10 Reasons to Stock Up On Rubbing Alcohol

Today, I have 10 reasons to stock up on rubbing alcohol. There’s a pretty good chance that you already have some form of rubbing alcohol in your home, whether it’s stowed away in your first aid kit, or hanging out in your cleaning supply closet among the other cleaners.

As it turns out, rubbing alcohol has many different therapeutic uses that you can benefit from, besides cleaning off your countertop space. It’s a natural, cheap, and effective solution to help you with a handful of problems that will make your life much easier. Check out these reasons to stock up on rubbing alcohol.

It’s one of those versatile items that every prepper should consider having, especially if you were forced to live off the grid for a while. If you are spending more time outdoors, you’re more likely to run into some of the unpleasant situations mentioned below. In case you missed this post, 25 Ways To Use Rubbing Alcohol Every Day When Needed

10 Reasons to Stock Up On Rubbing Alcohol

1. Hand Sanitizer

Instead of having to buy hand sanitizer so often, or you’re just not comfortable with what it’s doing to your skin, choose to make your own natural solution. All you need is 2/3 cup of isopropyl alcohol, 1/3 cup of aloe vera gel, and however many drops of tea tree oil that you choose.  As we have learned, the pandemic is a good reason to stock up on rubbing alcohol, and one reason is so you can make hand sanitizer. Recipe for DIY Hand Sanitizer

2. Deodorant Substitute  

If you’re ever running low on deodorant following an emergency, you can use rubbing alcohol in its place. By dabbing a cotton ball that has a bit of rubbing alcohol on it, it will kill any bacteria that causes body odor. Just don’t use this method too often because it can cause skin irritation if used too often.  

3. Tick Removal 

Once ticks latch on to the skin, they can be pretty stubborn about letting go of your furry loved ones. What you can do is grab a cotton ball that’s saturated in rubbing alcohol, and dab the tick with it. After a couple of minutes, the tick should loosen its vice-like grip. Make sure that you grab the tick with tweezers as close to your pet’s skin as you can. It should pull right out. Then use the rubbing alcohol to prevent an infection where the wound is. 

Note that we humans can be affected by ticks too, so don’t be afraid to try this remedy if you or a loved one has a tick latch on to your skin.      

4. Safer Way to Kill Lice 

For whatever reason, a louse is a tiny parasite that enjoys laying its eggs on humans too, particularly on the heads of children. There are several lice solutions out there that you can use, but some of them have chemicals that you may not feel comfortable putting anywhere near your child’s head. A cheap and natural solution would be to use rubbing alcohol to dry out the lice and their eggs. Here’s how to kill lice with rubbing alcohol. 

5. Helps Treat Poison Ivy

Isopropyl alcohol works as a cooling and soothing agent that can relieve an itchy rash that’s caused by poison ivy, poison sumac, or poison oak. All you need to do is apply rubbing alcohol onto a piece of paper towel and then gently rub it over the rash. Once it dries, wash the affected area with soap and warm water, doing this repeatedly for a couple of days. The itching and swelling should subside. 

6. Soothes Mosquito Bites 

Your first aid kit should have alcohol wipes that you can directly apply to mosquito bites. This will relieve some of the itching and swelling that you may be experiencing, and also prevent the chance of an infection taking place.  

7. Relieves Sore Muscles 

Rubbing alcohol can even be used to relieve your sore muscles and joints after a hard day’s work. It may not provide you with long-term results, but it will provide you with instant relief in the meantime. All you need to do is have someone apply rubbing alcohol on the affected muscles and massage those areas for 10 minutes while using circular motions. Then cover your skin with a warm cloth for another 30 minutes, repeating this process a few times each day.  

8. Wards Off Stinky Feet 

Are you noticing a foul smell coming from one of your family member’s shoes? Try spraying the inside soles of their shoes with a rubbing alcohol solution that also has several drops of lavender essential oil in it. Then allow them to dry out in the sun.  

9. Kills Annoying Fruit Flies 

Fruit flies can be extremely obnoxious when you see them hanging around in your kitchen, particularly all over your fruit. By spraying them with a rubbing alcohol and water mixture, they’ll drop like flies, and then all you have to do is sweep them up.  How to Catch Fruit Flies

10. Bed Bugs 

While bed bugs don’t actually carry any diseases, they will give you the heebie-jeebies and keep your family awake at night. Simply thinking about them may even cause your skin to crawl. Bed bugs can be killed by regularly cleaning your mattress, bedsheets, and headboard, but if you have a really bad case, you will need an exterminator. 

You can also use a spray bottle mixture of a 1:1 ratio of rubbing alcohol and water to kill bed bugs. Lightly spray a mist of it on your pillows and mattress and allow it to dry, then vacuum. Throw your bedding in the washer and set it on high heat for at least 30 minutes. You can also use the mixture on the bed frame and your surrounding furniture. Just remember to keep a window open to help air out the room. 

Final Word

There are hundreds of reasons why preppers need to stock up on rubbing alcohol. It’s not just for keeping your hands clean or disinfecting a wound. Rubbing alcohol can be used not only as a household cleaner, but also as a skin cleanser, ear cleaner, and it can even be used to treat cold sores. For those of you who have children or pets, make sure that you keep your rubbing alcohol out of their reach. It can lead to blindness, and even death if ingested in large amounts. What are some reasons you stock up on rubbing alcohol? Please let me know. May God Bless this world, Linda.