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Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here...
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Here's the deal - I'm working with a small company that makes specialty socks. They will exhibit at the odd trade and craft show. The unique feature is how they feel, very different than a wool or synthetic sock. Explaining doesn't go very far, but if someone tries them on, some people immediately are struck by the difference and the odds of their buying a pair goes way up. This has worked in a very small shop environment, where maybe only a person or 2 tries on a pair in a day, and they can be washed overnight if they don't purchase. But at a show, there's the potential to offer a tryout to many people. I need a way to disinfect a pair of socks and have them ready to be tried on again in a matter of minutes. 70% isopropyl fulfills the function and evaporates quickly enough (I think), but I don't know if the flammability would mean the organizer would not permit it or if there is a tank that minimizes the risk.

If alcohol is likely to be an insurmountable risk, is there anything else that would serve the purpose and evaporate pretty quickly?

Thanks in advance,

el cabrero

el cabrero
Pure American Naturals
http://www.pureamericannaturals.com/
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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Microwave them.

Use the spray bowling alleys use for shoes

who's smarter than you're? i'm!
Last edited by: veganerd: Sep 12, 17 15:37
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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https://www.amazon.com/...words=uv+sterilizers


"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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Couldn't you use some sort of UV light in an enclosure? Wouldn't have to dry, etc.
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [onehandicap] [ In reply to ]
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onehandicap wrote:
Couldn't you use some sort of UV light in an enclosure? Wouldn't have to dry, etc.

Look up. ;-)


"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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I work in a bowling alley-- the spray we use is medical grade disinfectant but it's not intended for porous surfaces but I'd think you could source something that would fit the purpose from a similar supplier.
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [MOP_Mike] [ In reply to ]
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MOP_Mike wrote:
https://www.amazon.com/Salon-Sundry-Professional-Ultraviolet-Sterilizer/dp/B007ROD0ZE/ref=sr_1_9_a_it/144-3513977-9182112?ie=UTF8&qid=1505256376&sr=8-9&keywords=uv+sterilizers
Nice, thanks. This might be the ticket.

el cabrero
Pure American Naturals
http://www.pureamericannaturals.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PureAmericanNaturals/
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [jschm13] [ In reply to ]
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jschm13 wrote:
I work in a bowling alley-- the spray we use is medical grade disinfectant but it's not intended for porous surfaces but I'd think you could source something that would fit the purpose from a similar supplier.
Will also investigate this solution. The Brunswick one lists only ethanol on their MSDS, so should be no problem. I came across some other ones prompted by your reply, but need to research. Some others appear to be not safe applied to the skin. The only issue I see is being close to other booths and the scent getting irritating after a while (as in obnoxious, not actual irritant)

el cabrero
Pure American Naturals
http://www.pureamericannaturals.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PureAmericanNaturals/
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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How many pairs are you talking about? I work in a very busy running specialty store and we can go through 50 pairs a day. We have a couple hundred pairs of try-on socks and wash them every few days. If we run short of try-on pairs we just grab some off the rack, and the sock vendor gives us credit. Seems like a sock company would be able to afford to have a good sized number of try-on pairs. All our try-on socks are the same styles we sell, and using them greatly increases our sock sales.

Don

Tri-ing to have fun. Anything else is just a bonus!
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [Tri2HaveFun] [ In reply to ]
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There are 4 styles and a couple sizes each, so we'd have 8 pairs of try-on socks. At one of the shows coming up this fall, there are > 10k attendees/day. Having never exhibited, I have no idea what to expect in terms of number of people stopping to try the socks, but want to be prepared for hundreds of trials/day. I can imagine sitting around for periods of time, but also stretches when there are several people queued up wanting to try socks. And this is the major concern - if people waiting see they're going to put on a pair of socks that someone else just had on, that could be a turnoff and I want to avoid that. Maybe we'll need to consider having more than one pair per SKU to try on, but I still think it's our responsibility to do what we can to avoid spreading around any pathogens.

el cabrero
Pure American Naturals
http://www.pureamericannaturals.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PureAmericanNaturals/
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [Tri2HaveFun] [ In reply to ]
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Tri2HaveFun wrote:
How many pairs are you talking about? I work in a very busy running specialty store and we can go through 50 pairs a day. We have a couple hundred pairs of try-on socks and wash them every few days. If we run short of try-on pairs we just grab some off the rack, and the sock vendor gives us credit. Seems like a sock company would be able to afford to have a good sized number of try-on pairs. All our try-on socks are the same styles we sell, and using them greatly increases our sock sales.

Do you get the crappy job of having to match the hundreds of socks after the laundry is done?
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [AndysStrongAle] [ In reply to ]
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AndysStrongAle wrote:
Tri2HaveFun wrote:
How many pairs are you talking about? I work in a very busy running specialty store and we can go through 50 pairs a day. We have a couple hundred pairs of try-on socks and wash them every few days. If we run short of try-on pairs we just grab some off the rack, and the sock vendor gives us credit. Seems like a sock company would be able to afford to have a good sized number of try-on pairs. All our try-on socks are the same styles we sell, and using them greatly increases our sock sales.


Do you get the crappy job of having to match the hundreds of socks after the laundry is done?

Not anymore. That job goes to new employees.

Don

Tri-ing to have fun. Anything else is just a bonus!
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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Can you make mittens or have them try them on their hands?

I work in tech where people keep their shoes on at trade shows and this sounds pretty gross to me.
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [Moonrocket] [ In reply to ]
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Moonrocket wrote:
Can you make mittens or have them try them on their hands?
We do have some fingerless gloves, but that yarn is a little different and doesn't feel quite as soft and smooth as the socks. But good suggestion, I'll make sure to have a few pairs of those in the try-me-on pile

el cabrero
Pure American Naturals
http://www.pureamericannaturals.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PureAmericanNaturals/
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [Tri2HaveFun] [ In reply to ]
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Tri2HaveFun wrote:
AndysStrongAle wrote:
Tri2HaveFun wrote:
How many pairs are you talking about? I work in a very busy running specialty store and we can go through 50 pairs a day. We have a couple hundred pairs of try-on socks and wash them every few days. If we run short of try-on pairs we just grab some off the rack, and the sock vendor gives us credit. Seems like a sock company would be able to afford to have a good sized number of try-on pairs. All our try-on socks are the same styles we sell, and using them greatly increases our sock sales.


Do you get the crappy job of having to match the hundreds of socks after the laundry is done?

Not anymore. That job goes to new employees.

Saftey pin the pairs together before washing them.

who's smarter than you're? i'm!
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [veganerd] [ In reply to ]
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This is the company we buy our spray from: http://clairemfg.com/...gories/disinfectants
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Re: Long shot, but crazy amount of knowledge here... [cabrero] [ In reply to ]
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I'm going to suggest you have significantly more than 8 pairs of socks for potentially 1000 people trying them on. That's hoping 10% play the game and try them on as they go from booth to booth. You probably need 80 pairs -10 each style/size. You would never be able to keep up with the disinfecting aspect with only 8 pairs anyways. And you need someone who's job is to disinfect the socks. Not sell, just the grunt work. Have baskets of fresh socks and an obvious dirty sock basket that is constantly being emptied and cleaned. That's going to be the toughest job in your booth!đŸ˜‰ If that turns out to be too many, you can always give them to vendors to use as try on pairs so they won't go to waste. But better to have too many than not enough and people bypass your booth because of a line.

Good luck!

**********************
Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."
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