Travel size hand sanitizer: the rules and what to pack

A plane, a train and a theme park are the places hand sanitizer proves its worth, and the places with the most rules about it. Here is what clears security and what to pack where.

The carry-on rule

The TSA liquids rule is 3.4 fl oz or 100 mL per container, all containers in one quart bag, one bag per passenger. Hand sanitizer counts as a liquid or gel. Every PURELL travel size, the 1 fl oz jelly-wrap bottle, the 2 fl oz pump and the 2 fl oz spray, is under the limit; the 4 fl oz flip-cap and anything bigger goes in the checked bag. Individually wrapped hand sanitizing wipes and the 20-count travel wipes packs are not liquids and do not need the bag at all.

Spray or gel on the plane

The spray wins in a seat: a fine mist covers both hands in one pass, dries in seconds and leaves nothing on the tray table or the armrest. It is also the format least likely to leak in a bag, because nothing can be squeezed. The gel in a flip-cap is the better choice for a child who needs a visible dose. Scented sprays use essential oils that fade as the alcohol dries; the unscented spray is the courteous choice in a full row.

What to pack where

• Carry-on quart bag: one 2 fl oz spray or pump.

• Pocket or seat-back: a few individually wrapped hand sanitizing wipes for the tray table and the armrest.

• Backpack: a 1 fl oz jelly-wrap bottle clipped to the zipper, where a child can reach it.

• Car door: a 2 fl oz pump and a 40-count wipes canister in the console.

• Hotel room: the 8 fl oz pump bottle from the checked bag, on the nightstand.

At the destination

Stadiums, theme parks and cruise ships have their own hand-hygiene stations, usually PURELL touch-free dispensers at the entrances and the food lines; use them and keep the travel bottle for the queue and the restroom. On a cruise, VF PLUS is the formula the lines specify for norovirus; at home, the Advanced gel is enough.

What size is travel size, and which is best

Travel size hand sanitizer is any bottle of 3.4 fl oz or less, the size you can enter security with; PURELL travel size hand sanitizers come in 1 fl oz and 2 fl oz, as gel, spray and packets. The best travel hand sanitizer is simply the one that gets used: for clean hands in a plane seat, the spray; for a small hand sanitizer a child can keep on a backpack, the jelly-wrap bottle; for a variety of scents in one family, the variety pack; for the wallet, the packets. Keep one in every bag, keep hygiene simple, and clean hands travel with you.