They pump our gas for us, we go to Costco they wear gloves and we wipe our credit card.

Not the smartest folk, that's who ...

After he filled up the pump. Told him he could simply live with the girly scent of the Bath and Body Works stuff I had in the car, but he wasn't killing me over his masculine pride.

I almost can't use the stuff. But I damn sure will rather than pump gas without protection!

A hard surface that has multiple hands on it day in and day out. Apparently the virus is OK with gas fumes. Appreciate the heads-up on this!

and the wipes turned dark brown after a few swipes of the cloth. Gross!!! My steering wheel wasn't much better. I wear gloves too now.

Not only at the gas station.

Try to use tap. Try not to use cash. Disinfect if you must.

I keep plastic disposal gloves and hand sanitizer in the car.

The problem with all of this is it takes time to figure out the right protocol.

for example: I wear gloves at the gas pump like I'm supposed to. Then I get back in my car.

If I use my gloves to open the door, I could contaminate the handle for five days. If I tough the steering wheel with the gloves on (like I stupidly did before I realized it), I've contaminated the steering wheel.

One mistake and you could get the virus.

The order and process of how you do stuff has to be medically meticulous ... which means a lot of folks are going to inadvertently make mistakes.

Just read a doctor suggesting we should changes our clothes when we get home from shopping and put them in a place where the can't infect anyone. I'd never done that for three weeks when I read that ...

what are you supposed to do if you have no mask?

It's kind of like washing hands videos - society needs to get educated in safe protocols.

Right now, we can't even get people to isolate ....

That means your keys, your hands, your gloves, your clothes, your steering wheel and any other controls you touch, your credit or debit card, your wallet, your gas cap, anything your clothes touch.

When you shop, consider all of the above plus everything that you buy. It should be cleaned or disinfected or quarantined. Wash up.

I tied a bandana type scarf double across my face.

from the wrist and let them turn inside out as they come off. Drop immediately into trash. Sanitize or wash your hands, too, just to be safe.

For people wearing masks, they should take them off from the back. Pull them up and away from the face. Wash face and hands ASAP afterward.

And other pay-from-your-phone apps to have a huge uptick in usage, because you don't have to touch what others do to buy certain things. Only your own phone, from a safe space.

The only person touching the charger is my wife and I.

is to just not drive anywhere. Both cars have the tanks pretty much full, mostly for use in charging cell phones if the power goes out.

Hadn’t heard that one.

Wrong season now.

but every utility has human beings making it run. If enough of them get sick, or even quarantined, services could potentially suffer. We've saved up water in jugs, bottles, etc., in case that becomes necessary.

Best to be as prepared as possible.

My store was cleaning the credit card machines after every transaction to the point that it "broke" one - made the screen inoperable so that you couldn't hit Yes or No for the cashback option.

I'm also in KC.

TlalocW

I put a bag of them in my truck. I'll use them on the carts next time too,
ADW

Haven’t seen one without them around here.

I have to get gas tomorrow and I've been analyzing the whole process of what I need to do.

after swiping it. Wear gloves or use a tissue or a wipe on the keypad.

That should be past tense. That's what I did while stocking up. Now I just stay indoors.

credit card terminals and ATMs, public restroom door handles and faucet/flush knobs, entry and exit door handles, vending machines, mail, packages, car doors, food containers.....there's many hazards we're not accustomed to worrying about.

I just simply requires a whole new awareness of our environment.......

Last edited Mon Mar 23, 2020, 05:00 AM - Edit history (2)

My hubby's kind of a germophobe; glad he's got these things covered in times like this.

Use what you have on hand, but DO NOT MIX bleach with anything but clean water:

For vinegar: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-fruit-and-veggie-wash-256797

For bleach: https://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-kitchen/chlorine-bleach-for-sanitizing-raw-fruits-and-vegetables/

Hope this helps. Stay safe out there!

Consider your hands to be contaminated when you're out and about, because they are, and not just with Covid-19. Wash your hands as soon as you can and don't touch your face until you do. For that unbearable itch, use the back of your wrist if you absolutely need to, it's less contaminated than your fingers and palm.

I can't believe they said shit like that at a hospital, doctors and nurses know better.

Your hands will be contaminated by everything you touch outside your home and in your car is no exception. Get used to the idea and modify your behavior.

If you managed to score some hand sanitizer before the profiteering assholes did, you can use that, but it's still a good idea to keep your hands away from your face until you can wash them. Sanitizer helps, but it's not a 100% solution.

And stop the panic. The more we learn about this stinker, the more we realize that most people get such a mild case of it they have no clue they are sick and spreading virus. That's why containment even with lockdowns and curfews didn't work in China. There were likely hundreds of cases before the first person got ill enough to be noticed.

if they have them.

I take a couple of wipes with me now when I go in a grocery store. The Clorox ones without bleach are water-based (not alcohol) and hence stay moist for quite a while. I wipe the shopping cart, my hands after touching bins, etc.

I wonder about buying produce, e.g. apples--how many hands have touched them? Have started buying bagged apples for the time being.

Last edited Mon Mar 23, 2020, 09:15 AM - Edit history (1)

I've been washing them with a lot of soap before peeling them now.

A friend of a friend.

Here's a link to the Snopes take on this:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/covid19-gas-pump-handles/

Just sayin'

Have no idea about the source of this warning, but had started doing this before I saw the message. It seems to make sense right now to avoid touching things so many others touch with my bare hands.

I was able hold it over the buttons so my fingers didn't touch the touchpads and then it worked great on pump as it was big enough for my hand to wrap around entire pump and then just drop in waste can. The mailer paper was thick and strong.

Then used lots of hand sanitizer that I left on hands for several minutes. So am just leaving some other outdated flyers in both cars for future use if need to touch something unexpectedly.

The pump itself is still a concern.

While this is definitely a possible way to come in contact with the virus, it really did sound Snope-ish. Like we've got virus police at the gas stations monitoring this?

absolutely including at gas pumps from the beginning of getting serious.

Tomorrow I'll go to my first early opening for high-risk shoppers. I'll use wipes around the back of the cart, including seat, and then a new set to drape along the handle I'll be holding. They will still be moist and usable for wiping down the self check-out, or I may grab more there or from the ones I carry with me.

As for virus police, the closest I've come to that is the sharp look I gave a pair of college girls who sailed past the wipes into a store as if they still assumed their parents took care of that kind of stuff for them.

This is definitely Snopish.
But still probably good practice.

Gas pumps included, but not any more so than anything else.

By slipping in the bailout bill to only allow gas stations to provide gas pump condoms, which said Republican just happened has a retroactive patent for and distribution facility for providing. Said Republican could even go on the national news to tell the country how much of humanitarian he/she was by providing such a lifesaving product to combat the evil virus, instead of answering why he/she charges a mandatory charge of $9.99 for a new plastic bag for each gas pumping. When pressed further, the Republican would exclaim it wasn't his/her fault, because that is the law (that he/she slipped in) in the bailout.

Of course, Fat Donnie would want his cut as Dear Leader of the Republican Crime Syndicate and skims for his spawn as well.

Yes, republicans have soiled themselves that much and would do that without blinking an eye.

I doubt that gas pumps are any more risky than any other surface members of the public touch. And ask yourself, how would a person know that's where they picked it up?

I can open it up with the key and peak inside without touching it. If it looks like it's time to empty it, I'll go back in the house and put gloves on first.

A few gas pumps, and see if COVID19 could be PCR'd off them.
I would be very surprised if a DPH or University reaearcher in a city like Seattle with good lab resources hasn't done this already.