Funny how toilet paper isn't scarce

[I_UndergroundPanther]

Since time has passed in quarentine..

But rubbing alcohol,Lysol,any antiviral sprays are after all this time have not been easy to find. We were told the supply chains would be back soon.

It came back soon for paper products..

But not for the things required to disinfect our homes etc. Hand sanitizer isn't easy to get. The supply chains for cleaning supplies are still not working even after months have passed why is that?

[Doreen]

1. I can't find the supplies to make my own either.

Yeah, it's online but at price gouging prices.

[mucifer]

2. Hydrogen peroxide kills the virus too. It's easy to find and dirt cheap and not as toxic

At least here in Chicago. Hand sanitizer is easy to find, too. Local distilleries are manufacturing it and selling it to the public at reasonable prices. I haven't seen name brand hand sanitizer like purell in a long time.

[Pobeka]

34. IIRC 3% H202 needs 5 or more minutes to disinfect a virus, 60% ethyl about 20 secs.

[mucifer]

36. But, if you clean surfaces with soap and water then spray with H202 you are good

and it's so much less toxic than wipes.

[Pobeka]

37. That's a good practice for surfaces, for sure! n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

43. If You Clean Thoroughly...

...the H2O2 isn't necessary. Doesn't hurt anything, but not needed.
The microbes get micellized and are wiped away to the parts per billion range.
The exposed (and likely delipidized viruses) will not have the chemical infrastructure to reproduce in a host cell.
But, like I said, it doesn't hurt & if it makes you feel better about it, might as well do it.

[tanyev]

3. Demand still outstripping supply.

I did manage to score two containers of wipes a couple weeks ago at Kroger. Haven’t seen any more since. The paper products aisle was very well stocked last Sunday morning.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, cleaning and disinfecting supplies are still scarce in stores nationwide.

Although many seem to be recovering from the virus and some areas have already hit their peak in cases, a report from Today said Clorox wipes may not reappear on store shelves until the summer time.

“We know that right now we cannot make enough products for everybody to find products at the store all the time,” Clorox Chairman and CEO Benno Dorer told Today. “But we’re making tremendous progress. We think we will be in substantially better shape by the summer.”

Dorer said the company has already increased production by 40%; however, it’s still struggling to consistently keep products on the shelves, Today reports.

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/05/09/report-you-may-not-see-clorox-wipes-back-in-stores-until-summer/

[EarlG]

4. If I had to guess, it's because

the demand for toilet paper hasn’t changed too much. Like, people still go to the bathroom at the same rate they did before. So there was a shortage at the beginning of the stay-at-home orders when people stopped going to the bathroom at work and started going at home, because some TP companies make it for the workplace and some make it for home use. The former had to take some time to figure out how to deal with this, but now you see industrial TP showing up on Amazon, for example.

Whereas the demand for disinfectants and hand sanitizers shot up, because everybody is disinfecting everything now, and the manufacturers can’t yet produce enough to meet the demand.

[Steelrolled]

8. Excellent analysis

It makes perfect sense and as a bonus, it doesn't depend on any political conspiracies!

[grantcart]

28. Well I just decided to stop going until this whole thing is over.

[muriel_volestrangler]

42. It's all right, a giant isopod has made up for you, by going for the first time in 2 years

A momentous event took place in Toba Aquarium on 26 May, when the keeper of the facility’s five giant isopods discovered fecal matter in their tank. This would be the first time since April of 2018 that even a trace of poop had been found.
...
While five years is an amazingly long time for any creature to go without eating, it has become clear that despite their occasional outbursts of voracious eating as seen above, giant isopods have a very slow digestive process. Others have gone as long as six years and lived to tell the tale.

This time it resulted in a much happier ending for the five isopods which were introduced to the facility in Toba City, Mie Prefecture, in 2013. Moreover, the feces was found to contain scales of a fish not served by the aquarium.

This means that the food which went into making this poop must have been consumed over seven years ago, before they came to the aquarium. While it isn’t clear exactly which isopod dropped the deuce, the finding is a breakthrough in the field of giant isopod regularity, and will hopefully trigger more detailed research into the subject.

https://soranews24.com/2020/05/29/giant-undersea-bug-in-toba-aquarium-poops-for-first-time-in-two-years/

[ProfessorGAC]

44. There's A Related Reason

The companies that make the active microbial compounds spent almost 2 months prioritizing the Institutional & Industrial products companies.
They demand for hospitals, food processing, food packaging disinfectant products quadrupled in 3 weeks, back in February.
The big consumer product outfits could not get their hands on the active ingredient for weeks.
I did expect the supply chain to fill before now, though.
The fraction to consumer products has been rising for a month. They usually buy about 70% of supply.
However, some of those companies may have been regionally targeting to provide those products to hotspots. I don't have the connections into those decisions.
So, it's a demand thing for sure. But, the supply was directed toward what would normally be only 30% of total demand.

[mercuryblues]

5. really?

I haven't seen TP in any stores since this began. Luckily we had just bought some from Costco a week before the toilet paper hoarding began. Without having so much company I have about 3 weeks of supply left.

[Blue_true]

23. I have been able to find a cheap toilet paper at Dollar General.

I can't find any at the drug stores and Publix is hit and miss, I assume with Publix the time of day a person shops is critical. The DG TP is surprisingly good, nice and soft and two ply - unfortunately a roll goes fast, so I run out quicker. I am able to find bottled water everywhere now.

[Maraya1969]

6. I did buy a case of rubbing alcohol at the beginning of this and it is very

easy to use. I just till the sanitizer bottles up with the stuff. It's runny but it doesn't stain.

Plus I put paper towels in a plastic bag and add the alcohol and make my own wipes.

[bamagal62]

15. Me too!

I’ve filled a spray bottle with alcohol. I spray any groceries that can’t be washed with soap. We had to make a drive through Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska to get a family member to a health facility. I sprayed everyone’s shoes with alcohol before they got back in the car when we stopped to use the bathroom. I have 2 bottles of alcohol left. Alcohol has been the only thing that has kept me sane. I search for another bottle wherever I go. So far nothing.

[Maraya1969]

16. I even clean with it in the bathroom and kitchen. Maybe a drop of soap

but mostly when wiping off counters I just spray and wipe. I learned this years ago from a friend who had asthma like I do. And I feel much better not breathing in any dangerous chemical disinfectant.

[Blue_true]

24. By chance, I bought a gallon of 91% alcohol before all of this started.

I have a few ounces of the first half gallon left and all of the second half gallon left. It is great for sanitizing stuff.

[Throck]

7. My butt is so puckered, toilet paper is of no use.

All these nitwits in the stores.

[kskiska]

9. There's still no toilet paper or paper towels here in SC

unless you get up very early in the morning. I've seen masks and off-brand hand sanitizer at places like Ollie's and Hamrick's. Store shelves for paper and cleaning products are still empty most of the day.

[bamagal62]

10. There was no toilet paper today in Costco.

I’m in Chicago.

[Merlot]

11. Just use plain old soap. Cheap, easy, safe.

[bamagal62]

13. Not everything can be washed with soap.

[Merlot]

14. I only have soap, so I do wash everything with it.

Put concentrate in a spray bottle and cleaned everything in my house, including floors. Keep a spray bottle of soap in the car with a bag of small rags for every time I get in car.

It's all I've got so I make it work.

[Tipperary]

30. Sure it can.

And bleach is available if you really feel the need for harsh chemicals.

[bamagal62]

12. I also bought hand sanitizer yesterday

At Walgreens. Once I got home and read the bottle, it was only 60% alcohol. So what I bought was worthless. Read the bottle before you buy it.

[Maraya1969]

19. Just put it on twice!

[Pobeka]

35. If it is ethyl alcohol, 60% is the right minimum concentration. Isopropyl needs 70%.

The other 40% moisturizers make a big difference in not drying out your skin.

[bamagal62]

41. Yay! Great to know!!! Thank you.

[ProfessorGAC]

45. It's Not Worthless!

70% is the microbiologists' go to because it kills 99.9% in 10 seconds or less.
60% is still very toxic to microbes, it just takes longer. Experience with the micro folks tells me 30 or 40 seconds.
But, it's still to kill 95-99% of microbes in 10 seconds or so.
Don't throw it out. It will work.

[colsohlibgal]

17. Scarcity Mysteries

Two different items I regularly buy I cannot find make me wonder why? One is Land of Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil. Every other butter is readily available.

The other is fat free Coffee Mate powdered Creamer. All the other creamers are in abundance.

It just makes me wonder why. You can now mostly find Teepee, Hand Sanitizer, most items that were hard to find.

So it just strikes me odd that these two items are unavailable.

[Wellstone ruled]

22. The whole Transportation Infrastructure was

blow to bits in early March. Retail Grocery Stores sold through 300% of their inventory in less than 10 days. BTW,Kimberly Clark officially announced the closing of three Toilet Tissue and kleenex paper plants this morning.

When it comes to Toilet Paper and Paper Towels,most of the finished product in loaded in Containers and shipped to Major Rail Yards,Chicago being the largest. The hard cost of Storage for Paper Products is to expensive so the use of Containers stored in Rail Yards is their alternative. Six Dollars a day Demurage is the usual fee for a single container while is waits for it's final destination to a Grocery Wholesaler. Fun fact is,Walmart pretty much controls the why,how and where in the Grocery Industry.

And the Person driving those Semi Trucks down the road carrying Grocery Freight,well they are getting screwed big time by Walmart because they set the industry Freight rates.

BTW,hauling Toilet Paper or Towels pays crap Freight Rates and those loads are the last to leave the yard.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

46. About a year ago

I could not find ameretto flavor coffee creamer.
I looked in all the stores around here. Ameretto only comes in little bottles nowadays and it's hit or miss if the stores have it.

I love ameretto in my coffee.

[Maraya1969]

18. I still swear by my little faucet bidet. I save a lot on TP and I feel much cleaner!

I had a different bidet for years then I got this. About $30

[I_UndergroundPanther]

47. Been considering a bidet.

Probably going to go with the faucet kind..
Any recommendations for a particular type or brand?

[Maraya1969]

49. I just ordered it from Amazon. I don't remember there being a choice. Mine looks

just like the picture but I don't think there is a name on it.

It's kind of like getting a faucet for your kitchen sink. It's just a faucet.

EDIT: I was wrong! It says "Bidet" on it.

[JI7]

20. You have to go early and try to find out when stores get their truck shipments . Some stores also

keep the products behind the register so make sure you ask a store employee if you don't find them in the regular aisles.

[Blue_true]

21. I am still having a problem finding toilet paper.

I can find bleach in big containers, but no smaller ones. Paper towels are also scarce.

[TrunKated]

25. shop rite has a off brand...

Hand Sanitizer.

[CousinIT]

26. Still no TP or paper towels in stores near me. I order online when I can find it.

As for disinfecting wipes or Lysol spray - FORGET it. There isn't any, anywhere. I guess they don't see the sense in ramping up production, opening new factories or hiring more workers because when a vaccine is available, they'd have to close them and lay people off. I can understand that -- but damn - people REALLY need this stuff right now. You can't spray bleach and peroxide on stuff or wipe down things with it - without serious damage - it's corrosive, even diluted - if you're wiping or spraying daily - it's corrosive as hell - and takes the color out of fabrics and some surfaces too. Alcohol can't go on everything either.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

27. Apparently it matters a lot where you live.

I'm in Santa Fe, NM, and early on toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels disappeared. But they showed back up fairly quickly and while the shelves are not as full as they used to be, all those things are in good supply.

So the question is, why are those things available here in Santa Fe and not in other places? Could it be you need to go to other stores? Could it be you need to drive somewhere to get these things? I have no idea.

For what it's worth, I have zero interest in things like rubbing alcohol or wipes or hand sanitizers of any kind.

[Tipperary]

29. Bleach is available.

I have had no problem finding that. Remember, soap and water is the best defense against infection. You do not need sanitizer or alcohol really. If you have to use it, go get some Everclear and make your own.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

31. I felt fortunate that I had rubbing alcohol already.

I obviously bought some long ago, but forgot about it after placing it in a bathroom cabinet.

Bought some aloe gel from Amazon and made a bunch of my own.

Amazon had "alcohol sprays" weeks ago, made from about 75% isopropyl alcohol, and they weren't very expensive. That would surely dry out your hands faster, but it should work great as a hand sanitizer.

[fescuerescue]

32. Consumption rate for toilet paper is steady. Consumption rate for cleaning and disinfectants

continues to rise.

Nobody is shitting more. And lots of people have months and months supply of TP in their closets.

However most people are washing their hands alot more. ALOT more.

[hay rick]

52. This.

[brooklynite]

33. Answer: people realized they didn't need MORE toilet paper...

...they do need more cleaning products.

[obamanut2012]

38. Because there is shortage of plastic canisters

But, having said that, I bought one canister in Target this week (one per customer), and scored 640 Lysol wipes Saturday on Amazon (eight containers), which will be delivered today. Which I am glad about, since I use 10-20 every time I'm at the gym. My mother bought two in Publix this morning. Whole Foods had rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer last Friday, and I bought the alcohol, since I have a decent amount of hand sanitizer left from a sale in January where I bought a bunch, and I need rubbing alcohol for both hygiene and my 3D printer glass bed.

The shortages have been in plastic containers, The products are now coming back into the stores bit by bit, just like TP did.

And, as someone said, people are still using the same amount of

[Maeve]

39. It's very regional--central Ohio has toilet paper and paper towels

But hand sanitizer is rare and then limited to one per customer (Kroger). Haven't seen spray disinfectant since March. Bleach is slowly coming back--off-brands first, but found Clorox at a Walmart. Haven't looked at alcohol since we have a big bottle and don't use it much anyway.

[lark]

40. We're now able to get Lysol spray disinfectant, but not Isopropoyl alcohol.

We were actually lucky to get the Lysol, it was in the very back of a top shelf. Alcohol still wasn't available even on Amazon as of last week. Hand sanitizer is also very scarce. Meat availability has increased, but at what cost? We just have red meat once a week now.

[Vinca]

48. I couldn't believe all the toilet paper at the grocery store today. The only thing that hasn't

reappeared at all are Lysol or Clorox wipes. I found some wipes at a Walmart last week, but it was only 1 to a customer. My husband bought some hand sanitizer at a local distillery!

[aikoaiko]

50. Hand Sanitizer Gel (70% Alc) is coming back.

I just bought a gallon on Amazon.

Hand Sanitizer Gel: One Gallon Alcohol Based Bulk (128 oz) 70% Isopropyl .Alcohol Refill Jug by Regalia (128 oz)

[ornotna]

51. Hand sanitizer

https://mbroland.distilleryspirits.com/

I bought a gallon, quick delivery too.