Congrats to you both on sobriety!
Not sure what a good substitute would be, just avoid Isopropyl unless you can thoroughly rinse it off before using the atty.
Iso's poison, and I'm not sure simply rinsing it with distilled water would clean it well enough.
I thought regular alcohol evaporates completely once it dries. Or so I've been told on here over a dozen times already. Honestly, so far I've been running hot well water through mine when they get to where theyre not working well.....generally on average every 8-10 days or so. I just cut on my water, let it get hot, rinse the atty well, blow it out, and let it drain upside down overnight. Knock on wood......I've been using the same 2 original ones that came with my kit since I bought it at the beginning of March......thumbs up on their present performance! Using my very first one right now......if they both tore up tonight, I couldn't say anything.....I've well gotten my moneys worth out of them and then some!