Photo: Estadao.com.br
We didn’t think much about hand sanitizers before it all came crashing down in China, then Italy, then the United States, and so forth. Even the retail price of this alcohol-based solution has gone up over increasing demand on a worldwide scale, but the gel you use to kill the germs on your hands may pose a threat to your car.
The Western Lakes Fire District posted a photograph on their Facebook about this threat, highlighting that “we’ve chatted in the past about clear water bottles being kept in your vehicle when the weather is hot.” If the sunlight hits the bottle at just the right angle, the potential for kindling a fire grows dramatically in the presence of flammable materials such as cloth upholstery or the car’s plastic cupholders.
In other words, the bottle can act as a lens in just the right circumstances. Focusing light into a beam that’s intense enough to start a fire is one thing, but do remember that everything must be lined up perfectly for the inevitable to happen. The question is, does this apply to the transparent recipients of hand sanitizer gels as well?
Western Lakes Fire District says so, borrowing this picture from a Brazilian story dated April 28th. The story in question – coming from Estadao – is titled “gel alcohol does not catch fire alone if left inside a car in the sun.”
Doctor professor Reinaldo Bazito of the Chemistry Institute of the University of Sao Paulo says that it’s okay to leave small bottles in your vehicles as long as they’re properly closed and away from direct sunlight. Leaving hand sanitizer on the dashboard at noon, however “is not a good idea. But still, it doesn’t catch fire alone,” he told Estadao.
To answer the question in the headline, no, hand sanitizer isn't prone to exploding in these circumstances nor does it catch fire as easily as you’d think. The gel in the bottle would need to reach a temperature of approximately 300° Fahrenheit or 149° Celsius to combust, a higher temperature than that of the interior of a hot car. Bear in mind, however, that the gel can be heated by sunlight to ridiculous temperatures as well.
The image that Western Lakes Fire District used in their Facebook post, therefore, is meant to be representative. Even though the risk isn’t as great as some may believe it is, do “respect the possibilities and be fire safe.”
What can you do to make sure hand sanitizer won’t catch fire in your car, then? Obviously, don’t leave it in direct sunlight as you wouldn't do with a clear plastic bottle full of water or an aerosol can. Storing the recipient in the glovebox or center console are two solutions to take into consideration.
In other words, the bottle can act as a lens in just the right circumstances. Focusing light into a beam that’s intense enough to start a fire is one thing, but do remember that everything must be lined up perfectly for the inevitable to happen. The question is, does this apply to the transparent recipients of hand sanitizer gels as well?
Western Lakes Fire District says so, borrowing this picture from a Brazilian story dated April 28th. The story in question – coming from Estadao – is titled “gel alcohol does not catch fire alone if left inside a car in the sun.”
Doctor professor Reinaldo Bazito of the Chemistry Institute of the University of Sao Paulo says that it’s okay to leave small bottles in your vehicles as long as they’re properly closed and away from direct sunlight. Leaving hand sanitizer on the dashboard at noon, however “is not a good idea. But still, it doesn’t catch fire alone,” he told Estadao.
To answer the question in the headline, no, hand sanitizer isn't prone to exploding in these circumstances nor does it catch fire as easily as you’d think. The gel in the bottle would need to reach a temperature of approximately 300° Fahrenheit or 149° Celsius to combust, a higher temperature than that of the interior of a hot car. Bear in mind, however, that the gel can be heated by sunlight to ridiculous temperatures as well.
The image that Western Lakes Fire District used in their Facebook post, therefore, is meant to be representative. Even though the risk isn’t as great as some may believe it is, do “respect the possibilities and be fire safe.”
What can you do to make sure hand sanitizer won’t catch fire in your car, then? Obviously, don’t leave it in direct sunlight as you wouldn't do with a clear plastic bottle full of water or an aerosol can. Storing the recipient in the glovebox or center console are two solutions to take into consideration.
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