A video has been have been viewed thousands of times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows how to make a hand sanitiser that is effective in protecting against the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The video appears to show someone mixing rum, bleach and fabric softener in a bottle before rubbing the solution on their hands.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:, The three-minute 44-second video is captioned: "Tanduay+zonrox+downy=sanitizer / Let\s see if COVID-19 doesn\t work against this newly discovered sanitizer..", It appears to show a person mixing\xa0Zonrox-brand bleach with\xa0Tanduay, a brand of rum produced in the Philippines. A voice speaking in Visayan, a Philippine language, can be heard saying that\xa0adding fabric softener to the mixture can help mask the smell. The person is then seen\xa0rubbing the mixture onto their hands., COVID-19 was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. It has since killed more than 30,039\xa0people and infected 638,146\xa0others worldwide, according to\xa0data\xa0from the World Health Organization on March 30, 2020., , The WHO has recommended the use of alcohol-based hand sanitiser to protect against infection., Similar videos showing people mixing rum and bleach to make a purported\xa0hand sanitiser have also been shared on Facebook here, here, here, here and here;\xa0and on YouTube here, here and here\xa0with a similar claim that it can protect against COVID-19 infection., The claim is false; health experts warn the mixtures shown in the videos are potentially harmful to health and\xa0are not effective in protecting against COVID-19 infection., In response to the misleading videos circulating online, the Integrated Chemists of the Philippines (ICP) issued a statement on March 23, 2020 saying the homemade mixture is not an effective hand sanitiser., , It states, in part: “Alcoholic products contain only about 40% alcohol and lack the concentration needed for a hand sanitizer… Such products which are below the required 70% alcohol concentration should NOT BE USED as hand sanitiser.”, The ICP released another statement highlighting the dangers of the solution on its Facebook page on March 24, 2020, alongside a screenshot of one of the misleading videos., Part of the release reads: "Don\t Imitate. Deadly. Mixing bleach and alcohol creates chloroform, a chemical that is dangerous and toxic when inhaled or rubbed on skin.", Below is a screenshot of the ICP’s Facebook post:, The Philippine Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines dated March 25 states only "duly authorised establishments, licenced retail drug outlets such as drugstores/pharmacies/boticas and similar establishments" may prepare\xa0hand sanitisers., It adds that hand sanitisers "shall be compounded using only pharmaceutical-grade\xa0ingredients", and that the agency "strongly discourages the addition of other ingredients... as these may impact the quality and potency of the product"., Below are screenshots of the relevant sections of the government recommendation:, Tanduay,\xa0a Philippine rum manufacturer,\xa0and Green Cross, the company that produces Zonrox bleach, both issued warnings against using the mixture., Tanduay issued a statement on its Facebook page on March 23, saying it “strongly advises against mixing Tanduay Rhum with bleach, hand sanitiser or other chemicals. This WILL NOT produce a viable disinfectant against the COVID-19 virus. On the contrary, this may cause serious harm, therefore should not be attempted.”, Below is a screenshot of the Tanduay release:, Green Cross released a similar warning, that states, in part: “We strongly advise everyone not to follow nor believe the video. Mixing bleach with ethyl alcohol (present in rum) will form a dangerous chemical that has toxic effects if ingested, inhaled or absorbed through skin. Therefore the resulting solution is not acceptable as a disinfectant.”, Below is a screenshot of the Green Cross statement:, , Copyright © AFP 2017-2020.  All rights reserved.  Users can access and consult this website and use the share features available for personal, private, and non-commercial purposes.  Any other use, in particular any reproduction, communication to the public or distribution of the content of this website, in whole or in part, for any other purpose and/or by any other means, without a specific licence agreement signed with AFP, is strictly prohibited.  The subject matter depicted or included via links within the Fact Checking content is provided to the extent necessary for correct understanding of the verification of the information concerned.  AFP has not obtained any rights from the authors or copyright owners of this third party content and shall incur no liability in this regard.  AFP and its logo are registered trademarks.
Health experts warn against mixing rum, bleach and fabric softener to make 'hand sanitiser' | AFP Fact Check