I am somewhat mysophobic (fear of cross contamination) and as long as there are soap, water and either paper towels or a hand dryer, I'm fine. In a long term situation, they may not be available.

I do not use hand-held bottles of hand sanitizer because even after I sanitize my hands, I'm still handling a bottle I contaminated prior to using the hand sanitizer. In some ways the pump bottles are better but I still need a way to transport the bottle and I need a flat, hard surface to place it on. I like the individually wrapped towelettes because I don't recontaminate my hands after using them but I am limited to the number I can carry.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Edit: The problem with hand sanitizer bottles has been resolved.

Jeanette Isabelle

I'm mildly similar, nothing debilitating, but I think about it a lot. Especially if we're talking worst fear NBC stuff, but even everyday survival things.

Say I have a bag for water, and I fill it with water from a pond and drop a Micropur tablet in there. Well the pond water is inside, but also on the threads and outside. I don't want to purify the water inside only to have my lips touch residual contaminated pond water that was trapped in the bag / bottle threads when I drink it! And I know you're supposed to splash some of the treated water on the threads to address that, but when? In the beginning as the tablet is dissolving? After it's dissolved? I dunno.

Probably overthinking it.

The bottle of hand sanitizer doesn't bother me as much; I usually put extra in my hands and rub the bottle down too lol.

I'm sure most of it's just common sense stuff, but there's not much you can do sometimes

Perhaps you could use both liquid hand sanitizer and the individually-wrapped towelettes, and use the latter to clean the former?

How is that saving any anything? The towelettes used to clean the bottle could have been used for the hands thereby eliminating the need for the bottle.

Jeanette Isabelle

I think John McCann has a solution for that.

http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/The%20Aqua-Pouch%20Plus%20Water%20Purification%20Kit.htm

Be sure you have a dedicated container for dipping in untreated water.

Jeanette Isabelle

I was thinking that once the bottle is cleaned up you can keep it clean for future use. Also, I am the father of three petri dishes young children, so I often deal in mass disinfection events.

I could; I would just contaminate it again the next time I use it.

Jeanette Isabelle

Put some 70% isopropyl alcohol (or 151 proof booze) in a little spray bottle. Comes in handy cleaning all sorts of stuff. Just spray it on and let it evaporate.

I like this sort of thinking. Isopropyl alcohol is always available. I do not have to worry about running out.

But we are back to handling a contaminated bottle.

Jeanette Isabelle

Maybe I'm just dense, but I don't see the problem with the hand sanitizer bottle.
You find you need to sanitize your hands, so you pull out your squeeze bottle of hand sanitizer, squeeze some into your one hand and put the bottle back in it's stored location with the other. You then rub sanitizer between hands resulting in sanitized hands. The next time you reach for the bottle, your hands will be contaminated anyway, right? Did I get it or did I miss something?
Anyway, I used to be slightly concerned with cross contamination and I guess I still am when I use a public restroom, but outdoors, I'm kinda like, all bets are off. I'll try not to make myself sick through carelessness, but if it's gonna get me, it's gonna get me. My Grandma used to say, " You've got to eat a peck of dirt before you die." She's gone now, so I'm not sure if she was saying that one must eat a whole peck of dirt before they get sick and die or if you will eat a peck of dirt in you lifetime before you die...

-Jason