Question:
Isopropyl rubbing alcohol is harsh on the skin and has other chemicals added to it. Poisoning can occur from ingestion, inhalation, or absorption. Do you want that on your skin?

I use pure ethanol instead (151 proof Everclear from a liquor store) in a spray bottle to disinfect quickly, especially if I am cleaning large areas like my hands and genitals ;) . It doesn't dry out the skin as much as isopropyl rubbing alcohol and seems to leave more of the skins natural protective barrier. It dries without leaving added ingredients behind. Plus ethanol doesn't sting nearly as much as isopropyl and the vapors aren't nearly as bad .

The active ingredient in Purell is ethyl alcohol. Those portable hand sanitizer sprays that cost $4 for a small tube... also ethyl alcohol. A 750ml bottle of pure ethyl alcohol (Everclear) is $8.

Ethanol, ethyl, ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, Everclear and Vodka are all the same thing - Everclear and vodka being simply watered down ethanol. Everclear comes in 75% (151 proof) or 95% ethanol and Vodka is usually 40% or 50% ethanol.

The peak of the disinfecting power occurs around 70% ethanol; stronger and weaker solutions of ethanol have a lessened ability to disinfect, so adding water could strengthen the solution depending on which bottle you buy. Solutions of 70% strength are often used in laboratories for disinfecting work surfaces.

Answer:
take one down for the team, then spray away.

Answer:
I work in research, and can vouch for the fact that 70% is the best for disinfecting stuff (I know, it's odd at first, I had thought that 100% would be the best).

Answer:
hopingseeking -

Do you use isopropyl too at the lab, or just ethanol?

Answer:
Just the ethanol for sterilizing stuff. The isopropanol we use in a plastic apparatus when cyropreserving cells (trivia: it drops 1 C per minute when put in a -80 C freezer).