Breaking: "We have plenty of toilet paper to go around"

[Renew Deal]

Coronavirus fears spark 'panic buying' of toilet paper, water, hand sanitizer. Here's why we all need to calm down

Keep calm and stop hoarding. The spread of coronavirus in the U.S. won't wipe out our toilet paper supply. Or supplies of hand sanitizer, bottled water and ramen.

That is, unless the frenzied stampedes for hand sanitizer and bottled water continue at their current pace.

Anticipating a potential quarantine, shoppers ran out this weekend to buy food, water and other staples so they could avoid exposing themselves and their families. Others, alarmed by the rising death count and number of confirmed cases in the U.S., went on impulsive buying binges, stripping store shelves of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Soon, hand sanitizer was nearly impossible to find in some places.

Online stores were hit hard, too, and not just Amazon.com. At the top of the Kroger app Monday was an alert limiting the number of sanitization and cold and flu-related products to five of each per order. The Costco and Target websites listed all kinds of staples including Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and all-purpose cleaner as "out of stock."
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/02/coronavirus-toilet-paper-shortage-stores-selling-out/4930420002

[kairos12]

1. No sign of a stiff upper lip.

[Kaleva]

2. In Jan., I bought 4 30 oz bottles of hand sanitizer for $15.40 on Amazon. It now costs $159.

[Raine]

14. People can make their own hand sanitizer if they calm down and stop freaking out

can be made using alcohol and aloe vera. There's lots of recipes on the internet, making your own would probably cost next to nothing.

[Kaleva]

16. I looked on Amazon and it's cost me about $50 to make my own

But that's factoring I'd be making some for my adult step kids and the older grandchildren who all live within walking distance of me.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Well, my Target store, in Arkansas, had 2 pallets of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

3 packs on the main aisle this morning. That was the only sign of anything different this morning.

[eleny]

4. I shopped today and some shelves were empty

No Puffs tissues and only one double pack of Kleenex. Hand sanitizer shelf was empty when I was there but I got some the other day. Disinfecting wipes shelf was on its way to emptying out.

Not many packages of chicken left in the cooler.

[Demovictory9]

5. target online is out of regular hand sanitizer

[BigmanPigman]

6. Sounds par for the course for

the average informed American.....

I saw this posted earlier on DU (3 ways to make your own). I like the one with vodka or 80 proof alcohol since it can serve many purposes and is cheap.

"Making Gel Hand Sanitizer with Grain Alcohol" is a new approach to the problem...
"Measure out 1 ounce of vodka and 3 ounces of plain aloe vera gel and dump both of them together in to the bowl.[20] Add ten drops of your chosen essential oil(s). Use your spatula (or spoon) to stir vigorously until the ingredients are fully mixed together.
If you’d prefer not to mix by hand in a bowl, you can use your food processor instead."

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Gel-Alcohol-Hand-Sanitizer

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. My wife bought me 2 bottles of 80 proof Jack. It will NOT go on my hands.

[sl8]

11. The recipe using 80 proof vodka is wrong.

Last edited Tue Mar 3, 2020, 08:37 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm amazed at just how wrong it is.

From the Wiki:

[...]
To be comparable to store-bought products like Purell or Germ-X in terms of effectiveness, the final product needs to be at least 65% alcohol.[15] Using 80 proof vodka (or higher) will place your final product within that range.[16]

[...]

Combine the ingredients. Measure out 1 ounce of vodka and 3 ounces of plain aloe vera gel and dump both of them together in to the bowl.[20] Add ten drops of your chosen essential oil(s). Use your spatula (or spoon) to stir vigorously until the ingredients are fully mixed together.

Think about it for a second. 80 proof vodka is 40% alcohol. Diluting it with the gel (3 parts gel to 1 part alcohol) brings the alcohol concentration down to 10%.

==================

On edit:

Using the same ratios, but substituting 100% alcohol (I know) for the vodka, the resulting "sanitizer" would still only contain 25% alcohol.

I'm really having a hard time understanding how the wiki's author(s) or editor(s) could write those instructions.

[BigmanPigman]

18. The math doesn't add up, does it?

Maybe you are supposed to drink while you make a batch and then you don't know whether or not it makes sense.

[sl8]

19. LOL. n/t

[sl8]

20. I see that they have changed that third recipe.

I didn't scrutinize it, but they have changed the recommended alcohol from 80 proof vodka to 190 proof grain alcohol.

[BigmanPigman]

22. You're right.

I guess you need to be over 21 to make the stuff. I wonder how many would attempt to drink it or at least have a shot to safe guard their insides or just "to see".

[cwydro]

15. Not enough alcohol in that.

80 proof is only 40% alcohol.

[wishstar]

7. Maybe all the frantic buying helped boost the stock market today

since consumer buying has been fueling the economy up until now

[EllieBC]

8. The water thing...

SARS was transmitting through apartment building pipes in Hong Kong. There’s concern this might as well.

That said I noticed my local grocery store that likes to pride itself on being small and regional is gouging on bottled water. I will no longer shop with them.

[roamer65]

10. Just boil the tap water and cool in the fridge if you are concerned.

Boiling the water kills the virus or any others in it.

[misanthrope]

21. Now, now. If we use logic or rational thinking it will slow down the economic boost

Don't you want to be a good American?

[roamer65]

23. Bad roamer65!

Lol.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. I actually needed to get toilet paper today, had it on my list

And I had to go to 2 stores to find the brand I always buy - and I got the very last package!

[malaise]

13. Oh shit!

[tavernier]

17. I heard that the Koch company makes several top brands of TP

so I imagine they aren’t upset about panic buying.