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Debunked: No, leaving hand sanitiser in your car during hot weather won’t cause it to catch fire

False claims on Facebook suggests the flammable liquid poses a threat if left in a hot car.

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A POST WIDELY shared on Facebook has falsely claimed that hand sanitiser can catch fire if left in a hot car.  

The post from an Irish Facebook page says that on a warm day, a car’s interior can reach temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees Celsius in direct sunlight, which in turn could “set the bottle of sanitiser alight”.  

The post also features an image showing serious damage to the side door of a car that was allegedly caused by hand sanitiser combusting in a hot vehicle.  

Given the growth in demand for hand sanitisers during the pandemic, the ‘warning’ reads: “With temperatures creeping up, please don’t forget alcohol-based hand sanitiser is flammable.  

“Your car’s interior can reach temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees Celsius in direct sunlight and set the bottle of sanitiser alight, like in the picture. ”

The evidence 

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Firstly, the image used in the post has been widely shared both in Ireland and in other countries – including India, the US and the UK – with similar claims about leaving hand santiser in your car. 

Brazilian fact-checker Estadão first investigated the photo back in April, noting that the full image has some Portuguese writing in the background.

The picture has since done the rounds accompanying similar claims online. In the US, a Wisconsin Fire Department used the image to warn motorists against leaving hand gels in their cars.

The 21 May post was deleted from the Western Lakes Fire District of Oconomowoc Facebook page, but not before the New York Post and the Daily Mail ran stories on it, the latter warning that hand sanitiser ‘could explode’.  

Factcheckers around the world have not been able to ascertain where the image originates from. However the facts about the claim itself are clear. 

It is true that hand sanitisers are flammable, given they generally contain anywhere from 60% to 70% alcohol. But in order for a fire to start at a temperature below several hundred degrees Celsius, there would need to be a spark or source of ignition involved.  

The flashpoint of antibacterial gels – the temperature at which it gives off sufficient vapour that can be ignited by a spark or other source of ignition – is around 21 to 24 degrees Celsius. For example, the brand Carex, its antibacterial hand gels have flash points of between 22°C and 23°C.

So, while hand gels are flammable and release vapours at these flashpoint temperatures, without a spark, the flammable ingredient in hand sanitiser – ethanol - would need to be exposed to a much higher temperature than 40 to 50 degrees Celsius as claimed

For the ethanol to auto-ignite – the temperature needed for a substance to ignite without an ignition source – the inside of the car would need to reach 365 degrees Celsius,  give or take a few degrees either side. 

A recent study by Arizona State University in the US analysing cars parked in the summer heat found that temperatures mostly peaked at 71.11 degrees Celsius inside the car. So, unless you’re planning on driving into a volcano any time soon, your hand sanitiser won’t be posing any explosive threats. 

However, it should be noted that leaving sanitiser in a hot car may not the best idea as the active ingredient can evaporate and make the sanitiser less effective.

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There is a lot of false news and scaremongering being spread in Ireland at the moment about coronavirus. Here are some practical ways for you to assess whether the messages that you’re seeing – especially on WhatsApp – are true or not. 

STOP, THINK AND CHECK

Look at where it’s coming from. Is it someone you know? Do they have a source for the information (e.g. the HSE website) or are they just saying that the information comes from someone they know? A lot of the false news being spread right now is from people claiming that messages from ‘a friend’ of theirs. Have a look yourself – do a quick Google search and see if the information is being reported elsewhere.

Secondly, get the whole story, not just a headline. A lot of these messages have got vague information (“all the doctors at this hospital are panicking”) and don’t mention specific details. This is often – but not always a sign – that it may not be accurate.

Finally, see how you feel after reading it. A lot of these false messages are designed to make people feel panicked. They’re deliberately manipulating your feelings to make you more likely to share it. If you feel panicked after reading something, check it out and see if it really is true.

Have you gotten a message on WhatsApp or Facebook or Twitter about coronavirus that you’re not sure about and want us to check it out? Message or mail us and we’ll look into debunking it. WhatsApp: 085 221 4696 or Email: answers@thejournal.ie 

TheJournal.ie’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here

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    Mute Craig Clancy
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:18 PM

    They haven’t paved the way with any incentives to be carbon neutral in 100 years time never mind 2050..no planning, no decent ideas just going with the flow and tax tax tax hoping it will work.

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    Mute Geoff Bateman
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:34 PM

    @Craig Clancy: correct

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    Mute Quoka
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:44 PM

    @Craig Clancy: Exactly. Policies like this are all fart and no poo. The threshold temperature rise for continued planetary warming has been passed irreversibly by many accounts. We didn’t heed the warnings decades ago. The damage has for the most part been done there’s just a lag in consequences. Moreover we literally have exactly zero idea how to stop it, let alone reverse it. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try but we literally have no idea how to maintain our present lifestyle and halt what’s coming.

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:26 PM

    @Craig Clancy: 6,000 forestry licenses held up by a bungling bureaucracy. So many obstacles now to planting trees that new planting is running at a tiny fraction of target.
    If we can’t do the simple things, and if a random crank can stop farmers planting trees, how will we manage the big stuff?

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    Mute Kipper O Keeffe
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:22 PM

    All this is another way to tax people

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    Mute The Bolt
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:14 PM

    That man would give an Anadin a headache

    293
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    Mute Derek Baldy Head Baldrick
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 5:17 PM

    @The Bolt: I’d imagine some of the electorate are clamoring for the next election when as far as they’re concerned it might be time to see who’s who. I’m sure the opposition will increase the pressure and that there will no doubt me some crass comments getting bandied about :)

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:49 PM

    Could the Journal do a story on why sleepy needs so many advisors 8 I believe.

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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:05 PM

    @Dave Byrne: because he hasn’t a scooby doo about what he is supposed to be doing?

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    Mute John Mc Donagh
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:34 PM

    It can be done! Everybody has just to stop everything—That includes eating, drinking and traveling.

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    Mute ed w
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:14 PM

    landmark day for greens concreteing the countryside

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    Mute Donal Desmond
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:16 PM

    @ed w: Landmark day for tax increases on behalf of the baby Blueshirts..The Greens.

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    Mute Dave Barrett
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 5:50 PM

    @ed w: All beef to be done away with and replaced with beef tasting veggie burgers. People’s diet to be modified so as to cut down on poo and farting.

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    Mute inflation is coming... buy physical silver.
    Favourite inflation is coming... buy physical silver.
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:12 PM

    A great day for central bankers and corporations as the so called president of people gives the green light for further deficit spending for years to come. Welcome to the debt slave society all.

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    Mute Tim
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:16 PM

    Do you still have the big diesel car Eamon?

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    Mute Ciaran O 'Reilly
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:19 PM

    Someone needs to reinvent the airplane so.

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    Mute eoin carroll
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:36 PM

    What does this mean? Will Eamon Ryan be arrested if this target isn’t met?

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    Mute DB
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 5:51 PM

    Good auld Eamonn let’s tax the living day lights out of everyone to give him a hard on to be carbon neutral .

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    Mute Padraic McDonagh
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 5:57 PM

    It’s disappointing that Micky D will sign any auld shi’ite that comes his way. He was a public servant with principles, only to retire as a yes man.

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    Mute Eugene Canning
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:33 PM

    All the houses he’s going to build after his official retirement will be carbon neutral!

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 6:22 PM

    Why in this rush to push people to buy new cars is there no account taken at all in how much co2 it costs to actually make a car (of whatever variety) and it is significant. The actual total co2 would be the manufacturing co2 in tonnes divided by the car life span plus whatever comes out the back but this is not considered.

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    Mute Ilarion Cibu
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    Jul 24th 2021, 12:21 AM

    @Damian Moylan: what is also completely disregarded is battery utilisation which causes Humongous pollution in to the atmosphere because there is no technology to utilize Lithium-ion batteries that EV are driven , you know how they are being utilised? BURNT DOWN – thats how. And the battery life is 200-300k km. And when theres going to be enough EV’S its going to be a natural disaster when theres millions of batteries to be burnt.

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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 7:27 PM

    Taxed into the grave ye will go ,meanwhile I wonder how all the six litre SUVs are doing in the oil rich counties

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    Mute john smith iv
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:42 PM

    Need to stop the cows farting.

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    Mute Aido
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:54 PM

    @john smith iv: seaweed

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    Mute brendan o connell
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 11:29 PM

    China puts out more emissions in an hour than Ireland puts out in a year, not to mention the US with their 8 mile per gallon cars , India, Pakistan, Russia south America Africa etc , tis laughable indeed, we don’t amount to a hill of beens but we will suffer as those mentioned have no possibility of conformity .

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    Mute trebloc01
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 6:04 PM

    The biggest producer are the Greens.

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Jul 24th 2021, 3:37 PM

    @trebloc01: They do produce a lot of hot air that is true.

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    Mute Geoff Bateman
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 3:34 PM

    and if we dont?

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    Mute Dónal Ó Keeffe
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    Jul 24th 2021, 10:39 AM

    Have all these proposals been proofed against those on the average industrial wage. Impractical proposals and taxes disguised as green initiatives will do nothing to effect climate change. Global agreements are the only solution. USA/China/india/russia account for 55% of global fossil fuel emissions alone. Unless these 4 have similar proposals then all the rest of the world can only achieve less than half of what is required. Green party needs to live in the realworld and align themselves with greenpeace etc. to make themselves credible, and force real change not just contracts for their supporters.

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    Mute Mairtin Thornton
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:52 PM

    Maybe cut down on the planning permission for Data centres!!!

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    Mute Mairtin Thornton
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    Jul 23rd 2021, 4:59 PM

    Maybe focus on reducing planning permission for data centres

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