This is simple but valuable information. Clean hands are a must for maintaining health. The antibacterial soaps you can buy in the store have the chemical triclosan in them and can actually be detrimental to your health. Triclosan is used in many pesticides and it is stored in your body fat where it can accumulate after long usage. As you wash your hands, the skin absorbs this substance and essentially you are putting minute particles of poison in your system. So, why not use a convenient natural antibacterial product that you can make using a common plant that can probably be found out in your own herb garden? Rosemary has many valuable properties but the one I’m going to spotlight here is its antibacterial property.
How to Make Rosemary Hand Sanitizer
Put 1/4 cup fresh leaves of rosemary in a glass or stainless steel pan. Pour 2 cups of filtered water over the leaves and bring the heat up until the water is almost boiling. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it, and let the leaves steep for 20 minutes. Next, pour the rosemary-infused water into a spray bottle. I use small reusable spray bottles that fit nicely in my purse, car, lunch containers or wherever else I may need to keep some.
As a bonus, this simple antibacterial infusion can be sprayed on kitchen counters, tables, chairs, and any other surface you want to sanitize. Just spray on a light coating and wipe it clean!
References:
Growing and Using The Healing Herbs by Gaea and Shandor Weiss
Thanks to Karlynn Holland for participating in the [Grow] Network Writing Contest.
We have over $2,097 in prizes lined up for the Fall 2015 Writing Contest, including all of the following:
– A 21.5 quart pressure canner from All American, a $382 value
– A Survival Still emergency water purification still, a $288 value
– 1 free 1 year membership in the [Grow] Network Core Community, a $239 value
– A Worm Factory 360 vermicomposting system from Nature’s Footprint, a $128 value
– 2 large heirloom seed collections from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, valued at $103 each
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– 3 free 3 month memberships in the [Grow] Network Core Community, valued at $59 each
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– A Bug Out Seed Kit from the Sustainable Seed Company, a $46 value
– 4 copies of the Alternatives To Dentists DVD video, valued at $33 each
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COMMENTS(5)
Triclosan is also an asthma trigger. It’s ironic that many medical facilities have soap with triclosan… go to the restroom at your asthma doctor’s office to have your asthma triggered. It’s nasty stuff.
Great article! Would love to know more about the best types of rosemary to grow in my region (zone 8b). Searching….
I don’t think it matters what kind of Rosemary plant you buy because they are all pretty hardy. Hope this helps.
Would this ‘tea’ become more intense if the rosemary was crushed or diced first? Might be a bit more trouble to strain & filter, but how about the possible benefit?