[Griff3542]

I needed Kleenex desperately so I turned to Ebay and paid $14 for 2 boxes, call me stupid but I have no one to blame but myself.

[ladyarwen3]

Originally Posted by queasy27

As a senior with an autoimmune disease, I'm kind of a COVID-19 sitting duck. I fully recognize that price gouging is wrong and my actions are contributing to the problem, but I was still okay with paying $17 for two bottles of disinfectant cleaning spray on eBay.

Then eBay removed that listing for gouging. I ordered something from a different seller whose listing was also deleted but that person got my order in the mail quickly and it's on the way.

I feel like a collaborator in Vichy France, but all the experts are telling us to disinfect up to three times a day and I can't use my diluted bleach solution on all surfaces.

Have you experienced similar dilemmas or lines you're not willing to cross?

I do not understand why you need to disinfect 3 times a day if no one or nothing is coming into your home or you are not going out. Do you live with a spouse or another person? Pets? You can disinfect once a day and wash your hands before eating and cooking.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by juscause

On the hand sanitizer issue, you can easily make your own. Take two parts rubbing alcohol, one part aloe gel, add 10 drops of lemon juice. You have made hand sanitizer for fractions of what they want on the open market.

I haven’t seen aloe gel in stores in weeks. And the rubbing alcohol should be 91%, not 70%. I accidentally mixed a mineral oil aloe gel with alcohol, and that turned into a very nasty glop. Yech! I keep rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and just spritz my hands and rub them together. I carry the spray bottle right into the store with me and spray the cart handle before I touch it. Works great.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Griff3542

I needed Kleenex desperately so I turned to Ebay and paid $14 for 2 boxes, call me stupid but I have no one to blame but myself.

Doubled up toilet paper is a pretty good substitute for Kleenex. That’s what I always used in my poor college days.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by queasy27

As a senior with an autoimmune disease, I'm kind of a COVID-19 sitting duck. I fully recognize that price gouging is wrong and my actions are contributing to the problem, but I was still okay with paying $17 for two bottles of disinfectant cleaning spray on eBay.

Then eBay removed that listing for gouging. I ordered something from a different seller whose listing was also deleted but that person got my order in the mail quickly and it's on the way.

I feel like a collaborator in Vichy France, but all the experts are telling us to disinfect up to three times a day and I can't use my diluted bleach solution on all surfaces.

Have you experienced similar dilemmas or lines you're not willing to cross?

I hear your fear and worry. Let me put your mind at ease. Yes, you need to be very careful. BUT! I’m assuming that you live alone or with a partner, and no one in the household has the virus. I’m also assuming that you are staying in the house or only going outside for walks, say, and not coming near other persons. If that is the case, once you have wiped down your counters and doorknobs and switches, etc., THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN CATCH IT UNLESS YOU BREAK THAT CIRCLE. There is NO need to wipe things down three times a day, or any other number of times. None of the virus can get in. That’s not how it works. So you can relax. You’re safe!

If you invite friends over—and you should not—or go shopping, then you risk bringing in something with you, but if you have no contact with surfaces where the virus can exist for a few days, outside of your circle of cleanliness, you are safe. If your partner goes shopping. He or she can do the same. If someone delivers groceries for you, then if you like, you can put on disposable gloves and wipe things down with a bleach solution. If you are concerned about a fabric, put it out in the sun for a few hours and the sun will kill the virus.

Make your own bleach solution with two ounces of bleach in a gallon of water. It will kill the virus faster than alcohol and just as effectively, and it costs maybe a nickel a gallon. Put it in a spray bottle or pour some on a cloth or paper towel. You can wipe down boxes and plastic bags of food if you like. You can even mix it at ONE ounce per gallon and dip fresh fruits and vegetables in it to kill germs. It works! This is standard practice for Americans working in Africa, Asia, and Mexico. Just rinse the food in fresh water in a minute. This even works with lettuce. You can’t drink the bleach solution, and drinking straight bleach will kill you, but in solution and on counters and such, it’s not poisonous. It’s chlorine atoms in water. If you put salt in water, it dissociates into chlorine atoms (or ions) and sodium ions. Remember, chlorine is put into swimming pools to kill viruses, and that is nowhere near as strong as one ounce per gallon.

The virus is NOT going to waft in your window or settle on your doorknob. That not how it works. If someone with the virus on his or her hands touches your doorknob, the virus will transfer. If someone with the virus in his or her lungs breathes on you, it can transfer. That’s why you stay away from people and wear gloves and a mask when you go shopping or touch anything outside your clean circle. But once clean, unless you let in something, your house stays clean.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by queasy27

Was it something you could wait on, or did you end up buying it anyway? It was going against my principles for self interest that bothered me ... I could have justified it more easily for a pet!

eBay of course has auctions for sanitizing products and I saw a canister of Clorox wipes bid up to at $89 yesterday. But then, it's an auction and nobody was forcing people to bid. Kind of a gray area as long as the starting price was reasonable.

Although Grizzly is the brand we have always used, I googled salmon oil for dogs, and another brand was listed as top choice out of 5. So we're trying a pint of that.

[Diverdave]

Originally Posted by queasy27

As a senior with an autoimmune disease, I'm kind of a COVID-19 sitting duck. I fully recognize that price gouging is wrong and my actions are contributing to the problem, but I was still okay with paying $17 for two bottles of disinfectant cleaning spray on eBay.

Then eBay removed that listing for gouging. I ordered something from a different seller whose listing was also deleted but that person got my order in the mail quickly and it's on the way.

I feel like a collaborator in Vichy France, but all the experts are telling us to disinfect up to three times a day and I can't use my diluted bleach solution on all surfaces.

Have you experienced similar dilemmas or lines you're not willing to cross?

In a perfect world you can tilt at windmills, but if you were to experience a tragedy because you felt that the extra $3 per bottle was too much I dont think your loved ones would ever recover. I taught womens self defense and I always told my students that if anyone ever attempted to rob them with a weapon they should freely hand over whatever valuables they needed to so.as to get the crimi al to go.away. I also told them to.call me the next day a d I would personally replace any and all.items or cash that they lost. I didn't want any of them to even hesitate to hand over a purse or wallet at the risk of their safety. (NOTE:This policy does not apply to someone trying to assault or kidnap...) I feel that you are in the same position, pay the rotten scum sucking rat and have faith in karma...

[mollyb]

Be kind.

[mollyb]

I bought a box today ...publix

[mhonard]

Coronavirus is very fragile and all you need is to penetrate its outer layer and it dies. Soap and water will do the trick. Look it up on the web.

COVID-19 prevention: Why soap, sanitizer and warm water work against coronavirus - CNN

[DON10E]

I agree with you in general, Guitarguy, but this situation is different. The increased prices are not going to the manufacturer, they are going to a middleman. Therefore production is not affected. Any empty shelves would not necessarily be due to a lack of supply but because of the increase of demand. That demand is artificially increased by the new middlemen. Their increased demand Helps cause the shelves to be empty.

I’ve assumed the shortages will end when enough folks decide they’ve got more than enough, but the middlemen are making that worse artificially. So the shortages could last longer.

At least, I think so. But I could be wrong. 😄