If you’ve been trying to get your hands on disinfectant wipes for the last few months, we have a disappointing update: It’s going to be a while.
Demand for disinfectant wipes like those made by Clorox and Lysol is extremely high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While both companies are still making wipes, keeping them on store shelves is another story. The companies insist that they are shipping to stores — the wipes are just disappearing as quickly as they arrive.
Other brands like Member’s Mark from Sam’s Club are selling out as well, and if you think ordering them from Amazon will work, think again. I have an ongoing Subscribe and Save order for Lysol wipes on Amazon and haven’t received a shipment since February.
Now, Clorox is speaking out about current inventory levels of the wipes, telling Today that a 500% spike in demand means that we likely won’t see shelves fully stocked with Clorox wipes until the summer, and that is with a 40% increase in production.
“We know that right now we cannot make enough products for everybody to find products at the store all the time,” said Clorox chairman and CEO Benno Dorer. “But we’re making tremendous progress. We think we will be in substantially better shape by the summer.”
Dorer said Clorox factories are making wipes 24 hours a day to try to meet the demand and that in some cases, they’ve even sold as much in one week as they normally sell in a month.
According to NBC News, the company has added 263 new employees to its team of nearly 9,000. They have also boosted base pay for employees and given $1,000 bonuses to lower-level workers.
While Lysol hasn’t indicated when we can expect stores to be fully stocked with those wipes, the company has acknowledged the difficulties, apologizing to consumers on Twitter, saying, “As demand remains extraordinarily high, we recognize that it is difficult to locate products that you may be looking for. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and ask that you hang in there with us!”
The company has also tweeted that product inventory will vary day by day, and suggests asking your local retailer when they’ll be receiving the next shipment. Lysol also requests that consumers only purchase what they need so others can get some as well.
1. Stock of product on shelves will vary day by day and it may be helpful to ask your retailer when they will be receiving their next shipments. We also ask that consumers purchase only what they need so that everyone can work together to stop the spread.
— Lysol US (@Lysol) April 15, 2020
While we wait for shelves to restock, you may want to try your hand at making your own disinfectant wipes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says diluted household bleach solutions, alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol and most common household disinfectants should be effective at killing COVID-19 on surfaces, so if you have these products, you can make your own wipes.
You’ll need paper towels, rubbing alcohol, distilled water and dish soap. You can also add essential oil if you’d like the wipes to have an appealing scent, but that won’t change the effectiveness of the wipes.
Have you been able to find disinfectant wipes lately?
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.