Many healthcare studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95% are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers may not work equally well for all classes of germs, bacteria, and viruses. The alcohol-free hand sanitizers merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright whereas alcohol-based hand sanitizer kills germs and bacteria completely. Alcohol-free hand sanitizer causes more skin irritation as compared to alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
