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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsQuestion: Why are people stocking up on toilet paper?
This may be a dumb question, but I don't know why anyone would need loads of toilet paper.
unc70
(6,109 posts)Lisa0825
(14,487 posts)they won't have to go out to the grocery store if/when the virus reaches their area. I didn't buy a huge amount, but I did stock up on enough tp, cat food, and non-perishable foods/ingredients to last me if I felt the need to stay away from people a couple weeks.
applegrove
(118,462 posts)home or for me and other family if we are self quranteeing here in ottawa. All stuff i can use if they are not needed for fighting novel coronavirus. I don't want to mix with the public if i am still allowed to visit my dad. I also hope masks i ordered on amazon get here in 3 weeks as my dad has private health care aides and i want them all to be safe - again if they are allowed in his building. If his nursing home doesn't allow visitors then we can all share the masks as one of them has a big family and most take publuc transit that i don't have to take as i can walk everywhere.
brewens
(13,536 posts)state, so I thought we might be seeing cases here soon. Might as well get it now. Th only other thing I grabbed was extra coffee. I can go to our local Winco supermarket at zero dark 30 to avoid crowds. I'm single and retired, so I can go hermit other than that. My consumption of massed quantities of fresh veggies and fruit require me to shop at least every third day.
I go for a walk every day and don't need to get close to anyone. I don't have to let anyone in my house and can used drive-thru's for pretty much everything else, including beer. It might be good to make myself one more person no one needs to worry about. It will kind of suck to not get to go out for awhile, I just hope it's the kind of thing that comes through and goes away before long.
Ilsa
(61,690 posts)brewens
(13,536 posts)I got there about a half-hour after they opened and it was dead. One lady may have been loading up for possible trouble, but she also could have been some kind of vendor or café owner.
MFM008
(19,803 posts)Out of everything like that.
Try stores like Lowe's , my son works there
And said the only thing that they don't have
Are face masks they also have water and cleaning supplies.
The Dollar stores to.
Not Walmart. Target,
Etc.
LizBeth
(9,952 posts)Shrike47
(6,913 posts)LizBeth
(9,952 posts)blm
(113,005 posts)Blueplanet
(253 posts)A household will normally have a least one month's supply of toilet paper.
3Hotdogs
(12,321 posts)I gets to squeeze the shit out of it, too.
tanyev
(42,514 posts)I don't keep a month's worth on hand--maybe two weeks. So I did get some extra last time I was at the grocery store. Don't know why people are stocking up on giant quantities at Costco, but there are only two people in my household. If you have a bigger family, Costco's going to be a more economical place to stock up on things.
oregonjen
(3,331 posts)Along with tissues, I think its prudent. Should there be a natural disaster, one would want to have a stock anyway.
CatMor
(6,212 posts)paper towels too and even food. Do they expect the factories to stop producing TP and paper towels. I just don't get it.
unc70
(6,109 posts)If you and your family have to self quarantine or isolate for 2-3 weeks your perspective might change rapidly. When your whole town is quarantined with armed roadblocks like in China, what will you do? Or when most people are too sick to work?
If the number of cases explodes like it may, then all bets are off. Keep your eyes on Italy. They are a couple of weeks ahead of us. They have towns totally quarantined; have closed all schools and colleges; banned group activities, concerts, sports; closed museums, churches, and most meetings; and advised everyone to stay home for 2-3 weeks.
dflprincess
(28,071 posts)including Charmin and other Procter & Gamble products (I'm sure other brands as well, but I heard P&G). So it is not out of the realm of possibility that there could be a shortage if the supply chain is disrupted. Add that to being locked in your home for a couple weeks and it may explain stocking up.
CatMor
(6,212 posts)are made in the US from both domestic and imported materials. So I guess the imported part could halt the production here. I concede its possible you can be locked in your home for a couple of weeks. I'm not in that mode so I do have a hard time understanding. With on-line shopping even with food now I guess I would go that way if need be.
applegrove
(118,462 posts)Everyone stayed indoors.
Skittles
(153,111 posts)it's one of those things you'd really, really hate to find yourself lacking
2naSalit
(86,314 posts)I hope you don't mind but watch to the end. I always laugh hysterically every time I watch this but there's a toilet paper reference in here that is just too funny to pass up placing in a thread about TP. I usually lose it about 90 secounds in and can't stop laughing long after the clip is over...
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)Lochloosa
(16,057 posts)3Hotdogs
(12,321 posts)50's Homer & Jethro record mentioned stuff in Sears catalog about ladies wearing stuff under their dresses
blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)after my mom ordered our two new school outfits from it.
underpants
(182,588 posts)Nature Man
(869 posts)from the 1910s, a Sears catalog from 1975 would tear your asshole apart from the glossy stock it used to be printed on.
3Hotdogs
(12,321 posts)sheshe2
(83,637 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)don't, and even the grass is too short to use. Sure, foundation hollies are ubiquitous in most parts of the nation, but...!
EarthFirst
(2,896 posts)On Sunday; under the melting piles of snow near our front doorstep; laid a small book in a plastic sleeve. To my surprise and shock; it was a phone book. Albeit a much smaller version of what used to be; however a recently delivered phone book laid in wait to be directed towards the recycling tote...
Dagstead Bumwood
(3,595 posts)running out of TP is a major issue.
When I was a kid I used to wonder why people cleaned out the supermarket of bread and milk when snow was forecasted. I mean, was everyone making french toast?
Blueplanet
(253 posts)eleny
(46,166 posts)kids can wonder about the darndest things. that was really cute of you.
Jersey Devil
(9,873 posts)Alternately, they can stuff up their butt crack with guze and surgical tape
Goonch
(3,597 posts)klook
(12,151 posts)Frasier Balzov
(2,639 posts)That it causes diarrhea.
But the distress is respiratory, not intestinal.
If I correctly understand the true symptoms.
Blueplanet
(253 posts)I actually did a search on google to see if diarrhea is a symptom of the virus.
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)Source, one of Dr.John Campbell's first videos on Coronavirus.
mahina
(17,612 posts)We all remember the dock strikes and wiping butts with the Sears catalogue and the newspaper.
But now no mo Sears catalogue OR newspaper
If there is a worker shortage its a shitty situation.
Why they buy plastic bottles of water beats the hell out of me. We all have coolers and water heaters, yo.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)before I would dream of using a newspaper. Or rags even. Large leaves, anything
Yuck and eek.
at140
(6,110 posts)Because they don't trust the water coming out of faucets. Little do they realize the so called "purified water"
is just tap water run through filters. Why not just buy a Brita filter jug or similar.
rzemanfl
(29,554 posts)that would draw a hide???????????????
unc70
(6,109 posts)rzemanfl
(29,554 posts)jpak
(41,756 posts)During a quarantine.
Yup
dem4decades
(11,269 posts)DesertRat
(27,995 posts)In which case, I wouldn't need t.p.
NRaleighLiberal
(60,006 posts)roamer65
(36,744 posts)If ur really that fucking worried about tap water, just boil it and then chill it. This isnt a hurricane, its a virus.
Leave the bottled water for those who really need it, people...like the people of Flint.
klook
(12,151 posts)I mean, like, 100 16-oz. water bottles apiece. So this virus is creating a LOT more plastic waste.
People were also stocking up on wine and beer, bigtime.
The store was completely out of TP and paper towels. Fortunately we had a pretty good supply of both already.
Ms. Toad
(33,992 posts)I know for a fact that not all of the Costco water sales of 100 16-oz bottles in the last were due to Covid.
We had to buy a supply to take to support our bar exam alumni - the bar exam was last week. It's one of the few things we can give them to take into the exam. We bought about 120 bottles.
Don't know how many schools buy water for their alums, but the bar exam is the same days all across the country.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)And merchandise managers have to know.
csziggy
(34,131 posts)If things go south enough that I don't have power, I don't have water, either. After hurricanes, that is especially true. I have had to go out to buy bottled water to have any to drink - even though we fill gallon jugs and pack them in the fridge and freezer to keep them cold as long as possible they do eventually get used up.
After losing power and water for up to a week due to hurricanes and storms three years in a row, last year I finally bought a portable propane generator for my well. Of course, it is still in the box since we didn't have a storm last year here. Part of the addition to the house is adding a whole house generator - hooking up a portable and keeping it running is beyond my capabilities so this makes better sense.
ETA - Oh, there have been years that even the city water system was down after a bad storm and running water was not available for days at a time.
mercuryblues
(14,521 posts)My sis came and stayed with me. I live far enough out of the flood zone so I wasn't impacted to much. She had no power for a week and lived in the flood zone. Luckily her neighborhood did not get flooded. But her water and gas were turned off. The water coming through the tap was non potable.
Like she said water, water everywhere and none of it to drink.
csziggy
(34,131 posts)The water in many cities will not be potable. I do not want to think of the sewage problems in a big city with no power or water. In the middle of a pandemic with no way to keep sanitary, that would be a nightmare!
klook
(12,151 posts)Probably not too common a situation in metro Atlanta. Hope those who really need it will be able to get it.
This is also a good case for those large refillable water bottles.
csziggy
(34,131 posts)Ninety miles west of here, parts of Tallahassee had no power for days. Same for when Hermione came through here. That affected water and sewer services.
If power systems are affected because critical workers are ill, then everything else is shut down.
We save up gallon milk and distilled water jugs before hurricane season, wash them out and fill the freezer. They are a convenient size and free. If a storm is expected to come at all close, we also fill the refrigerator with water jugs, the more cold mass the better. And we will have cold water to drink if needed.
I mentioned in another reply that I fill a muck bucket with water in the bathroom to flush the toilet. Unless the power is out for a long time, that works just fine.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)installing a whole-house generator, sounds like us. Power outages are not exactly unusual here either. We have a portable, but play hell getting it started and haven't tried in some while. Last time a hurricane (Irma) took the power down for an extended time, we hooked up the travel trailer and went fishing.
For the really serious prep, we keep a few bottles filled with water in the powder room closet since flushing the toilet's always the first (and usually only) "emergency" when the power goes.
csziggy
(34,131 posts)Which is really what we used at the barn and called a muck bucket. It's about five - eight gallons - I just set it in the shower, fill it up, and use a smaller bucket to fill the toilet tank. Once the power is back, I can bail it out into the shower drain and it can go right back outside for garden use.
Two fo the three storm outages, I was here alone and some friends got me set up with their old portable gas generator - but it conked out due to goo build up. That's why I bought a propane generator for the well - propane does not deteriorate like gas so is better for short term, far apart usage.
But I am not able to do the chores necessary to run a portable and my husband is no good with mechanical stuff, so for the house the whole house generator that is self regulating is our best bet. It will also be propane, though I have not decided what size tank to get. I'm thinking of big enough to run for a week at least. I can get it refilled after the worst of the recovery is over. The longest our power has ever been out has been a full week so that should be adequate.
My other prep for storm season is a good LED light - the two I have for needlework are both broken, but with them a set of AA batteries lasts a week or more. We used to use oil lanterns when regular flashlights and D batteries only lasted hours, but the oil stinks and you have to maintain the wick, plus there is always fire hazard.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)tank for power backup, and to have a gas range. I knew better. Propane had once allowed us to stay warm in a rental during a very extended winter power outage while hundreds of thousands of people had to evacuate homes with only electric power, many nice subdivisions virtually emptied. But we'd allocated a little fortune to an EPA-rated wood furnace/fireplace my husband wanted (the woods provide a lot of fuel), and I was spending-shocked.
Thanks for the (new) idea of a battery-powered LED lamp. With heat and cooking (camp stove and grill) covered, for us the other big discomfort in losing power is not being able to read paper books after the sun's gone, and I know my husband would like to be able to go work in his basement shop anytime. Right now we're limited to cave exploring with a flashlight to find our way to the TP.
csziggy
(34,131 posts)Book light types that provide light to specific tasks, and more general lights for just having some light in the room. You also get ones that clamp on - which is what I like for doing needlework. The ones that connect by USB to a power source are really useful since you can plug them into a wall outlet adapter when things are good, or if no power is available, they can plug into a battery when no other power is available.
I have this magnifier light for needlework:
This one plugs in as I described above.
And this one, actually intended for lighting sheet music: Kootek 2 Pack Clip On Reading Light - 10 LED Rechargeable Book Lights, Music Stand Light Piano Orchestra Lamp with Adjustable Neck USB Desk Lamps
This one plus in to recharge the built in battery.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)3Hotdogs
(12,321 posts)TygrBright
(20,753 posts)If you're ill, knowing your toilet paper supply will hold out takes one anxiety off the list, anyway.
Even if you're not ill, if your community is under a don't-go-out advisory, knowing you won't have to use a paper towel or a washcloth or something is comforting.
helpfully,
Bright
chia
(2,244 posts)hunger, thirst, a need for warmth - these come down to our very basic functions. Actively doing things which will protect those basic-level needs is probably reassuring for a lot of people.
kimbutgar
(21,040 posts)Easy to install on your toilet. You can get one cheaper for under $40.
If you dont want to deal with Amazon I use this website.
Properwash.com
at140
(6,110 posts)Luciferous
(6,077 posts)at140
(6,110 posts)jmbar2
(4,860 posts)They are essential water bottles with a little spigot. I have one in my camper. It makes a difference if you are not showering every day.
https://www.amazon.com/TP70-Handheld-Personal-Portable-Capacity/dp/B00O92IF6Q
at140
(6,110 posts)growing up in India. Never had seen toilet paper until arriving in USA.
I still prefer using water over paper but my American wife only wants paper!
jmbar2
(4,860 posts)I had no idea that you could live without toilet paper. The things we learn on DU....
at140
(6,110 posts)Water cleans much better, like when you shower. If paper could clean well, we would be taking showers with toilet paper?
jmbar2
(4,860 posts)Completely agree. Once you've gone bidet, you never go back to just paper.
at140
(6,110 posts)who learns from actual experience instead of just tradition.
Hekate
(90,538 posts)Although I have to say the option to return and the option to buy used gives me pause.
jmbar2
(4,860 posts)Trust me.
Buns_of_Fire
(17,148 posts)I'm having a hard time envisioning my daily constitutional ending with a blast of cold water on my bum. Just sitting on a cold seat is bad enough, and I figure the only thing to do if quarantined is eat and crap, eat and crap, eat and crap...
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)at140
(6,110 posts)Yeah I don't understand it either. I would just use the long water hose in shower if I ran out of paper.
The same thing happens here in Florida every time a hurricane passes by. They sell out water bottles, toilet paper, canned goods, etc. I just make sure there is enough beer in the house.
Kaleva
(36,241 posts)If shit got real, I could go without TP although I'd be walking around with a damp, but clean, butt. As long as I still had village water.
Happy Hoosier
(7,210 posts)... they need TP for their bunghole!
I am the Great Cornholio!!
Wounded Bear
(58,584 posts)Response to Blueplanet (Original post)
Wounded Bear This message was self-deleted by its author.
GP6971
(31,106 posts)Our local Costco posted the following;
Out of Stock.
All Brands of TP
Arrowhead Water
Glaceau Smart Water
All Kirkland Signature Water
Kirkland Signature Paper Towels
Kirkland Signature Surface Wipes
Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
Clorox Bleach
Clorox Clean Up
Hand Sanitizer
Lysol Disinfecting Spray
Kraft Mac & Cheese (cases)
All canned vegetables
Cup of Noodles (Chicken)
Canned Chicken Noodle Soup
Baked Beans
All 25 lb bags od rice
Spam
Blueplanet
(253 posts)and Chicken Noodle Soup, etc. That's quite a list.
Demovictory9
(32,419 posts)radical noodle
(7,997 posts)the 25 lb bags of rice. WTF is that for?
BTW, we went to Sam's on Monday (sadly, no Costco nearby) and they had plenty of food but not paper supplies or cleaning supplies. There was no hand sanitizer anywhere we went, but I finally found some in one store. It's not something we usually keep on hand.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)routinely. Like toilet paper. No waste, just larger amount purchased ahead of use.
Anyway most anxiety comes from feeling not in control and stocking up is a way of taking control. So those people are buying more than just rice.
Local Walmart and Publix were cleaned out of hand sanitizer, sprays, wipes, but Lowe's had plenty of the last two in its cleaning aisle.
rainin
(3,010 posts)TeamPooka
(24,204 posts)BusyBeingBest
(8,052 posts)jmbar2
(4,860 posts)If a pandemic got hit really hard, you could get slower restocks. Imagine the Costco above having to wait a week or more for some goods. That was my thinking at least. I stocked up on TP mostly, soap, and soup and bread makings.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,488 posts)Actually, as a man when I was growing into old age, I found a pack of TP gifted to any lady always brings a smile......
Ilsa
(61,690 posts)VOX
(22,976 posts)Ilsa
(61,690 posts)doc03
(35,293 posts)buy toilet paper, milk, bread and eggs. I am 71 years old and I have never been unable to get out and buy that stuff
in my lifetime because of the weather or the flu. Years ago I think it was Johnny Carson made a joke about a shortage of toilet
paper and it actually created a run on toilet paper.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)I don't remember that, but the prospect of two children and no TP would have had me alarmed.
gibraltar72
(7,498 posts)wiggs
(7,809 posts)out to a public place or supermarket won't be wise.
I have two weeks' worth stashed for the two of us, over and above the normal supply amount that we currently use.
Bayard
(22,004 posts)You can never have too much chocolate or toilet paper on hand.
Some things are just sacred.....
Ms. Toad
(33,992 posts)Which is actually why the run on TP surprises me. We've probably got 48 rolls on hand (and we haven't bought any in a while). Whenever our brand is on sale, we stock up. We typically already have enough to last months.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)It also saves the bother of always having to pick more up. We're empty nesters, and neither of us uses it to stuff bras or make paper flowers, so one of those "family" supplies is on our shopping list once, twice at most, a year.
meadowlander
(4,387 posts)Plus at a certain point everyone elses' hoarding plus disruptions to the supply chain from sick workers is going to cause shortages.
stopwastingmymoney
(2,041 posts)And they were out of two things: toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Everything else fully stocked.
I thought it was weird too
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Who is smarter than me, makes more money and is a better manager than me and looks much better than me. Weve been together for 33 years.
But she somehow finds a way to use 1/3 of a roll a day. She insists we keep 3 twelve packs in waiting at all times.
Just reporting the facts from my home.
We recycle, eat local, try to keep our waist at a minimum. But all that goes out the window with TP. Obviously, she does not read DU!
Ms. Toad
(33,992 posts)That's the only brand we've encountered that goes that quickly.
jcgoldie
(11,610 posts)...no telling where those leaves have been could catch a virus!
Dem2
(8,166 posts)TP lasts for a LONG time when you only use it to dry with.
Historic NY
(37,449 posts)my niece went to a Sams club (Fla.) that look like a major storm was coming bare. She said even the Depends were all gone...picked clean.
snort
(2,334 posts)Get it, in a pinch? Anyways tear it into strips (duh) and then crumple a strip into a tight ball, then straighten it out, then wad it up again, keep dooing it. Get it? Dooing it?? It softens and even gets a bit fuzzy. Its great fun.
DonaldsRump
(7,715 posts)No idea what I'm missing, but i just bought some strawberries and a few non-survivalist sundries.
Captain Zero
(6,780 posts)in my area yesterday. I bought a 3 pack of paper towels because it is what I needed. I guess I'm weird.
DonaldsRump
(7,715 posts)Stores like Big Lots, Dollar Tree, smaller hardware stores etc have tons of stuff. It might not be exactly what you want in terms of brands etc, but it will most definitely do.
And absolutely don't freak about not getting hand sanitizer. Get some rubbing alcohol and some aloe gel, and make your own!
The one thing I have to say is with these idiots like Trump who says the best way to get over COVID-19 is to go to work and Pence's prayers, we are in for a bad time in the US, so I don't think the concern is unwarranted. If we had better leaders, I wouldn't worry so much.
Hekate
(90,538 posts)...could leave you and yours up Shit Creek without a paddle.
Because West Coast natural disasters tend to be fires and earthquakes, water lines may be broken. I think that's why we reflexively get some bottled water.
LizBeth
(9,952 posts)me that if we are quarantined, we can text each other and leave it on the porch. Problem solved.
Kablooie
(18,605 posts)They expect,a lot of people to get it.
nomorethoughts78
(1 post)u.u.uu.
Response to nomorethoughts78 (Reply #93)
rampartc This message was self-deleted by its author.
brokephibroke
(1,883 posts)rampartc
(5,384 posts)but, after further review, maybe the alerter knows more than i did?
PJMcK
(21,988 posts)nitpicker
(7,153 posts)They will NEED TP and/or incontinence garb.
Or continuously do laundry.
PCIntern
(25,467 posts)samnsara
(17,604 posts)...people running around like crazy with huge piles of tp. So I asked hubby whose job puts him at viral risk every day and he said its just so you dont have to leave the house for days and days at a time esp if the stores or schools close. More butts to wipe if the kiddos are home from school. Hell we ran out of Costco paper products a week before this hit and i still havent gone to stock up.
Grabbed a 4 pack at Safeway..it will do.
beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)stacks of newspapers around, you really don't want to be without toilet paper
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)brooklynite
(94,302 posts)Diarrhea is not a condition of COVID-19.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,102 posts)Blueplanet
(253 posts)The wit and humor is amazing.
llmart
(15,532 posts)I must be either "weird" or "different" or just a laid back, not anxiety ridden sort of person because it hasn't even crossed my mind to stock up on anything. I live alone now, but in the past I have lived through one hurricane where as a family of four at the time, we were without power for two weeks and I don't remember either starving to death or not being able to buy t.p.
Maybe it's just me, but doesn't all this hoarding and worrying just make your emotional health worse? Do people who stock up like this really feel like whew, I can now just go about my life and not worry about this virus? Or are they only temporarily satisfied; i.e. have a sense of control (even though we know that there's very little we control in this life) and then they start to worry about what happens when they've used up that month's supply of t.p.? I always keep clean, bleached rags and laundry soap on hand, so if I had to I could use those and rewash them if need be. Or just old washcloths. As someone up thread has already said, washing that area with soap and water is more effective anyway.
I guess I'm just not the worrier type. I'm so glad I have never had that issue.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Even if you don't need it in the next few months, you can work off of a stockpile for a long time.