go over it with alcohol (70%). Peroxide and bleach are the natural defense in the human body and each are made by your immune cells so they are generally effective. The bleach is the best viricide, but not as effective for bacteria. The alcohol is better for bacteria but not as good for viral pathogens.
The good news is that HIV, Hepatitis and most blood born pathogens do not live in open air very well unless they are spore forming( ie certain bacteria, fungi). The best news is that if you eat brains or mad cows then the prions in the meat can not be killed or destroyed by anything including heat, bleach, alcohol, or anything else you can imagine. So don't worry. Your alcohol will do just great!
Not true. 100% ethanol can and is made commercially. The 95% limit only applies to purification by normal distillation. 100% ethanol can be produced by either extractive distillation or by normal distillation followed by molecular sieve dehydration, both are practiced on a commercial (not just laboratory) scale. 100% ethanol, also known as absolute ethanol) is, however, tightly controlled and difficult to get. You certainly will not find it in your local drug store. Ethanol is a low level disinfectent. I will kill all viruses, but only a small number of bacteria. Isoproynol, will only kill some viruses and a small number of bacteria. Both will kill HIV, Hep-A, Hep-B and Hep-C viruses.