# Went to Costco This Morning. Was a Little Bit Scary. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 11, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294 "2020-03-11T18:58:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/401 "2020-05-10T20:57:21Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Folks who are looking for disinfectants, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc.: try [Sally Beauty Supply](https://www.sallybeauty.com/personal-protective-equipment/) online. I bought a bottle of name-brand Clorox no-splash bleach from a HUGE display of identical bottles at the grocery store because hey, we’re in the middle of a pandemic and having a good sanitizing cleaner is a good thing to have, and of course Lysol is impossible to find. After getting it home and mixing up a bucket of bleach water to disinfect the bathroom and kitchen, I noticed… I couldn’t smell any bleach. WTF? I looked at the bottle and it said in tiny print “not for sanitizing or disinfecting.” Another WTF? Looking closer it has no ingredient % listed or the usual FDA warning label about proper use. Great. I’d been had. Anyway, I’m pissed that I spent money on something that doesn’t work as intended, so thank you very much for sending me to that website. I put in an order for two gallons of antiviral sanitizer. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/402 "2020-05-10T21:41:52Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > I bought a bottle of name-brand Clorox no-splash bleach from a HUGE display of identical bottles at the grocery store because hey, we’re in the middle of a pandemic and having a good sanitizing cleaner is a good thing to have, and of course Lysol is impossible to find. After getting it home and mixing up a bucket of bleach water to disinfect the bathroom and kitchen, I noticed… I couldn’t smell any bleach. WTF? I looked at the bottle and it said in tiny print “not for sanitizing or disinfecting.” Another WTF? Looking closer it has no ingredient % listed or the usual FDA warning label about proper use. Great. I’d been had. > > Anyway, I’m pissed that I spent money on something that doesn’t work as intended, so thank you very much for sending me to that website. I put in an order for two gallons of antiviral sanitizer. Just FYI, Clorox brand Splashless and Scented bleaches are also not registered disinfectants. In the United States, in order to make any claims about sanitizing or disinfecting, bleach has to be registered with the EPA and must have both an EPA registration number and a list of active ingredient percentages on the front label. If it doesn’t have these things, the maker does not have to disclose the percentage of active ingredients in the bottle and the bottle can contain any percentage (no matter how small). Clorox regular and Clorox concentrated bleaches are both registered as disinfectants. Surprisingly. may store-brand bleaches are registered, too. The bleaches I’ve seen at Dollar Tree are not. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/403 "2020-05-10T22:01:09Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Anyway, I’m pissed that I spent money on something that doesn’t work as intended, so thank you very much for sending me to that website. I put in an order for two gallons of antiviral sanitizer. You’re quite welcome. I wouldn’t have thought of it either, except I used to work there in high school (it was a few blocks from my house) and got a lot more familiar than I ever would have dreamed with professional cosmetology products, considering I owned no cosmetics at all at the time 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/404 "2020-05-10T23:50:03Z")
I guess the shortage is bleach for laundry, which I’ve not gotten in six weeks now, ground pork (Kroger never really has it anyway), and Black Box Pinot Noir (three weeks now, and, hey, it’s convenient when ordering online). And tonic water for some reason – I suspect people are confusing quinine for whatever it is that Trump was spouting. I’ve got nearly five liters of Bombay Sapphire now, with nothing to drink it with. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/405 "2020-05-11T00:51:54Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I am still not having any significant issues with delivery/curbside pickup from smaller independent groceries - of 3 recent orders, for one they substituted a different brand of Parmesan, and for another, they were out of mesclun because it was Monday and it had sold out over the weekend. No issues with meat, dairy, or eggs, and I even scored a 1 lb. package of yeast. (However, TP and disinfectants are still basically impossible to get via delivery or curbside pickup, and my asthmatic self is not planning to walk into a grocery store anytime soon.) > > Yesterday, I did a curbside pickup from Mariano’s, a local chain supermarket. No chicken, no Italian sausage (out of the basic groceries), and they were out of the broccoli rabe and the small bottle of Prosecco that I tried to buy Mom as part of a socially distant Mother’s Day brunch delivery we are bringing her tomorrow. > > Folks who are looking for disinfectants, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc.: try [Sally Beauty Supply](https://www.sallybeauty.com/personal-protective-equipment/) online. They have stuff intended for cosmetology professionals. It ain’t hospital-grade stuff, but it’s a lot better than nothing, and they seem to have reasonable stock levels. Probably because they are limiting quantities, and probably because most of their regular customers aren’t buying right now because they can’t work legally in most of the country. (I ordered real hairdresser shears and stuff to color my own hair, and it took a week or two, but I eventually got everything.) Thanks for the SBS recommendation. I ordered a couple gallons of disinfectant. I should be set for quite a while if this order and the one I placed at the industrial supply place both materialize! ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/406 "2020-05-11T09:43:54Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I’ve got nearly five liters of Bombay Sapphire now, with nothing to drink it with. First World problem eh! ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/407 "2020-05-11T12:40:04Z")
We have a local pet shop that I like to shop at for my feline beast. Shop local and all that. When I was there a few weeks ago, every employee wore masks, maintained distance, constantly cleaned the check out area and carts. Went yesterday. Walked in, looked around. No one wearing any PPE. Manager asked if there was anything he could help me find. I asked why no one was wearing masks. They’re mandatory tomorrow. Noted a few weeks ago everyone was geared up. That was voluntary, but they’re mandatory tomorrow! Ended up at PetCoSmart, where everyone was PPE’d up and the vast majority of customers were also wearing masks. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/408 "2020-05-11T19:02:04Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I guess the shortage is bleach for laundry, which I’ve not gotten in six weeks now… Buy online, for example [Walmart.com](http://Walmart.com) or Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/409 "2020-05-11T19:22:27Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I guess the shortage is bleach for laundry, which I’ve not gotten in six weeks now Upthread, someone mentioned “splashless” Clorox bleach, which the poster said was available in their supermarket. It’s what I have and I bought it for use in laundry. I think they also have bleach pods, like the Tide pods or the ones for the dishwasher. I would think those would be more likely to be in stock, since they’re no good for household cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/410 "2020-05-12T23:10:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Upthread, someone mentioned “splashless” Clorox bleach, which the poster said was available in their supermarket. It’s what I have and I bought it for use in laundry. I think they also have bleach pods, like the Tide pods or the ones for the dishwasher. I would think those would be more likely to be in stock, since they’re no good for household cleaning. Worth a try for laundry uses: Biz and other enzyme-based bleaches (no chlorine): > [@](#): > > Biz Stain & Odor Eliminator is an enzyme-based, oxygenated and color-safe bleach, detergent booster and pre-treater for laundry stains, sold in both liquid and powder form. It is an enzyme-based bleach that can break down proteins. > **[Biz (detergent)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biz_(detergent))** > > Biz Stain & Odor Eliminator is an enzyme-based, oxygenated and color-safe bleach, detergent booster and pre-treater for laundry stains, sold in both liquid and powder form. It is an enzyme-based bleach that can break down proteins. > Biz bleach was invented by Charles McCarty, a researcher at Procter & Gamble (P&G), and introduced to the American market in 1967. Redox Brands purchased it from P&G in an auction held in the summer of 2000. Forbes estimated the purchase price as more than $40 milli... Seems to be in stock, most places. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/411 "2020-05-12T23:35:30Z")
Went to my local Wal-Mart Supercenter and Hannaford grocery store. Were better stocked than they have been the last few times I have been there. Wal-Mart had some TP and paper towels. They are still limiting purchases to 1 package for each customer. I grabbed 1 of each. The disinfectants wre mostly sold out and I have stopped trying to buy them. Just using soap and water for most of my purchases and hoping for the best. As for food they had some dry pasta in stock(it’s has been mostly sold out there every other time I have gone.) They had some Ramen in stock as well. Hannaford was sold out of TP and paper towels. They are limiting purchases to one package per customer as well. Sold out of disinfectant. They had less dry pasta than Wal-Mart this time. Had plenty of produce. They will busy stocking the meat case when I was there so it was most full at the time(though the price on beef was higher than normal). Both stores were mostly sold out of canned pasta still. I eat it fairly regularly so I actually stocked up on it in January and February so I already had over 150 cans of it when NH began its shutdown and panic buying began. When it became apparent food shortages might happen I started limiting myself to eating only one can at a time instead gorging on two like I was before. So i still have about 100 cans left. In fact I have cut back on much of my excessive eating to try to stretch my food as far as I can go. I lost 25 pounds so in the past 3 months. (This is actuall a good thing; I have dropped from morbidly obese to just obese.) ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/412 "2020-05-13T00:22:24Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Both stores were mostly sold out of canned pasta still. I eat it fairly regularly so I actually stocked up on it in January and February so I already had over 150 cans of it when NH began its shutdown and panic buying began. I don’t understand. Why would someone have 150 cans of well, anything? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/413 "2020-05-13T00:47:49Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > I don’t understand. Why would someone have 150 cans of well, anything? I eat it regularly and it was on sale for a few weeks for 69 cents a can so why not stock up on it? Also it’s actually the only food item(aside from water) I stock up like that in case of emergency. And if you think that’s nuts you should seem my relatives who consider themselves “preppers”(i.e. “survivalists”) they have converted a 10 x 12 foot bedroom in the home to makeshift pantry and have shelves along two walls almost completely full with different food items. I am not sure how good they are about rotating their stock so hopefully it doesn’t all go bad before they can use it. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/414 "2020-05-13T01:04:01Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > I eat it regularly and it was on sale for a few weeks for 69 cents a can so why not stock up on it? 150 cans seems like a lot more than “stocking up” in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/415 "2020-05-13T01:11:00Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > 150 cans seems like a lot more than “stocking up” in my opinion. Well I was eating two cans at a time almost daily for a while. And two half gallon(OK they are actually now 1 quart 1 pint) containers of ice cream a week. It’s one of the reasons I was morbidly obese. This whole experience has helped inspire me to cut back on my excessive eating and try to lose weight/ ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/416 "2020-05-13T01:12:54Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > 150 cans seems like a lot more than “stocking up” in my opinion. None of your beeswax. There were no shortages at the time, so it wasn’t hurting anyone. If something that you eat a lot of is on sale for a good enough price, it’s not wrong to stock up, even it’s more than you would buy. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/417 "2020-05-13T08:01:42Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > This whole experience has helped inspire me to cut back on my excessive eating and try to lose weight/ Congratulations on doing something positive during this time and losing some weight. Good on you. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/418 "2020-05-13T16:35:54Z")
Last two store visits got me hand sanitizer at Publix [an obscure non-name brand, but hey it’s got alcohol and aloe in it, not complaining], and soft Charmin at Wallyworld [last one too tho they had a number of the other kind in megarolls]. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/419 "2020-05-20T14:32:44Z")
I hate going to our local Lowe’s. Sure, they have a spaced out line-up at the door, but as far as I can tell, they don’t have any limits on how many people come in. I’ve gone twice in three weeks, to get things I needed, not browsing, and I won’t be back. Inside, it’s crowded and no attempt to get customers to observe social distancing. Everyone just browsing like normal, jostling up against each other, no attempts at directional markers in the aisles. Canadian Tire seems much better. Greeter at the door to ask what you want to get, quickly directs you to the right aisles; clear message of “get in, get out”, and with directional markers on the floor in the aisles. I’ll go back to Canadian Tire in the future. I feel safer there. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/420 "2020-05-20T14:47:04Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Canadian Tire seems much better. Greeter at the door to ask what you want to get, quickly directs you to the right aisles; clear message of “get in, get out”, and with directional markers on the floor in the aisles. I’ll go back to Canadian Tire in the future. I feel safer there. I get the feeling that a lot of stores are going to start evolving into different customer bases, based on experiences just like this. I imagine there’s someone else out there right now complaining about Canadian Tire, saying they felt like they were in Soviet Russia when they were just trying to buy grass seed, and swearing that next time, they’re going to Lowes. I’ve done this myself, as well. My local Costco tries their best to set up a safe system, but the customer base just doesn’t seem to get it. Anywhere there’s not an employee directing traffic, it’s a crap show. I’ve decided to not shop there unless absolutely necessary. And the weird thing is, it seems like it’s not brand specific. In one place, the Canadian Tire is run very well, in others, it might be the Home Depot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294.md?page=22)