To think if everyone routinely washed their hands properly

[ElderAve]

No one would need extra soap?

Surely most households have enough toiletries in to last a couple of weeks so why does everyone need extra now?

I don't understand either. I use washing up liquid or shower gel if I run out. I have bar soap too.
That said I admitted yesterday that I don't wash my hands enough. I only washed them after using the loo and during or before food prep. You should do them when you arrive home or to work too and I was guilty of not doing it. I'm always touching my face too.

People are panicking and washing their hands more than normal. Mine feel like sandpaper as I'm washing them so often but it's giving me an excuse to use all the handcream I got given at Christmas.

People are probably washing them more than necessary now.
Some people might only have 1 bottle in at a time and go shopping every week too.

People are worried that they will come to the end of their 2-week stash you assume they have and find nothing on the shelves. They don't "need" extra.

Well hopefully everyone is washing their hands more than usual, no? I’ve bought an extra 2 bottles I wouldn’t usually just yet as both of mine only have a third left in them. Normally I’d wait for the bottle to be empty.

People are still not washing their hands after the loo where I work. Male and female. Yuck! Somethings never change.

It’s the antibacterial hand gel that’s sold out everywhere not bars of soap. People use the gel when out and about

I assume the extra buying is precisely so that households have a couple of weeks in reserve.

Loads of people have a 'just in time' approach to domestic resupply, and that is what has changed.

If you cannot obtain soap,from your usual places, do drop in to charity shops and see if they still have (unwanted present) gift boxes of toiletries on the shelves.

But I think the reporting has been of gaps on supermarket shelves of antibacterial liquid soap in single use plastic pump dispensers. No sign of Lush or The Body shop running out.

I wash my hands a lot (3 young DC and a baby in nappies too). I have whatever soap we have at each sink, then replace when it’s ran out. Don’t really have any ‘in stock’. Having a quick look at what we have available at the moment, it’ll probably last around a week.

Having said that, there is currently plenty of soap including antibacterial hand soap in dispensers available in my local supermarket. And toilet roll

We shop weekly and buy what we need, so we definitely don't have stuff in to last a couple of weeks. I do actually need to buy toilet roll and handwash this week, I'll be really annoyed if it's all gone!

I don't think people are using more soap. I think more people are choosing soap that's labelled antibacterial instead of bog standard soap and are buying more than they need.

I'm being reminded a lot about the fairly frequent threads on here featuring so many people who proudly don't wash their hands after going to the toilet, who think it's pointless. I really hope they're the ones who are suddenly buying all the soap.

DH manages the house, & prefers to keep exactly & only as much stuff here as we can use up before the next shop. One of us adults does a biggish shop every 2-3 days. Luckily I go shopping sometimes. When I shop, I may buy things in bulk especially things DH doesn't eat or use. We have maybe 4 litres handsoap I bought in a 5 litre bottle last year so that is covered, plus 5 or 6 bars. I feel justified in prompting him to buy other extras in case we get stuck in here for 4-7 days waiting for test results, or 14+ days waiting for someone's illness to pass.

His idea of extra is 18 rolls of loo paper, btw. And maybe a bottle of olive oil. Is that excessive stock for a family of 5? We get thru about 1 roll/day.

We have no sanitiser in the house (or plans to get any). But we are actually running a little low on the few spray cleaners we keep so I might get a bottle. DD will freak if we run short of her shampoo so I think we should get extra of that, too.