Chlorine scarcity might disrupt summertime enjoyable – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

Are you ready to take a dip in the pool this summer? A nationwide chlorine shortage could destroy those plans, industry experts said.

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“We cared about it,” Cody Saliture, owner of Texas Pool Professionals in Rockwall, Texas, told CNBC.

Saliture, who has been in business for 17 years and whose company serves 200 customers a week, said it recently started stocking chlorine tablets, the network reported.

Industry publications reported a shortage of chlorine tablets last year, according to Business Insider. Supply was limited after BioLab, a chlorine maker based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was badly damaged by fire in August 2020 following Hurricane Laura, CNBC.

The impact of lockdowns due to COVID-19 also contributed to increased use and maintenance of the pool, Pool Magazine reported in September 2020. The journal added that more pool companies were switching to alternative methods of disinfecting pool water, forecasting that the Chlorine price would rise.

“I call it ‘Poolmageddon’. It’s a chlorine crisis,” writer Rudy Stankowitz told CNBC. “A lot of people won’t be able to find the chlorine tablets they need this season.”

Stankowitz has been in the industry for more than 30 years and is the author of “How to get rid of swimming pool algae”. He is the CEO of Aquatic Facility Training & Consultants in Gainesville, Florida.

Chlorine is commonly used to treat pool water and is effective at killing harmful germs and bacteria, reported CNBC. Without the right amount of chlorine, swimmers can be exposed to a variety of diseases, including diarrhea, hepatitis A, swimmer’s ear, and athlete’s foot, according to ChemicalSafetyFacts.org.

“Chlorine also helps prevent swimming pools from becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and related diseases, and helps prevent unsafe conditions that can contribute to drowning – like cloudy water,” Stankowitz told CNBC.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend free chlorine levels of at least 1 ppm in swimming pools and 3 ppm in hot tubs, the Miami Herald reported. According to the CDC, both levels should be checked regularly during use.

Atlanta-based research firm Pkdata reported that there are 5.2 million residential pools and 255,000 commercial pools in the United States. The number of above-ground pools is unknown.

Stankowitz estimated that 60% to 70% of these pools use chlorine tablets, CNBC reported.

Scott Heer, who owns Scotty’s Pool Service in Las Vegas, said he was seeing the price increases firsthand.

“Over the past 20 years, a typical 50-pound bucket of chlorine has cost between $ 75 and $ 85. Within the last year it was increased to $ 140, with the proposed price of $ 158 in the near future, “Heer told CNBC. “Sometimes the parts stores are completely closed, sometimes there is a limit of one or two buckets – per company per day – in which we used to be able to buy an unlimited amount.”