I read similar information the other day. This was the article I read since they can speak much more eloquently than I can on the subject.

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/4/3/21206942/toilet-paper-coronavirus-shortage-supply-chain

There is a supply chain issue compounded by people panic buying and hoarding. Plus the stay at home behaviors are estimated to cause a 40% increase in household toilet paper use. Hopefully if things get really bad we can find commercial TP to purchase online. Or I can try breaking into my office building and going floor to floor liberating some of the unused commercial TP...

I wonder if there'll be a run on the Toto Washlet? I like old fashioned mechanical bidets, but the idea of an electric appliance on the toilet makes me nervous. Oh, and how does one do modern marketing for something to wash one's nether regions? Toto-20628 Video on the Toto USA website.

My son did say the other day that he was surprised at how quickly he and his fiance were going through TP until they figured out that they used to use their office bathrooms during the day and so used their TP.

Then the run on TP made sense.

In very early March I had trouble finding TP and could see the writing on the wall so I ordered two cases from a restaurant supply company—-big (really big) rolls of thin, two ply paper that you typically find in institutional bathrooms. Luckily we have recently moved from a house with a septic tank that required “septic safe” TP that, if not exactly institutional quality was certainly not cushy like Charman (sic?) either, so we can tolerate it better than most. And the best thing is that we will never, ever run out. We will go back to TP that fits on our regular rolls after the current shortage is over, but will have have a pretty impressive stockpile, if you pardon that term in this context lol.

Our bidet seat arrived yesterday, but probably won't be installed until DH is off on Friday. The installation looks super easy. We bought Brondell, but there are others out there. This is definitely a "cadillac" model, but we decided to go for it. ETA we ordered directly from Brondell vs. Amazon.

And I brought restaurant/workplace quality paper towel rolls, which are not as good with pet messes. That was all I could find. Maybe this week we will get real paper towels.

Makes sense now, very interesting. There are so many facets to things, we don't always think about, even TP.

LOL yes, Ollie.

I don't want to sound paranoid, but also this is the second time that conventional wisdom was BS. 1) There is no reason to wear masks and 2) There is no reason to hoard TP.

Which shibboleth will be exposed next?

Mtn, I have to agree with you there!

We have bidets.

Coronavirus and shopping for supplies: Getting to the bottom of the toilet paper shortage

“I can’t give you an exact number, but I will tell you we’re making more than ever,” said Arist Mastorides, president of family care for Kimberly-Clark North America, maker of Cottonelle toilet paper and other paper products. “It’s a significant amount to cover what we think will be used with people traveling less and staying home more.”

That’s part of the problem right now – not just hoarding and not because people are going to the bathroom more than normal. It’s also because so many consumers are going to bathroom in different locations from before the pandemic – at home instead of workplaces, which often use a different kind of toilet paper than used at home.

Thebiggest toilet paper makers in the U.S. say their factories are working around the clock to produce record amounts, including Procter & Gamble, which makes Charmin and other paper products. All have the added challenge of keeping their workers healthy during the coronavirus outbreak.

“We are prioritizing our bestselling sizes to maximize the amount of product we can ship to retailers,” said Loren Fanroy, a spokesperson for Procter & Gamble.

Mastorides of Kimberly-Clark also said it is increasing production by minimizing the different kinds of packages it normally makes, such as four-packs, eight-packs and 24-packs. Some ship directly to retailers, others to distribution centers where they are mixed with other Kimberly-Clark products.

“Our limited assortment is enabling us to get that product through and into our distribution centers faster, and as we work with our retail partners to get that limited assortment, they’re able to build trucks faster,” Mastorides said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/08/coronavirus-shortage-where-has-all-the-toilet-paper-gone/2964143001/

I posted similarly on the kitchen table...https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5892951/toilet-paper-mystery-solved#n=16

When this first started I went online to buy toilet paper and purchased what I thought was a large box of commercial-looking paper from Target. There was no regular tp left even then. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention because when it was delivered it was a huge box of the type of paper towel rolls that they put in public restrooms. Oy. Can't use that. I will ask my super if he wants them. I spent about an hour online last night shopping for TP and it was actually kind of funny. Every time I would find some available, I would put it into my cart only to be told Sorry, no longer available. I could just picture everyone else sitting on their sofas competing for a package of toilet paper! I finally found some at Kmart, probably because no one even knew they still exist! I could probably find some in a neighborhood store but I am really not leaving my apartment unless I absolutely have to.

While I was laughing and rolling my eyes as people began to hoard TP way back when, I did order two big packages from Amazon “just in case”. Now I’m starting to get a tiny bit nervous about what happens when I run out, bc I have not seen ANY available in either local stores or online.

Maybe this will cure the ridiculous “toilet paper math” on the packaging!!!

Two days ago our Costco had toilet paper and paper towels. It was the first I've seen of either in a month. They were limiting 1 per customer.

In the last month I was unable to get a pack of tp in any online deliveried but a pack of six double rolls came in my order today! No unsweetened orginal coconut milk though :(.

I've not seen toilet paper, paper towels or kleenex on a store shelf in at least a month now. Only bare space. I've been checking every online retailer I can think of several times a week for too long now only to find "out of stock", or if it looks like they have stock from the website, when I add to cart, it says "out of stock".

Been getting a little worried and have a back up plan in place, but no one here is happy with plan b.

I checked online again this week and saw one online retailer had some stock, limit one, I quickly added to cart and checked the heck out of there! It arrived today, and the sighs of relief at this address were amazing :) And it's the fancy stuff too--haha. We usually get the poor quality toilet paper because it will go down our ancient plumbing. I hope we don't get a back up now.

I guess we all just need to keep checking online at this point, then re-check again when you feel up to it, then repeat until we get back to normal. I think once stock hits the shelves and websites, it will clear out soon after, so checking often is key, preferably from the safety of our laptops. Stay well everyone!

Yes! We also got a box of TP today!!

Here's where the TP is going 😂

That is so funny. I wonder how long it took to set that up. What an imagination.

I would never ever buy Charmin, cause of the clogging issues, but I bought a huge package of it a few weeks ago as it was one package per customer, so it was that or the four pack of angel soft. This list describes the pros and cons of the major brands

.TP rankings

Sea Sea, Angel Soft ranks as the best for dissolving and not clogging. I've used it exclusively for years on septic.

Fortunately I'd stocked up before there was any hint of a virus or shutdown. Still, I worry about running out. So I did some math, based on 420 segments in a Kirkland roll. The problem is times per day. Anybody? I read somewhere four. FOUR?!!!! Are you kidding me? More than four, way more than four. So I did some squares x rolls divided by a per day estimate and figure I can hold out until early August with my stash.

Next up, a post-it note and pencil for running tallies.

I scored a 12-pack of store brand TP today at our Dollar General. There were four packs left on the shelf. I was on the way back from dropping off groceries to my father, and DG didn't have many cars in the parking lot, so I thought I'd take a chance. I'd been to Kroger for senior hour, where only one pack of an expensive brand was on the shelf. Still no rubbing alcohol to be found.

Even if you have a bidet, you still have to dry yourself right??

For Christmas my eldest DS bought a 'Forever Roll' of Charmin toilet paper and holder as a joke for his brother. He liked it so much that he bought one for his bathroom along with 2 re-fills.

The roll weighs 2 pounds.

https://www.charmin.com/en-us/shop-products/toilet-paper/forever-roll

Not that long ago, I also learned that info about commercial vs. residential TP use impacting the supply. & yes, unfortunately, most of the commercial product is gigantic rolls that don't fit home TP holders. You can still use it, though. It works just the same😉

FWIW, 1 roll of TP lasts hubby & me for many days - I've forever been buying the 1,000 sheet rolls, not the extra thick, extra soft kind - that stuff goes so quick! I remember there was a time when hubby used to complain about the coarseness of this type of tissue, but he's used to it now.

I too haven't seen paper towels or TP available at any of the local stores I've been shopping online. I was excited to find a pkg of paper towel rolls from Aldi, and put it in my virtual cart, but it was sold out by the time my order was picked.

Here it is! DH installed it today. Now I will never get him out of there.