What Shortages are You Seeing?

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Amazon seems better (currently). Better shipping, the Speed and Rate of price increases seems reduced. Not prices, but the rate of wild increase has slowed.
Yes, I noticed! Stuff is starting to get here in 2 or 3 days again!
Also, some of the triple dip grocery deals are coming back, and some of the crazy cheap warehouse grocery deals are also showing up more. I've been able to do some stocking up the last several weeks on stuff that I hadn't been able to get at a good price in a couple of years!
BUT... most of the bulk staples have gone on sale hardly at all since before covid (pasta, rice, flour, dry beans etc), but I'm still stocked up on most of that stuff from the pre-covid deals.
 
Yesterday I spent the morning driving all over the place looking for a specific kind of baby formula for our grand-nephew in Illinois. I learned it's one thing to hear about the formula shortage, and another thing entirely to be trying to buy it and not find it. Can't imagine what it's like to be a mama or daddy of a little one right now. The shelves really are empty.

Going out on a tangent here.... but I was thinking about how our niece breast-fed their first little one, but this little guy has had struggles of a tummy variety since day one. So many more intestinal issues out there compared to when my boys were infants. So many more problems with asthma. So many more allergies. So many more health issues that make these individuals dependent on something. And how scary is that?
 
When I went shopping last week, the only things that were obviously gone were the weekly sales specials. :( The shelves were cleared of all of those.

The deli area was closing in the middle of the day. I got my order in before they closed, thankfully. I asked them what the deal was and the manager said "I have to close b/c I have nobody to work the closing shift."

At the box store I went to, the dog food isle was sparce. However, the farm store must've just got a shipment in b/c they were surprisingly very well stocked......moreso since the last time I was there.
 
When I went shopping last week, the only things that were obviously gone were the weekly sales specials. :( The shelves were cleared of all of those.

The deli area was closing in the middle of the day. I got my order in before they closed, thankfully. I asked them what the deal was and the manager said "I have to close b/c I have nobody to work the closing shift."

At the box store I went to, the dog food isle was sparce. However, the farm store must've just got a shipment in b/c they were surprisingly very well stocked......moreso since the last time I was there.
My youngest just resigned from our local grocer's deli to head back to school. When he was hired on, the deli was open store hours, 6 AM - 11 PM. By the time he quit, it was only open 6 AM - 1 PM as they just couldn't get the staff for it. Now with him gone, it's only open every other day. I have to imagine stores are going to have to raise wages to get workers, which will in turn mean higher prices at the checkout...
 
Gatorade. Dad and brother are sick, stopped at the local walmart (absolutely hate walmart, but the grocery store in their town shut down) to get them some groceries and the gatorade was all gone. Toilet paper and paper towels sections were thinly stocked, not a lot there but not totally empty. Had to really look for old fashioned regular Campbell's chicken soup. (Our go-to childhood fave when sick). Most of it was 'low sodium' or 'heart healthy' or some such thing.
 
I'm seeing continuing shortages of distilled water around here. Been going on for months. And as a side bonus, when I do find it, it's now $1.29 per gallon. Used to be 89 cents per gallon a few months ago.
I use distilled water in my CPAP every night. Last time distilled water was scarce, I bought a home distiller. Figure since then it's paid about 1/2 of itself off. It's basically a heating element and a fan, so there's not much to go wrong, I'm hoping it'll pay for itself 10x fold by the time it's dead....
 
I use distilled water in my CPAP every night
My wife uses the distilled water for a humidifier. I think that's overkill. It does prevent mineral build-up, so simpler cleaning. But humidifiers go through a ton of water, which is not cheap when you're paying $1.29 per gallon. I tell her she should just run the humidifier until it dies, then buy a new one. It would probably be cheaper than buying all that distilled water (which is so hard to find nowadys anyway).

For CPAP, I would think that the only thing you really need is biologically safe water, which you can get by simply boiling the water. Distilling also gets rid of minerals. But for the CPAP machines that I have seen, the water is held in it's own little container and the water does not directly touch the heating element. The water container sits atop the heating element like a pot on a stove, and the air is pumped through the water container for humidification. So you don't have any mineral build up to worry about. You just want bacteria-safe water. But I have only seen a few different CPAP machines, and maybe they don't all work that way. Distilled water is the safer/easier method though. Once it's distilled, you know it is safe. When boiling, you have to time the length of the boiling, and that depends on altitude. I don't know what length of time is required - I'd just go for a good ten minutes and that would surely do it (I would think).

I was not aware that home distillers were even a thing until I saw your post. So I checked them out on Amazon. They're expensive, but not ridiculously expensive. But once I saw the power that they draw (750+ watts), I ruled them out for my wife's humidifier use. For the volume of water the humidifier needs, that distiller would probably cost us as much in electricity as our hot tub! It would be OK for smaller volumes of water, like for CPAP or nasal rinses. I may still look into one for those uses. Distilling would probably be much simpler than boiling. Less things to mess with - it looks like all the parts needed are right there in the home distilling kit. No separate pots or things like that you'd have to buy and keep track of.
 
My wife uses the distilled water for a humidifier. I think that's overkill. It does prevent mineral build-up, so simpler cleaning. But humidifiers go through a ton of water, which is not cheap when you're paying $1.29 per gallon. I tell her she should just run the humidifier until it dies, then buy a new one. It would probably be cheaper than buying all that distilled water (which is so hard to find nowadys anyway).

For CPAP, I would think that the only thing you really need is biologically safe water, which you can get by simply boiling the water. Distilling also gets rid of minerals. But for the CPAP machines that I have seen, the water is held in it's own little container and the water does not directly touch the heating element. The water container sits atop the heating element like a pot on a stove, and the air is pumped through the water container for humidification. So you don't have any mineral build up to worry about. You just want bacteria-safe water. But I have only seen a few different CPAP machines, and maybe they don't all work that way. Distilled water is the safer/easier method though. Once it's distilled, you know it is safe. When boiling, you have to time the length of the boiling, and that depends on altitude. I don't know what length of time is required - I'd just go for a good ten minutes and that would surely do it (I would think).

I was not aware that home distillers were even a thing until I saw your post. So I checked them out on Amazon. They're expensive, but not ridiculously expensive. But once I saw the power that they draw (750+ watts), I ruled them out for my wife's humidifier use. For the volume of water the humidifier needs, that distiller would probably cost us as much in electricity as our hot tub! It would be OK for smaller volumes of water, like for CPAP or nasal rinses. I may still look into one for those uses. Distilling would probably be much simpler than boiling. Less things to mess with - it looks like all the parts needed are right there in the home distilling kit. No separate pots or things like that you'd have to buy and keep track of.
I've wondered about the energy use of the distiller, it doesn't seem like it's using 750 watts continuously - the kitchen doesn't warm up when it in use, etc. Somewhere in my basement I have a watt meter, I ought to measure it and see what it's actually drawing...
 
I use distilled water in my CPAP every night. Last time distilled water was scarce, I bought a home distiller. Figure since then it's paid about 1/2 of itself off. It's basically a heating element and a fan, so there's not much to go wrong, I'm hoping it'll pay for itself 10x fold by the time it's dead....
I've gone through half a dozen or more of those home distillers. There is a resister or something that burns out so get a spare now if that is the way you go. Mine lasted about a year or so each. I also used mine for coffee, nasty water. I switched to a ZeroWater filter but a Berkey or Katadyn would be even better. I am currently using rainwater in my CPAP.

I've been on a CPAP for over 25 years. All the current machines use replaceable water chambers that are meant to be replaced every three months. I don't replace mine that often but every once in awhile I let mine soak in vinegar for a few hours and that cleans away the scale and any growth.
 
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I've gone through half a dozen or more of those home distillers. There is a resister or something that burns out so get a spare now if that is the way you go. Mine lasted about a year or so each. I also used mine for coffee, nasty water. I switched to a ZeroWater filter but a Berkey or Katadyn would be even better. I am currently using rainwater in my CPAP.

I've been on a CPAP for over 25 years. All the current machines use replaceable water chambers that are meant to be replaced every three months. I don't replace mine that often but every once in awhile I let mine soak in vinegar for a few hours and that cleans away the scale and any growth.
We've got a Berkey, and I've thought about just using that... I'll have to give that a try when the distiller bites the dust. I'm more worried about vaporizing the chemicals in tap water into my nasal passages than dealing with a little mineral build up...
 
Have either of you guys thought about just making a water still? I made one for Y2K out of a 4 gallon canner and copper line.
got everything I needed at the goodwill for fifteen bucks.
 
Have either of you guys thought about just making a water still? I made one for Y2K out of a 4 gallon canner and copper line.
got everything I needed at the goodwill for fifteen bucks.
That's a great idea, I made a "regular" still in college (long story) and one for water would be simpler. It'd be super flexible, you could use the stove normally, and a propane burner or even a campfire when the SHTF...
 
That's a great idea, I made a "regular" still in college (long story) and one for water would be simpler. It'd be super flexible, you could use the stove normally, and a propane burner or even a campfire when the SHTF...
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Ben
 
Anyone priced 1" "K" Type copper tubing.........recently. I have a 60' roll I'll likely never use. I ran 135' of it from well to cabin.
 
Anyone priced 1" "K" Type copper tubing.........recently. I have a 60' roll I'll likely never use. I ran 135' of it from well to cabin.
A water still (I came to find out) can use simple PEX tubing as a drain out after about 2' I'd say Silicon based high temp line would work just as well. easier to make a worm out of too, just roll it up and use a PVC pipe chill box.
 
Aldi is pretty pathetic today. Prices up since last week. Lots of no stock on things. They did have bread and cheese today. Their cantaloupes looked awesome, so I hope they are. Cheap eggs are up to $2.89 a dz, but I never buy eggs. Some guys were loading big flats of peanut butter in the back of a lady's van, possibly for a food pantry. I hope they cleared the shelves out, because all they've had for months is the stuff that expires in 7 months, and at regular price. Maybe they'll put out some more. Anyway, filled a cart with stuff that didn't go up much. Butter was $3.59 a lb today. Was $1.89 5 months ago. Sour cream was a buck around that time, now it's $1.89, and I did need that.
 
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Presto Pressure Cooker and Steamer | Ashley
That and ten bucks worth of fittings and drilling a hole.

HOLD THE PHONE!
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ba...83382971232820&utm_content=Beverage Equipment
Looks like a still to me!
But screw all that, the real deal, cheaper than the others and ready to go!
https://www.vevor.com/alcohol-disti...f1f70e64a38945a54f8fa&utm_content=Ad group #1
Presto Pressure Cooker and Steamer | Ashley
That and ten bucks worth of fittings and drilling a hole.

HOLD THE PHONE!
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ba...83382971232820&utm_content=Beverage Equipment
Looks like a still to me!
But screw all that, the real deal, cheaper than the others and ready to go!
https://www.vevor.com/alcohol-disti...f1f70e64a38945a54f8fa&utm_content=Ad group #1
Wow that company has everything - combine that with the fireworks firing system VEVOR 24 Cues 500 Meters Fireworks Firing System 1200 Wireless Control Program | VEVOR US and you are ready for a party!

Honestly if I hadn't sworn the stuff off years ago, I'd be tempted to get one - the barter value of hooch could be huge one day!
 
Fruit and vegetable scraps=booze. :)
But the idea is, it distills water perfectly. why waste it playing Isis? LOL
 
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