Clorox Wipes Won't Be Fully Back In Stock Until Next Year

Clorox brand won’t be able to meet the demand for Clorox Wipes until 2021

At the onset of the pandemic, the EPA released a list of disinfectants that could effectively kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, and a quick look at the approved list proved that trusty Clorox products got the job done. By the end of March, it was basically impossible to find Clorox bleach, wipes, and even spray bottles anywhere and now the brand is saying that they won’t be able to fully meet the demand for Clorox Disinfecting Wipes until 2021.

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Normally, Clorox holds aside an excess supply of wipes for the flu season, but the pandemic changed all that. CEO Benno Dorer told Reuters that products like liquid bleach will start to appear on store shelves with more regularity over the next four to six months, but the trusty wipes won’t be back until next year.

“Disinfecting wipes, which are the hottest commodity in the business right now, will probably take longer because it’s a very complex supply chain to make them,” Dorer said. “That entire supply chain is stressed. We feel like it’s probably going to take until 2021 before we’re able to meet all the demand that we have.”

This is big update from the CEO’s previous claim in May that Clorox Wipes would be fully back on shelves this summer. Put another way, there won’t be enough Clorox wipes to go around when schools reopen this month. We’re in a pandemic, approaching flu season, and there are not enough Clorox wipes for classrooms. Let that sink in. Not only that, but Reuters reports that Clorox wipes are routinely used in Uber vehicles and United Airlines planes as well, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust my Uber driver to mix his own bleach and water solution and douse his car between rides.

Clorox even released a video on Instagram on how to make a disinfectant spray with bleach, assuming you can even get your hands on bleach at the supermarket these days.

Clorox has been responding to customers on Twitter stating that “we can’t tell you exactly when you’ll see Clorox disinfecting products on your local shelves,” but that “we expect you’ll be able to find products back in stores more consistently this summer, but the exact timing will depend on demand.”

Although some Clorox products will be back in stock “more consistently” soon, they won’t fully meet the demand for wipes until 2021. Damn.