Soap and water work to remove all types of germs from hands, while sanitizer acts by killing certain germs on the skin. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs in many situations. To prevent covid 19, it’s important to use hand sanitizer. Alcohol rub sanitizers kill most bacteria and stop some viruses. If it contains at least 70% alcohol, it can kill 99.9% of the bacteria on hands 30 seconds after application.