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CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Coronavirus Fears Are Causing Product Shortages- Amazon Still Has These Essentials In Stock
With worries of the coro- navirus (COVID-19), sweep- ing the nation, many household essentials like hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and disinfecting wipes are selling out at many retailers. With speedy Prime ship- ping, Amazon was one of the places that shoppers turned to first to get these disinfect- ing products and household essentials that the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention (CDC) recommend. Because of this, there are slim pickings when it comes to sought-after products right now—and the inven- tory is continuing to dwindle at the retail giant.
Thankfully, you can still find some of the products that are in high demand on Amazon. However, they may not be your favorite brands, and the prices may be higher than usual—we've used price tracking tools like Keepa to assure nothing is overpriced.
We scoured Amazon for hours and rounded up some of the most essential house- hold products to have during the coronavirus outbreak that are still available. We'll be updating this list and adding things when they come back in stock (fingers crossed).
As a public service re- minder, we'd like to remind everyone that buying house- hold essentials is all well and good, but hoarding (buying more than you really need) actively harms your friends and neighbors. So please, buy responsibly.
1. Hand Soap
Washing your hands for at least 20 seconds is the most effective way to protect yourself from coronavirus, according to the CDC. There is still plenty of hand soap available at Amazon, if you're in need of any from washing your hands more frequently.
2. Toilet Paper
Grab this necessity while you can.
Toilet paper is selling like
hot cakes right now, but if you want to make sure you have some in case you're home for an extended period of time, you can still buy some on Amazon. While this doesn't include our favorite toilet paper, Charmin Ultra Soft, there are still some good options out there, along with flushable wipes.
3. Ingredients For DIY Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer is sold out, but you can get ingredi- ents to make your own.
There's a limited stock of hand sanitizer at Amazon right now. While there are alcohol-free non-reputable sanitizers available, the (CDC) says that you'll need hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol content. We don't recommend pur- chasing the alcohol-free san- itizers and advise to double check the ingredients listed on hand sanitizer before adding it to your cart.
Soap and water is still more preferable right now, as it's in stock and readily available and the CDC says it's more effective than hand sanitizer. If you want some for when soap isn't available, another thing you can do is make your own hand sani- tizer. Ingredients for this in- clude isopropyl alcohol (99% rubbing alcohol) and aloe vera gel, which are both still available on Amazon.
4. Paper Towels
Paper towels are a must- have at all times.
Paper towels are one of those items you should al- ways have on hand. You can use them with disinfectant spray, and they're dispos- able. Bounty makes our fa- vorite paper towels, which are still available on Ama- zon, along with some other options.
5. Dish Soap
Keep this on hand for scrubbing.
Dish soap is another great household item to al- ways make sure you have in stock. If someone in con- tact with the coronavirus uses dishes, they need to be throughly scrubbed with a disinfecting dish soap. Dawn Ultra is the best dish soap we've ever tested and it cuts through grease and germs— and it's available on Amazon right now.
6. Trash Bags
Toss out all your used disinfectants.
You're going to need trash bags to dispose of all your used disinfectant wipes, tissues, paper towels, and general trash. We rec- ommend the Glad Force- FlexPlus as they’re the best trash bags we’ve ever tested for their superior strength and odor-blocking material. They are available on Ama- zon, along with a few other solid options.
7. Laundry Detergent
Get our favorite deter-
gent while its still in stock. Laundry detergent is not something you want to run out of as the coronavirus spreads across the country. Our top pick for the best laundry detergent is Persil
ProClean Liquid Laundry Detergent. It's the best at getting rid of stains and will cleanse your clothes thor- oughly. You can still grab it, as well as a few other deter- gents, on Amazon.
8. Tissues
Never underestimate the value of a good tissue.
In times of sickness, it's always a good idea to have an extra box of tissues lying around. After testing nine different boxes (and blowing many noses), we found that Puffs Ultra Soft are the best tissues and won't irritate your nose. You can stock up on these on Amazon right now. Other brands still have tissues in stock, too.
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