Category: Shop

5 things to look for in hand sanitizer

With the recent surge in demand for hand sanitizer, you may have been forced to deviate from your usual go-to choice and try some new brands. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies hand sanitizer as an over-the-counter drug, …

With the recent surge in demand for hand sanitizer, you may have been forced to deviate from your usual go-to choice and try some new brands. 

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies hand sanitizer as an over-the-counter drug, available without a prescription. Hand sanitizer is regulated because it’s used as a key step in protecting yourself against the spread of germs and viruses. 

On April 27, 2020, the FDA reported that there were now an additional 1,500 manufacturers of hand sanitizer registered. With this many new manufacturers coming into the game, it’s reasonable to assume that some companies are simply trying to capitalize on the increased demand and are potentially cutting corners to create new products. 

Because hand sanitizer can be a lifesaving product, especially in today’s time, it should not be made cheaply or insufficiently. 

Now more than ever, it’s important to pay attention to your hand sanitizer’s ingredient list and make sure you’re choosing the best one. 

These are five things you should be looking for in a hand sanitizer.

Methanol

Methanol is something you DON’T want to see on the ingredient list of any hand sanitizer. Methanol is toxic alcohol, sometimes referred to as “wood alcohol.” It’s commonly used as rocket fuel and antifreeze. Methanol is also an ingredient used as feedstock (i.e., raw material to supply or fuel a machine or industrial process) in products like adhesives and foams. Despite its name, this is definitely not something meant for human ingestion. 

When absorbed through the skin, methanol can produce negative effects such as nausea, vomiting, and headaches. The adverse effects of methanol are worsened if swallowed; seizures, blindness, damage to the nervous system, permanent blindness, and even death. 

In July of 2020, the FDA recalled several hand sanitization products that contained even trace amounts of methanol. The FDA urges consumers to check the ingredient list of sanitizers that they already have and dispose of any that contain this toxic ingredient. Going forward, they also highly recommend that consumers be cautious and always check the labels of hand sanitizers before purchasing. 

Discard any products that contain methanol as an ingredient, even in the lowest doses. 

1-Propanol

1-Propanol or 1-propyl alcohol is another alcohol found in some hand sanitizers and is also toxic for humans. It’s commonly used as a solvent or an ingredient in other solvents to create cleaning products. Swallowing 1-propanol can lead to decreased breathing and heart rate, lack of coordination and reflexes, hypotension, and in severe cases, death. When used in a hand sanitizer, it will likely irritate your skin and cause some type of reaction. 

It’s important to read labels of sanitization products before buying them. Look for the FDA approval symbol or the absence of ingredients such as 1-propanol or methanol. 

Ethyl Alcohol

Ethyl alcohol (also known as ethanol or alcohol) is one of the only two types of alcohol acceptable for use in hand sanitizer. Alcohol-based sanitizer should contain at least 60% alcohol to be effective for killing germs and bacteria. If ethyl alcohol is the only alcohol listed as an active ingredient, make sure it is at a level of at least 60%. 

Ethyl alcohol is safe when used as directed but can still be harmful and lead to alcohol poisoning if a person swallows multiple mouthfuls. Store your hand sanitizer out of reach of young children to avoid accidents. 

Isopropyl Alcohol

Isopropyl alcohol (also known as isopropanol or 2-propanol) is the only other alcohol type that should be found in hand sanitizers. Some sanitizers use a combination of alcohols; if isopropyl is the only active ingredient listed, it should be at least 60%. 

Moisturizer

The high content of alcohol in hand sanitizers can cause the skin to become irritated and dry. With frequent usage, hands commonly become chapped. 

In the process of killing germs and bacteria, alcohol also has the effect of stripping away our skin’s natural oils; this is what leads to hands feeling uncomfortably dry and cracked. Some hand sanitizers are infused with natural moisturizers to help counter this. 

Look for sanitizers with natural moisturizers such as aloe vera or coconut oil. With something like hand sanitizer that can be harsh on the skin, you’ll want to be countering this by using all-natural products that will work to repair your skin at the same time. GreenGoo is a company that uses plant-based ingredients focused on maximum hydration, effectiveness, and comfort. The company’s Aloe Shea hand sanitizer is 70% ethyl alcohol, meaning you can safely rely on it to kill any germs or bacteria quickly and effectively. GreenGoo is also donating a portion of sales from their hand sanitizers to a different local charity every month for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Hand Sanitizer vs. Washing Your Hands

While using hand sanitizer is commonly thought of as interchangeable with traditional hand washing, there are important differences you should know.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that when the option is available, people should choose to wash their hands with soap and water instead of using hand sanitizer. This is because traditional hand washing can kill all kinds of germs, and while sanitizers can reduce the number of microbes on your hand, they can’t necessarily kill all of the germs.

Hand sanitizer is effective at removing germs after hands have been touching dirty surfaces. However, if hands are heavily soiled or greasy, like after playing sports or doing yard work, sanitizer may not be strong enough to kill all bacteria. With any heavy buildup of grease or dirt, try to wash your hands with soap and water instead of using sanitizer. 

Traditional handwashing is also favored if hands have come into contact with harmful chemicals like pesticides or heavy metals. It may be surprising, but soap and water will be more effective at removing chemicals than hand sanitizer.  

Did you know it’s possible to overuse hand sanitizer? Using alcohol-based sanitizers too often can result in germs becoming resistant to the formula. This means that using the sanitizer would no longer be as effective. Using hand sanitizer is a great part of your personal hygiene routine, but as with everything, moderation is best.

Non-Alcohol Hand Sanitizer?

Non-alcohol sanitizers are sometimes preferred because they are just as efficient and avoid any health or safety concerns. Non-alcohol formulas are CDC approved and are considered safer than alcohol sanitizers for a few reasons:

  • Avoiding the risk of ingestion of alcohol for young children
  • No posed risk from flammability
  • Repeated use of a product containing alcohol is likely to lead to skin irritation 

The difference in alcohol vs. non-alcohol cleaners’ effectiveness is as small as 0.009%, making it practically dismissible. 

Why Do Some Hand Sanitizers Smell So Bad?

With the almost instantaneous spike in demand for hand sanitizers, several companies decided to start creating their own sanitizer to help close the demand gap and capitalize on this consumer need. 

If you recently used a sanitizer that smelled like stinky tequila or rotten food, it’s probably because it was made with denatured ethanol instead of industry-standard ethyl alcohol. Denatured ethanol is notably cheaper to produce, making it an appealing alternative for companies trying to break into this product sector. More relevant to the smell aspect, denatured ethanol lacks the carbon filtration that ethyl alcohol goes through; the filtration removes the unpleasant odor. To further add to the stink, these cheaper production processes usually entail a concoction of other, just as cheap, questionable chemicals. 

It’s best to stay away from low-quality hand sanitizers.

How to…

Wash your hands

  • Wet hands.
  • Lather hands with soap and rub them together for at least 20-30 seconds. Singing the “Happy Birthday” song twice is believed to be the perfect length of time for a thorough hand wash.
  • Be sure to rub the backs of your hands, in between your fingers, and along your fingertips. 
  • Rinse hands under running water to remove all of the soap.
  • Either air dry or wipe hands dry with a clean towel.

Use hand sanitizer

  • Ensure the sanitizer you are using contains at least 60% alcohol and is free from methanol and 1-propanol.
  • Apply enough hand sanitizer to cover the entire surface area of your hands. Usually, a nickel or quarter-sized amount is appropriate. 
  • Rub hands together and be sure to rub the backs of your hands, in between your fingers, and along your fingertips.
  • Do not wipe off excess sanitizer onto a surface – this could be counteractive to cleaning your hands and may hinder the sanitizer’s ability to kill germs. 

Follow these rules, use a high-quality hand sanitizer, and always practice good hygiene for a healthier, safer life!

9 best float brands to relax in your pool

There’s nothing quite like kicking back with a nice cold drink and relaxing on a floaty. As lounging on pool floats (and taking pictures of doing so) has become an increasingly popular trend, several brands have emerged, offering new ways to up your …

There’s nothing quite like kicking back with a nice cold drink and relaxing on a floaty. As lounging on pool floats (and taking pictures of doing so) has become an increasingly popular trend, several brands have emerged, offering new ways to up your pool-game.

It’s a float frenzy out there, and with all the colors, shapes, and designs your heart desires, there’s a floaty for everyone. Here are the top 9 float brands you should try out next time you decide to hang out at the pool, on your boat, or anywhere on the water.

Funboy 

Funboy is a USA-based, family owned lifestyle brand best known for its creative, Instagramable pool floats. As a design leader, Funboy has the most unique, high-quality floats on the market. Just check out their bestsellers page to see for yourself.

courtesy of Funboy

Funboy prides itself on not using any harmful chemicals or colorings in their products. Quality is key when it comes to Funboy. Another cool thing about the company is that Funboy releases new float designs every year, sort of like a clothing brand.

In addition to the best pool floats on the market, Funboy also makes fantastic Inflatable Kiddie Pools and even a Giant Rocketship backyard sprinkler.

Sunny Life 

Sunny Life is an Australian summer style company offering just about every summer must-have item, including pool and beach floats. 

Sunny Life uses graphics, bold prints, and any of the latest trends for inspiration in their pool and beach-side products. From noodles and kiddie floats to sports-inspired floats like volleyball sets, this Aussie company has got you covered. Sunny Life offers its take on the classics, like the Golden Swan.

Big Mouth Inc

Big Mouth Inc brings you—you guessed it—big floats. 

courtesy of Big Mouth Inc

Big Mouth Inc is an American lifestyle brand from Connecticut. They make big products in hopes of bringing you and your family a big amount of fun. Big Mouth Inc isn’t shy to bring their own twist to the pool float game by offering floats in designs like Stranger Things and River Tubes. Wondering how a pool float can be made strange? Check out Dart, an adolescent demodragon bringing you a cool mix of mischief and terror. Big Mouth Inc isn’t scared to stand out, and with any of their products, you’re bound to stand out at your next pool party too. 

Intex 

Intex offers above ground pools, spas, air furniture, as well as their own take on floats and pool toys. 

You may like Intex if you’re looking for a more common take on pool floats, like classic inflatable mats and lounges. Like Funboy, most of their lounge floats have built-in cup holders – perfect for keeping your favorite summer drink right on hand.

Swimline

Swimline started out as an American pool company and has since expanded into creating pool toys and other water sports equipment. Swimline offers not only water floats, but an array of other fun pool products like games, lounge chairs, and accessories.

courtesy of Swimline

Swimline offers its own cool take on pool floats, with a wide variety of categories to choose from like Animals, Food & Drink, and Islands.

GoFloats

GoFloats comes to you right from the USA, offering rafts, toys, and summer pool floats. 

GoFloats’ products are made with their special rapid valve inflation technology, which allows them to be inflated ten times faster than traditional valves. That’s the difference of blowing up your toy in two minutes instead of 20 minutes—all the more time to mix your drink or get your tan on. 

Texas Recreation

Texas Recreation offers more simplistic designs for their floats and lounges, making them a good choice for those who just want to blend in and have a mellow time. 

Texas Recreation is a leading company for vinyl-coating products—perfect for things that need to be flexible, like pool floats. They also pride themselves on being eco-friendly; they practice responsible recycling, which reduces their water and air pollution impact.

Coconut Float

Coconut Float brings you inflatables, beach balls, and outdoor toys. 

courtesy of Coconut Float

brings its own fun twist to the floaty game by offering cool designs like this Retro Cassette float. They have other unique designs like a Moustache, Game Controller, and a wide variety of fruit shapes.

Kelsyus

Kelsyus creates their products for those who enjoy a more active and rustic lifestyle. As they say so themselves, their products are “built for life outdoors.” They offer more casual floats, making them a great option for using at the lake or on a river. 

They design their products to be durable and functional, making them perfect for any outdoor adventure. Kelsyus engineers love the outdoors just as much as you do, so you can be sure they’ve created their designs accordingly that can be taken on any adventure you have planned. 

Check out their Party Float, which holds four people so you and your friends can hang out and enjoy a float down the river together.

Take Your Floating Game To The Next Level

There’s a whole wide world of floaties out there, how will you stand out? Funboy has so many exotic, luxurious, and fun floaties to choose from, you can find one that suits every taste.

Need a birthday present for the twin boys? Try the Red Sports Car Bundle. Feeling feisty for the neighbor’s pool party next door? Go for a sexy Lip Float in bright red or metallic pink. Funboy has everything you need for your next beach or pool day; plush towels, beach bags, drink coolers, kiddie pools, and more. 

Important lighting to improve your home

Looking to improve your living space’s interior and exterior lighting? List Wire has a few recommendations to help get you started.

From concert stages to the world’s most famous art galleries, designers know that proper lighting is essential to a great experience.

You may not need the curated lights of a Broadway show or an exhibit at the Louvre, but upgrading your home light setup can be a huge boost to your living space’s appeal, comfort, and even safety!

With sleek and smart accent lights, you can dramatically improve the vibe of your interior or outdoor hangout areas.

Add in a few well-placed emergency lights for a power outage scenario, and you can feel better prepared to handle uncertain situations, whenever they may happen.

Lights may not seem like a big deal, but there have been some significant advancements in the industry that make your home and more stylish and safe.

Let’s check out these two overlooked types of home lighting and figure out the best way to get them under control.

Fun “Accent” Lighting

image courtesy of Boundery

Who doesn’t love a bit of interior design? Setting up your furniture and decor is a great way to express creativity and make a unique mark on your living space.

It doesn’t matter if you just moved into a new apartment or want a change of pace from that decade-old setup. Simply switching things around can be refreshing and fun!

Many of us have an eye for positioning pieces throughout a room, but lighting a space the right way is more of a challenge.

Floor lamps, table lamps, chandeliers, and overhead spotlights are tough to match with one another, and even a minor misplacement can leave weird lighting gaps in the room.

Add into the equation various wattages and different kinds of bulbs, and you run the risk of having your whole design ruined by bad lighting.

We’ve all been in that discouraging spot, but there is hope for those looking to take care of their home light layout!

Accent lighting is one of the best-kept secrets of interior design, and anyone can figure it out.

When done right, these lights help create a custom look that will make your living space look like a high-end hotel suite or exclusive gallery!

The lights are small and easy to move around, meaning you can fill in gaps quickly or highlight specific parts of the room that need more attention.

Way too many folks overlook accent lighting, which means they’re missing out on a super easy enhancement to their entire home.

Here are just a few reasons why accent lights are a no-brainer for lighting any space:

  • The lights themselves are small and subtle compared to larger lamps.
  • Many products have settings for varying brightness and different colors.
  • Low-profile lights allow for more creativity and flexibility.
  • You can purchase multiple lights at an excellent price and save cash.

Right now, one of the best accent light products on the market is the LUMN8 EFX Remote Control Accent Light from Boundery, which packs a ton of power and style into a small frame.

We love this sleek little disks because they are loaded with ten bright LEDs and feature 16 different static light modes for maximum versatility.

Each pack of 4 lights is controlled by a remote control that lets you cycle through modes and pick from one of the many mood light colors.

On top of all that, the lights can be submerged in water for up to 6 hours, meaning you can add some flair to the pool, drink cooler, or decorative vase if you want!

The LUMN8 EFX lights are perfect for inside use but also perform well outdoors, whether it’s on the back patio, front porch, garden, or pool.

Flip through all the settings, and you’ll find the perfect lighting for a crazy house party or just a chill night on the couch.

We love how much power these light disks have to transform the look of a room or outdoor area. Plus there is no annoying installation or setup, just plug and play.

With a couple of clicks on the remote, and you can go from funky to formal and everything in-between! Four different disks give you a lot of creative possibilities.

Make sure you check in on the Boundery website now and then, because they run great deals and promos that can save you big bucks on your next lighting upgrade.

Emergency Lighting

image courtesy of Boundery

Mood lighting is an excellent design hack, both indoors and outside.

But remember that emergencies are always possible, and you want equal parts fun and functionality in your home lighting strategy.

Any number of natural disasters or even human error can result in outages, and there’s no telling how long your home may be without power.

Even if you have a backup generator, flashlights, and lamps ready to go, you want lightbulbs in place that will spring to life automatically when something happens to the grid.

We aren’t saying you have to load up on canned goods and start hoarding fresh water, but every home should have some basic backup lighting in place.

With the right emergency power bulbs, you won’t have to scramble around for a handheld light or rely on that valuable cell phone flashlight battery, which can deplete quickly.

Being able to see where you’re going is the last thing you want to worry about in a tense situation! This is especially so if you have family and friends to look after as well.

Look into getting some quality emergency light bulbs, and treat yourself to some much-needed peace of mind.

The best emergency light setups will have the following features:

  • Automatic activation at the moment of an outage
  • Ongoing battery charging when not in use
  • Reduced power requirements for longer-lasting light
  • Extended LED lifespan (ideally 2+ years)
  • Suitable for interior and outdoor use

It isn’t easy to find a bulb that does all this at an affordable price, but options are available online if you know where to look.

Once again, Boundery has the hookup on lighting, and this time it’s a more urgent matter. When it comes to home safety, it just isn’t worth cutting corners.

We recommend checking out the EBULB Emergency Power LED Light Bulb, which checks all the boxes listed above and has tons of excellent reviews from around the web.

Not only do these light bulbs look great, but they also have a massive lifespan of over 25,000 hours, which is equivalent to almost three years of use!

They use 80% less energy than regular incandescent bulbs, all while pumping out up to 800 LED Lumens of bright white light.

These bulbs charge up in less than 4 hours of normal use and are ready for action. When the power cuts out, you don’t have to fiddle with any switches or swipe around in the dark.

The bulbs flip into their alternative power source automatically, and you can navigate freely and safely. From there, you get 4 hours of uninterrupted, high-quality light.

Even if you replace just a handful of standard bulbs around the house with this powerful emergency light, it is a vast improvement for minimal effort and cost.

Where should you install these backup bulbs? Start by considering where you may need emergency lighting the most.

Stairwells, hallways, and entryways are just a few areas that you always want to keep illuminated since you need them to access other areas of the house.

The bedroom, bathroom, or home office can also benefit from backup bulbs and help everyone feel more comfortable in uncertain times.

We also suggest keeping EBULBs in kids’ rooms and playrooms to keep the young ones calm during an outage.

If you want to keep a light on the situation outside, install some emergency bulbs on the front porch or overlooking the backyard as well.

Boundery also carries some high-powered flashlights, and solar-powered motion-sensing LED light bars and other unique products that bring your lighting into the 21st century.

Once you see the incredible range of lighting possibilities out there, you’ll want to overhaul from top to bottom!

There is real power in great lighting, whether it enhances your space’s visual experience or adds an extra layer of protection to your emergency protocol.

Accent lighting can bring that cool, custom look to your living room, bedroom, or outdoor area, while emergency bulbs let you relax when faced with an outage.

Style and security should be your priorities when choosing lights, and we’ve got you covered.

Picking the right products can give you a significant boost in both areas without digging too deep into your pocket or taking extra time out of your day.

Check out our recommendations for each category and live life in the best possible light!