Covid-19 and toilet paper hysteria

[Myriad]

Today, same condition at the local Wally World as Friday. The shelves are somewhat depleted of TP but there's still a wide variety of brands and package sizes (from single rolls to those 48-roll blocks you can build a full scale model of the Great Pyramid from).

I usually buy a 12 roll pack that lasts for several months. (Disregarding the typical dishonest large-print hype on the bundle about how each roll is "triple size" so it's really 36 rolls instead, sort of.) A few weeks ago, before this all started, I was nearly out. I kind of saw it coming, though, so I bought a 24-pack instead of the usual 12. It should last at least til Thanksgiving.

[Hellbound]

Originally Posted by alfaniner

All I know is, if I run out of cat food, I'll be dead within a day. Preceded by a lot of warning howls.

Yep.

A dog will starve itself to death guarding your corpse for days after you die. A cat will be eating your fingers and toes after 15 minutes (no sense letting dinner get cold).

[Armitage72]

Originally Posted by Wolrab

Went for regular grocery shopping today at Wegmans, a multi-state corporation. TP was out.

I went to the local Wegmans a little west of Rochester, NY today, and it was completely sold out of toilet paper. Fortunately, I drive past it every day on my way to and from work, so I can check periodically to see when they get more. I have enough left that it isn't worth the effort to go hunting in other stores. Yet.

[rjh01]

Been in several supermarkets and the closest thing to toilet paper is kitchen paper. Only one newspaper has had any sense to give its readers blank paper as a substitute, but I expect others to follow.

[Meadmaker]

Costco was sold out of TP tonight.

In Michigan, where there have been zero reported cases. My guess is that a lot of supply got diverted to west coast and New York. And does toilet paper come from China? I wouldn't think so, but maybe.

I haven't seen empty shelves of anything around here. T've seen people working continuously to keep shelves stocked, but they were able to do so. Today is the first time I've tried seen something actually unavailable. Fortunately, it wasn't on my shopping list for tonight anyway.

On the other hand, paper towels were. We usually buy the Costco brand, but that wasn't available tonight, so I got Bounty.

[Suddenly]

Originally Posted by casebro

umm, something it is an ingredient in? explosives or a nutritional supplement? Some of it is Bentonite clay, if as a prepper you want to make green sand for a post-apocalyptic foundry.

Or maybe it is just a dryer, to absorb moisture so you can pack guns away for long term storage? Why not use toilet paper, kill two birds with one swipe?

My wife has cats. I'd rather run out of toilet paper than kitty litter. I don't want to think about the smell.

I have plenty of socks.

[rjh01]

Originally Posted by Suddenly

My wife has cats. I'd rather run out of toilet paper than kitty litter. I don't want to think about the smell.

I have plenty of socks.

Great. A good use for all the odd socks that have been breeding around me.

[AnonyMoose]

I haven't been to any stores for a couple of months, so I have no idea if shelves are getting emptied out or not in our area. Our tiny little grocery store here in town is fine for stock, but they don't carry much of anything anyways.

But we're fully loaded on everything. I hate shopping so I only make a big shopping run every few months to load up on things we're getting low on. But for now, we're good on food and sundries for at least few months.

Worst case scenario if we run out of TP and can't find any more, there's a humongous Bag O' Rags in the garage that's been collecting dust for a few years.

[JoeMorgue]

Police seize likely homemade spray sanitizer from shelves at a 7/11 in New Jersey after a young boy suffers chemical burns.

CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/7-...rnd/index.html

ETA: Changed "Hand sanitizer" to "spray sanitizer" to more accurately reflect the item in question.

[casebro]

Has anybpody tried Craigslist for brown market TP? I just want to keep my finger on the pulse...

[TragicMonkey]

Homemade sanitizer. Jesus. Oh well, at least it's not as stupid as the homemade teeth-whitening solution people were doing, and dissolving their teeth because you can't just gargle high concentrations of dollar store peroxide.

[Stout]

Originally Posted by casebro

Has anybpody tried Craigslist for brown market TP? I just want to keep my finger on the pulse...

New ***** going down in the hood.

[Meadmaker]

Yesterday, no TP at Costco. Today, no TP at Kroger.

Not too far from where I live, there's a supermarket called Glory. Glory is, I think, a local chain. It mostly has locations in Detroit and in the poorer suburbs. It's a low cost store. The meat's cheap, but not as good as other places. The canned goods and brand name products are cheaper, and they are canned goods and packaged things so obviously they are the exact same quality. And.....uhhhh…..I tend to look a little different than most of the shoppers.

And they had lots and lots of toilet paper. There were no empty spaces on the shelves.

They even had Clorox wipes. Well, technically, they had precisely one package of Clorox wipes. But they did have some of their own store brand left.

[Drewbot]

I bought two 12x2=24 packs of TP at Kroger last night, it was 1-ply, so no one else wanted it.

[rjh01]

That gave me a thought to do a joke. You will need
1. A packet of TP.
2. Super glue.
3. Empty shelves where TP is sold.

What to do.
1. Use the super glue to attach the TP to the shelf where TP is sold.
2. Stand back and watch.

Expect there will be several attempts to remove the TP by different customers.

Have a good laugh at the above, but please do not attempt.

[Delphic Oracle]

Originally Posted by Myriad

Today, same condition at the local Wally World as Friday. The shelves are somewhat depleted of TP but there's still a wide variety of brands and package sizes (from single rolls to those 48-roll blocks you can build a full scale model of the Great Pyramid from).

I usually buy a 12 roll pack that lasts for several months. (Disregarding the typical dishonest large-print hype on the bundle about how each roll is "triple size" so it's really 36 rolls instead, sort of.) A few weeks ago, before this all started, I was nearly out. I kind of saw it coming, though, so I bought a 24-pack instead of the usual 12. It should last at least til Thanksgiving.

I believe you will find on the packaging the dimensions are listed in a standard reference scale of one or several kinds.

The law requires them to, but it's usually very thin font black "hiding in plain sight" amidst all the bright colors.

[alfaniner]

I miss White Cloud TP. Perfect balance of texture and strength. It's difficult to find a new favorite standard after you've been using one for years. Now I use Charmin Ultra Soft (the blue one), in the Mega rolls. That being an established national brand, I think it will be around for a long time.

[Delphic Oracle]

Big box store in the midwest report: so many customers buying TP/PT I can't close the aisle to stock more.

They all inquire about disinfectant sprays, wipes, and hand sanitizers which we've been out of for over a week.

Many dismiss away my suggestion to buy our plentiful selection of soaps.

[casebro]

Did I ask upthread: Do hand sanitizers kill viruses?

eta: it takes 4 minutes of exposure to kill influenza A. Dunno Covid.

[The Great Zaganza]

I've set up a fund dedicated to a unique investment opportunity:
we are going to buy up all the supply of New York Hand Sanitzers; in a couple of years, they will have great collector value!

[Delphic Oracle]

I babysit the cleaning product aisle. This is a $1.5m aisle. Top stock on the first 4 bays is typically slammed so full we don't know what all is up there because there's stuff in front of other stuff.

Top stock is empty to the 7th bay with one exception where we stack the mop buckets.

That happened in the last 48 hours.

A chest-high pallet of gallon bottles of bleach (200+) gone since late yesterday (10 hours of sales).

[bonzombiekitty]

I had to get TP today because I'm actually running low on it. I had forgotten to get some a few days ago and there was plenty so I wasn't concerned.

It's f*ing nuts. None at the grocery store, none at target, none at walmart, and even though Lowes said it had 15 packs available and I ordered it for in-store pick up, I didn't order fast enough and they were all sold by the time it was to get picked. I luckily found some at Home Depot. Some lady at Walmart nearly gave me her first-born for letting her know that Home Depot had some.

[Armitage72]

Originally Posted by The Great Zaganza

I've set up a fund dedicated to a unique investment opportunity:
we are going to buy up all the supply of New York Hand Sanitzers; in a couple of years, they will have great collector value!

Hand sanitizers are regulated by the FDA as over-the-counter drugs and have to be manufactured in a facility following Current Good Manufacturing Practices and subject to FDA inspection. I'm really curious if the prison where this sanitizer is being manufactured meets FDA requirements.

[casebro]

COVID precautions- In this panic the experts seem to have left out duct taping your windows.

Good thing I run Linux.

[Darat]

Originally Posted by bonzombiekitty

I had to get TP today because I'm actually running low on it. I had forgotten to get some a few days ago and there was plenty so I wasn't concerned.

It's f*ing nuts. None at the grocery store, none at target, none at walmart, and even though Lowes said it had 15 packs available and I ordered it for in-store pick up, I didn't order fast enough and they were all sold by the time it was to get picked. I luckily found some at Home Depot. Some lady at Walmart nearly gave me her first-born for letting her know that Home Depot had some.

When you think about it toilet roll production is probably one of the most stable household products to predict supply and demand. This is something that the producers just aren't equipped to deal with, and even the supermarkets won't have the space required in their distribution centres, in their lorries, in their stores to hold a lot more than usual amounts of TR.

[Cainkane1]

Originally Posted by cullennz

Pretty weird.

Not sure about other places, but people are bulk buying the stuff.

It is getting a bit silly.

A clip from Aus of people fight over it


https://m.facebook.com/9NewsSydney/v...Fwatch%2F&_rdr

Do people think it shields them from it or can they not think of an alternative.

Calm the farm people.

Anyone here bulk buying it.

Trust me I won't take the **** .... much

In a pinch you can use newspaper.

[TragicMonkey]

I love the usage "toilet roll". Sounds like a baked good. Today's technical challenge is twelve perfect toilet rolls, six savory and six sweet.

[Ryokan]

Norway went into full quarantine mode today. All non-Nordic foreigners will be turned away upon arrival. Citizens will be put in quarantine for two weeks.

I went shopping today, and was lucky enough to get the last pack of toilet paper in the supermarket.

[mumblethrax]

Saw a guy on the subway this morning with a handtruck loaded up with several bulk packs of paper towel. Probably more than I will use for the rest of my life. Now that's a guy with business smorts.

[curious cat]

Originally Posted by Hellbound

Yep.

A dog will starve itself to death guarding your corpse for days after you die. A cat will be eating your fingers and toes after 15 minutes (no sense letting dinner get cold).

I have to say my belief in dog's loyalty got a bit shaken when my wife died of heartattack. Our family dog (weimaraner) barely stirred on his cushion when paramedics were carrying her body out... He was neither showing any concern while I was performing CPR on her.

[Mojo]

Originally Posted by Myriad

Today, same condition at the local Wally World as Friday. The shelves are somewhat depleted of TP but there's still a wide variety of brands and package sizes (from single rolls to those 48-roll blocks you can build a full scale model of the Great Pyramid from).

I usually buy a 12 roll pack that lasts for several months. (Disregarding the typical dishonest large-print hype on the bundle about how each roll is "triple size" so it's really 36 rolls instead, sort of.) A few weeks ago, before this all started, I was nearly out. I kind of saw it coming, though, so I bought a 24-pack instead of the usual 12. It should last at least til Thanksgiving.

It’ll last twice as long if you use both sides.

[Seismosaurus]

So my dog pretty thoroughly shredded a roll of loo paper. I'm pretty sure she's siding with the virus, the little traitor!

[Joe Random]

My state recently announced its first couple of cases. I was at the store today just doing my normal shopping (okay, bought a little extra cat food just in case) and out of curiosity, despite not needing anything from it, I hit the paper goods aisle just for a look-see. Yup, TP totally cleared out apart from a few packs of the ultra-cheap stuff here or there. A few shoppers were having a low-key conversation with one of the employees asking when they were expecting a restock, etc. However, flushable baby wipes and hemorrhoid wipes were stocked to the brim.

Pickings in the rice aisle were a bit thin as well which really pissed me off as I'd been planning on doing salmon with wild rice this weekend so I had to get those overpriced, bland tasting microwave cups which were also in ample supply. Canned beans - cleared out. Dried beans - enough to last the rest of your life.

People : we just suck at rationality.

[Delphic Oracle]

Every relevant product class is wiped out.

Now they're just buying random cleaners.

No, this carpet shampoo isn't going to do much, I'm sorry.

Nearly every product has "limited volume at D.C." flags on inventory control software.

[Trebuchet]

I experimented and found I CAN use ground coffee I bought by mistake in the espresso machine I depend upon to feed my wife's addiction. And we can use tap water instead of distilled if necessary. Milk is going to be the tall pole in the tent. I do have half a gallon of almond milk, just opened. I might give it a try and see if she spots it.

[Delphic Oracle]

Oh, the hand soap dispensers in the bathroom were pried open and emptied a few days ago. Remembered that as I just spotted two hand soap bottles (that we actually sell) empty in the trash.

[Meadmaker]

I find myself thinking about the supply chain for products like toilet paper and isopropyl alcohol these days.

Could you realistically drastically increase the supply of toilet paper? How complicated would it be to bring more production on line? Likewise with hand sanitizer, or the raw ingredient for it, isopropyl alcohol. Yeast don't work overtime. How long would it take to increase production of the stuff? Is someone on the White House task force for dealing with the coronavirus on the phone to whoever it is that makes Charmin asking, "What do you need from us to get more of this product out the door quicker?"


TP supply report for Detroit: Kroger once again empty. Glory once again fully stocked. Hand wipes and Purell nowhere to be found.

[Delphic Oracle]

Originally Posted by Meadmaker

I find myself thinking about the supply chain for products like toilet paper and isopropyl alcohol these days.

Could you realistically drastically increase the supply of toilet paper? How complicated would it be to bring more production on line? Likewise with hand sanitizer, or the raw ingredient for it, isopropyl alcohol. Yeast don't work overtime. How long would it take to increase production of the stuff? Is someone on the White House task force for dealing with the coronavirus on the phone to whoever it is that makes Charmin asking, "What do you need from us to get more of this product out the door quicker?"


TP supply report for Detroit: Kroger once again empty. Glory once again fully stocked. Hand wipes and Purell nowhere to be found.

Plus one extra layer of consideration because: capitalism.

Is the up-front investment to reduce marginal supply cost/increase volume going to result in ROI. Given that by the time that all happened, the craze is over or the population is vastly reduced (both meaning falloff of demand from this so-far limited spike), I don't think they'll even bother.

Possible even that once the supply chain is refilled, they'll have to furlough lines for a while because, oh, people have a whole bunch of it laying around already.

[Steve]

I stopped in the local drug store on the way home to pick up something for my daughter. They had lots of tp, zero hand sanitizer.

[Meadmaker]

Originally Posted by Delphic Oracle

Plus one extra layer of consideration because: capitalism.

Is the up-front investment to reduce marginal supply cost/increase volume going to result in ROI. Given that by the time that all happened, the craze is over or the population is vastly reduced (both meaning falloff of demand from this so-far limited spike), I don't think they'll even bother.

Possible even that once the supply chain is refilled, they'll have to furlough lines for a while because, oh, people have a whole bunch of it laying around already.

For truly vital supplies, the government should step in and give away money to make sure things are manufactured. I doubt TP is like that. I think this is just a temporary hiccup. Isopropyl alcohol and/or products that use it? I have no idea. I'm sure that the demand for the stuff is at least an order of magnitude greater this week than it was last week. I don't know how much you could increase production to meet demand, regardless of any government intervention.

I know that part of that 8.3 billion is going to surgical masks to make sure that the people who really need them actually have them. (I don't know if that plan is working.)