Long Islanders are stocking up on supplies like disinfectants to keep themselves clean amid the coronavirus outbreak -- but what can you do if stores are out of stock?

With a confirmed case of the coronavirus on Long Island, many are deciding to be safe and make sure they're prepared. Stores are already running short on things like disinfectants, hand soap and wipes.

Just days ago, the Environmental Protection Agency posted a list of disinfectants that can be used to fight off COVID-19 and other coronaviruses.

Many Clorox, Lysol and Purell products were on that list, but they can be hard to find now.

 

But medical experts say the first line of defense for keeping the virus at bay is proper hand washing with either alcohol-based santizer or regular soap. They also say there is no difference is effectiveness between liquid and bar soap.

"We'll usually wash our hands, scrubbing and rubbing for at least 20 seconds," says Dr. Frederick Davis, of Northwell Health LIJ Medical Center. "If you can do more than that, that's great. You want to sing the Happy Birthday song for at least a full 20 seconds."

You may have heard that some people are trying to make their own hand sanitizer out of things like vodka. But medical professionals say at about 80 proof, regular liquor doesn't have enough alcohol in it to work as hand sanitizer.

Tito's Handmade Vodka even advised against using its product as a hand sanitizer in a tweet.

The EPA's complete list of approved disinfectants can be found here.