Would 90% grain alcohol have the same disinfect properties as standard isopropyl? Also why is it that one will put you in a coma but the other just gives you a hangover?
In: Chemistry
They are both effective disinfectants even though they are different chemicals. Our bodies can somewhat metabolize ethanol(drinking alcohol) even though it’s still a toxin. When you drink isopropyl your body breaks it down into acetone, like in nail polish remover, and you’re gonna have a bad time.
IIRC, one of the by-products of metabolizing isopropyl alcohol is Formic acid (think ant bites and bee stings). As for the disinfecting properties ethyl alcohol will do just fine above 140 proof.
Also, higher alcohol content does not automatically mean its better at disinfection. Too high an alcohol content can make some infectious agent dehydrate and turn into spores (IIRC) and thus not killing them.
For isopropanol, 70% is about optimum for chemical disinfecting. I use a much higher proof isopropanol for my alcohol lamp though because the additional water in 70% alcohol weakens the flame
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