CLEVELAND -- The ads claim to "kill germs without water," or are "99.99 percent germ free." But do these antibacterial sanitizers really do what they say they do?

In a 5 On Your Side consumer investigation, Angie Lau purchased several different hand sanitizers to put the claims to the test.

Dr. Val Flechtner studies germs and knows why sanitizers have become so popular.

"The most important, staphylococcus aureus, that organism can give you an infection in a papercut or an infection that can kill you," Flechtner said.

Lau said whether they're name brands, or names you've never heard of before, sanitizers all have one thing in common -- the active ingredient, ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol.

The Federal Drug Administration recommends a concentration of at least 60 percent ethyl alcohol, Lau reported. Otherwise, it would be the same as washing your hands without the soap.

Flechtner asked the testers to first press fingers on a petri dish to find out just how much bacteria is actually on their hands before they use the sanitizer.

Then after applying it, the testers pressed their fingers on a separate petri dish to show what happens after.

"I took the plate and incubated them for 48 hours to give the bacteria full potential for them to grow. Now if the products work, the after should show little to no bacteria, Flechtner said.

"Pretty much similar in results," she said.

Lau said that the results showed that alcohol works, but is it as effective when it's in products? Flechtner said, "the answer to that question is no."

The generic on many store shelves is April antibacterial hand sanitizer.

"April at least has a lovely color," Flechtner said. "But is it doing the job that you want it to? Probably not very much."

As far as Flechtner is concerned "Sani-doo" is a don't.

"If the purpose of buying antibacterial sanitizer is to get rid of bacteria, I would say you are wasting your money," Flechtner said.

Each one of the generic Dollar Store products were like using nothing at all, Lau reported.

Lucky brand antibacterial sanitizers also failed Flechtner's test.

"Ethanol did a better job than any of the products here," she said.

The brand names tested -- Purell and one from the American Red Cross -- both did the job.

There was little to no bacteria after hands were cleaned with these products.

Lau found out that sometimes it pays to spend the extra bucks for the brand name.

To find out how the tests by Flechtner were done and to get the results, click here.