PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -- A Portland distillery is now making hand sanitizer and giving it out to customers.
Shine Distillery and Grill already has the equipment and the alcohol for it. They say it just makes sense for them to help keep people healthy right now.
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Basically, when they distill the alcohol, the first part that comes out isn’t meant to drink, so they make a cleaner out of it.
“I had a lady sitting at the bar the other night and she asked if she could have some and I wasn’t sure, so over the weekend, we did our research and checked with the controlling authorities and come to find, as long as we’re not making a medical claim or selling it, we’re allowed to give it away,” owner Jon Poteet said.
Now with 80 percent alcohol (above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation of at least 60 percent), xanthan gum to thicken the mix, and a little bit of water, they’re making hand sanitizer for customers.
Several grocery stores in the north Portland area are still sold out. There are empty shelves and ration signs, no Purell, and in some cases, no rubbing alcohol left either.
There’s a range of prices online for these products, but Poteet has no problem giving his for free.
“Ultimately, I’m part of the community, I want my friends and neighbors to be happy and healthy,” he said. “All my neighbors getting sick and going down doesn’t do me any good. I want to be in a healthy community, and it feels good to be able to give back.”
They also know hand sanitizer is only second best to hand washing so they have a sign in the bathroom with 20-second chorus lyrics as a reminder that’s how long you should wash.
A reminder from OHA – they say 97 percent of consumers don’t wash their hands correctly.
We’ve heard from officials over and over again that good hand hygiene is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.