Five other things you can do with hand sanitiser

 Hand sanitiser is, after all, mostly isopropyl alcohol (CH₃CHOHCH₃) which you can also buy in liquid form as Isocol. There are others types of non-alchohol sanitisers, but these tips do not apply.

The gel can make the sanitiser easier to handle as there isn't the spillage you get with Isocol liquid. And, let's face it, hand sanitiser is everywhere and usually free every time you walk into a store or office. It is also almost non-toxic, especially when compared to its nasty cousin, ethanol. And it drys to nothing, leaving no residue or harmful oxidants to damage your electronics.

So, all those jobs you kept expensive Isocol solvent around for can be just as easily completed with corner store sanitiser. Here are five quick and handy tasks you can complete. Add your ideas in the comments.

1. Clean your whiteboard. Dab a squirt of hand sanitiser on a tissue or soft cloth and go crazy. It works a treat, especially for those stubborn marks.

2. Soothe insect bites. When those pesky mosquitoes start biting, slap a liberal dose of sanitiser on the bite to instantly ease itching. If the skin is slightly broken, it will also help disinfect - even if it stings a bit at first.

3. Clean your spectacles. Hand sanitiser makes a great lens cleaner. Smear the lens with liquid sanitiser and rub gently with tissue paper to remove grubby finger marks and grease. You can also use on your camera lenses, binoculars etc too but use ONLY tissue paper or microfibre cloth to avoid damage to lens coatings. A bonus benefit is sanitiser (achohol) works as an anti-fogging compound. True.

4. Disinfect your devices. Cellphones, iPods, tablets, keyboards, mice and so many more peripherals all get a lot of handling during the course of a day and we know how germs spread. Again, a tissue paper or microfibre cloth is ideal. HINT: clean your keyboard when the computer is OFF. (duh!)

5. Works as a deodorant and aftershave substitute. Rushing to that first date and forgot the Brut 33? Never fear, sanitiser will quickly soothe razor rash (you too girls!) with the added benefit of disinfecting. Body odour is caused by the bacteria on our skin, so a quick lather of sanitiser under your arms will quell most odours quickly.

So there you have it. Do you have you your own tips for unusual uses of hand sanitiser? Let's hear them.