Examples of current inflation - add yours!

[Fermion]

wow bleach has gone up a lot.

I was at Wal-mart the other day and noticed the Bubbly fizzy water drinks are now $4.19 for eight. They were $3.89 a month ago after having gone up from $3.33 a year or so ago.

 

[GenXguy]

Bleach has come up in the discussion in this thread - smaller containers for a lot higher price than it used to be.

Real inflation and price increases / shrinkflation continues.

 

[jim584672]

Cheapskate tip:

Walmart had pool bleach on clearance for $4. The active ingredient sodium hypochlorite is 10%, regular bleach is 6%, so the equivalent unit cost is $2.40 per gallon (if I did the math right).

 

[Gumby]

For maximum cost savings, make your own bleach.

A 1 pound bag of Dry Tec powdered calcium hypochlorite ("Pool Shock") is $4.67 at Amazon if you buy twelve. You can make 3.3 gallons of 6% bleach with each one pound bag. So, about $1.42/gal of bleach.

https://modernsurvivalblog.com/surv...k-to-make-regular-bleach-equivalent-chlorine/

 

[jim584672]

I almost forgot about the Dollar Tree Totally Awesome Bleach half gallon for $1.25, mystery concentration.

 

[GenXguy]

I almost forgot about the Dollar Tree Totally Awesome Bleach half gallon for $1.25, mystery concentration.

I think that is the dollar store that was referenced earlier in the thread where they said everything is a dollar (at that time), but that post said it was a gallon (year and a half ago).

 

[Time2]

I almost forgot about the Dollar Tree Totally Awesome Bleach half gallon for $1.25, mystery concentration.

Hmm. while disusing this with my wife, she said the last cheap bleach she bought, didn't work as well as bleach usually does. So I wondered about the concentration.
My wife just bought a gallon (128oz) of Piggly Wiggly brand Classic Bleach for $2.61. I do not see the percentage on the label.
But, they do give a math problem on the label, 1oz bleach to 2 gallons of water makes a solution containing 200 parts per million of chlorine.
Anyone care to figure out the percentage?

 

[Gumby]

Hmm. while disusing this with my wife, she said the last cheap bleach she bought, didn't work as well as bleach usually does. So I wondered about the concentration.
My wife just bought a gallon (128oz) of Piggly Wiggly brand Classic Bleach for $2.61. I do not see the percentage on the label.
But, they do give a math problem on the label, 1oz bleach to 2 gallons of water makes a solution containing 200 parts per million of chlorine.
Anyone care to figure out the percentage?

7.14% I think. (200/1,000,000) x 357 NOTE This was a foolish typo. It should be 257 and consequently 5.14% See below.

 

[Time2]

7.14% I think. (200/1,000,000) x 357

Where do you get the 357?

I tried to check that 7.14% with ChatGPT, I don't think it knows how to figure it out or I don't know how to ask the question. Or maybe it just gave up!

Here is the conversation.
Me,

I have a bleach that if 1 cup is mixed with 2 gallons of water will make 200 parts per million of chlorine. What percent bleach is this
ChatGPT


To determine the percentage of bleach in the solution, you can use the formula:
Percentage=(Volume of BleachTotal Volume)×100Percentage=(Total VolumeVolume of Bleach​)×100
In this case, if 1 cup of bleach is mixed with 2 gallons of water to make a solution with 200 parts per million (ppm) of chlorine, you'll need to convert all units to a common one, like gallons.
1 cup is equivalent to approximately 0.0625 gallons (since 1 gallon = 16 cups).
So, the total volume of the solution is 0.0625+2=2.06250.0625+2=2.0625 gallons.
Now, we can calculate the percentage of bleach:
Percentage=(0.06252.0625)×100Percentage=(2.06250.0625​)×100
Percentage≈3.03%Percentage≈3.03%
Therefore, if 1 cup of bleach is mixed with 2 gallons of water, it results in a solution containing approximately 3.03% bleach.

Sorry, I want the concentration of the bleach before I mixed it with water

ChatGPT

Certainly, let's calculate the concentration of the bleach before it's mixed with water.
You mentioned that if 1 cup of bleach is mixed with 2 gallons of water, it makes a solution with 200 parts per million (ppm) of chlorine.
First, let's convert the units:

• 1 cup is approximately 0.0625 gallons.
• The total volume of the mixed solution is 0.0625+2=2.06250.0625+2=2.0625 gallons.

Now, we know that the concentration is 200 ppm, which means 200 parts of chlorine per million parts of the solution.
The parts of chlorine in this case would be 0.0625 (the volume of the bleach in gallons) because the bleach is assumed to be 100% chlorine.
So, the concentration in ppm is:
Concentration=(Parts of ChlorineTotal Volume of Solution)×1,000,000Concentration=(Total Volume of SolutionParts of Chlorine​)×1,000,000
Concentration=(0.06252.0625)×1,000,000Concentration=(2.06250.0625​)×1,000,000
Concentration≈30,413 ppmConcentration≈30,413ppm
Therefore, the concentration of the bleach before mixing with water is approximately 30,413 parts per million (ppm).

In percentage


ChatGPT


To express the concentration of bleach in percentage before mixing with water, you can use the following formula:
Percentage=(Parts of ChlorineTotal Parts of Solution)×100Percentage=(Total Parts of SolutionParts of Chlorine​)×100
In this case, the parts of chlorine are 0.0625 (the volume of the bleach in gallons), and the total parts of the solution are 2.0625 (the total volume of the mixed solution in gallons).
Percentage=(0.06252.0625)×100Percentage=(2.06250.0625​)×100
Percentage≈3.03%Percentage≈3.03%
Therefore, the concentration of the bleach before mixing with water is approximately 3.03%.

Sorry, the bleach is already diluted, I want to now the percentage of bleach before I mixed 1 cup to 2 gallons of water

ChatGPT

I apologize for the confusion. If the bleach is already diluted before mixing 1 cup with 2 gallons of water, and the resulting solution has a chlorine concentration of 200 parts per million (ppm), we can calculate the percentage of bleach before dilution.
Let xx be the original concentration of the bleach in percentage.
The calculation can be set up as follows:
Concentrationbefore dilution=(Parts of ChlorineTotal Parts of Solution)×100Concentrationbefore dilution​=(Total Parts of SolutionParts of Chlorine​)×100
Given that the resulting concentration is 200 ppm:
x=(Parts of ChlorineTotal Parts of Solution)×100x=(Total Parts of SolutionParts of Chlorine​)×100
x=(200 ppm×Total Parts of Solution1,000,000)×100x=(1,000,000200 ppm×Total Parts of Solution​)×100
Substitute the total parts of the solution (1 cup of bleach plus 2 gallons of water):
x=(200 ppm×(1+2)1,000,000)×100x=(1,000,000200 ppm×(1+2)​)×100
x=(600 ppm1,000,000)×100x=(1,000,000600 ppm​)×100
x=0.06%x=0.06%
Therefore, the original concentration of the bleach before dilution was approximately 0.06%.

Did you mean to say 6%, that is much more like a store bought bleach should be.
ChatGPT

I apologize for any confusion. My earlier response indeed suggests that the original concentration of the bleach before dilution was 0.06%, which may not be consistent with typical household bleach concentrations.
If household bleach is commonly sold at around 6% sodium hypochlorite concentration, it's likely that the original concentration was indeed 6% before dilution. I appreciate your clarification, and you are correct. So, the original concentration of the bleach before mixing 1 cup with 2 gallons of water is more likely to be 6%.


Ya, not spot on.

 

[Gumby]

Where do you get the 357?...

Sorry, that was my stupid error, it should be 257.

You start with one ounce of bleach, with an unknown original concentration of chlorine (call it OC). You add it to 2 gallons (2 gal x 128 oz/gal = 256 oz.) of water. So now you have 257 ounces of liquid, and you have diluted to 1/257 of the original concentration. (1/257 is the dilution factor or DF)

The package says the diluted concentration of the combined 1 ounce of bleach and 256 ounces of water is 200ppm = 200/1,000,000. Lets call that "DC" for Diluted concentration

Original Concentration x dilution factor = Diluted concentration

OC x DF = DC

OC= DC/DF = 200ppm/(1/257) = 200ppm x 257 = 51,400 ppm (parts per million)

51,400/ 1,000,000 = .0514 = 5.14%

 

[Time2]

Sorry, that was my stupid error, it should be 257.

You start with one ounce of bleach, with an unknown original concentration of chlorine (call it OC). You add it to 2 gallons (2 gal x 128 oz/gal = 256 oz.) of water. So now you have 257 ounces of liquid, and you have diluted to 1/257 of the original concentration. (1/257 is the dilution factor or DF)

The package says the diluted concentration of the combined 1 ounce of bleach and 256 ounces of water is 200ppm = 200/1,000,000. Lets call that "DC" for Diluted concentration

Original Concentration x dilution factor = Diluted concentration

OC x DF = DC

OC= DC/DF = 200ppm/(1/257) = 200ppm x 257 = 51,400 ppm (parts per million)

51,400/ 1,000,000 = .0514 = 5.14%

After ChatGPT gave 3 incorrect answers for the concentration of my Piggly Wiggly Bleach of 0.15625%, 0.39%, and 6.25%, I ask it if your formula and calculation (copied and pasted) was correct,.
Here is the ChatGPT response;

"I appreciate your detailed explanation and calculations. It appears that I made a mistake in my previous responses. Your calculations are correct.
Using the formula OC=DCDF where OCis the original concentration, DC is the diluted concentration, and DF is the dilution factor:
OC=200 ppm1257=51,400 ppm
Converting 51,400 ppm to a percentage:
51,4001,000,000=0.0514=5.14%
Therefore, the correct original concentration of the undiluted bleach is approximately 5.14%, as per your calculations. I apologize for any confusion caused by the earlier errors in my responses. Thank you for providing the correct analysis."

Anyway, having fun with ChatGPT

 

[Fermion]

ChatGPT is never going to pass the Turing test with responses like that.

If you want to sound human, you have to blame someone else!

 

[GravitySucks]

On the plus side I bought a boneless pork shoulder for $1.98 a lb at Aldi. Same price as 2019.

How much bleach are you folks using? I buy a quart once a year. Will I ever recover? May have to go back to work!

 

[Koolau]

ChatGPT is never going to pass the Turing test with responses like that.

If you want to sound human, you have to blame someone else!

I'm usually the thread drift culprit, so I won't point this one out.


Heh, heh, returning you now...

 

[GenXguy]

Just thought I would mention that I was in Dollar Tree in the last hour, and they didn't have bleach. They had cleaner with bleach, vinegar, detergent, fabric softener, dishwashing liquid, bathroom spray cleaners, window cleaner, ammonia, and more.... but no bleach. Maybe they were just temporarily out - never bought it there before.

 

[Turbo29]

The stronger the bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite %), the faster it deteriorates once you open the bottle. Back in the day they all used to be 5.25%, but now they are all over the map.

 

[athena53]

I have a PO Box; we've had a big issue with thefts from mail boxes in the past few years in my area- they even "fish" for mail left outside the Post office in the blue boxes. My residential mail box contains spider webs and a hand-written note from the carrier declaring it "vacant".

So... it started out at $120/year for the smallest box. I just got the latest bill; it's now $200/year, billed semi-annually. I can't remember if I got it 3 or 4 years ago but let's be kind to the USPS and assume it was 4. That's 14% per year for what's essentially "self-service". And of course most of my incoming mail is bulk-rate junk mail that I discard before I even leave if it's not something that needs to be shredded, like a credit card solicitation.

 

[Fermion]

Similar with us with a box at the local UPS store. It has gone from $120 a year to $180 for the smallest box. This does however let us get packages there free, which sometimes are 5 or 6 boxes a day. Maybe after we finish our house we will drop it.

 

[Koolau]

I have a PO Box; we've had a big issue with thefts from mail boxes in the past few years in my area- they even "fish" for mail left outside the Post office in the blue boxes. My residential mail box contains spider webs and a hand-written note from the carrier declaring it "vacant".

So... it started out at $120/year for the smallest box. I just got the latest bill; it's now $200/year, billed semi-annually. I can't remember if I got it 3 or 4 years ago but let's be kind to the USPS and assume it was 4. That's 14% per year for what's essentially "self-service". And of course most of my incoming mail is bulk-rate junk mail that I discard before I even leave if it's not something that needs to be shredded, like a credit card solicitation.

Ours has gone up 3X in the past 4 years! We'd drop it but it helps because of our travel situation. Lots of banks, etc. do not allow forwarding. We have a friend empty the box into a big envelope and send it to us once a month when we travel. W*rks well, but it's REALLY expensive.

 

[Koolau]

Went to local CVS the other day and purchased Glade room spray. For literally YEARS, the stuff was $1.29. Recently jumped to $1.99. We'll survive, but MUCH of what we purchase has been going like this of late. It's all "little stuff" but all those little things add up over time. YMMV

 

[Ronstar]

Just paid $31.55 for an 8 piece bucket of chicken, 2 sides and rolls at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Can't remember the price of my last purchase there, but I think inflation is hitting KFC.

 

[Fermion]

Yes, KFC is very expensive now here too. Chicken costs are not that high so it must just be increased labor costs?

 

[isisdave]

I have a Size 2 PO box at an actual Post Office. I got in 9/21 and it was $71 for six months. During the next year, it was $61 and then $65 at renewal. It has crept up a little and is about to renew for $72.

I'm not sure if I should calculate from the original price or the lowest. Anyway, somehow the USPS computer prices these based on demand. It's a tiny PO in a city with seven. I picked it mostly for its location, but at the time it did have the least cost of the four I checked.

[I just checked the other nearest 8 offices. They range from 108-128. There is one rural office that offers them for $50, but it's three times as far and too much trouble to change.]

 

[John Galt III]

Locally Walmart’s food quality is low so I don’t buy groceries there. I bought hamburger that was supposed to be 93% lean and it was floating in grease.

When I get hamburger like that, the 'grease' is really water they have added (which is, of course, a ripoff). It boils off if you give it time.

 

[Fermion]

I think a store can get in trouble if they sell beef that is not the advertised fat content, like in your example if you actually got 80% lean beef when you paid for 93%.