Updating my post from about a month ago regarding liquid chlorine at Ollie's. I am in the North DFW area, so I hit the Lewisville, TX location. But a friend lives in Ft. Worth and she hit the location in Haltom CIty (for something else) but said they had the pallets of liquid chlorine just like she had seen when with me in Lewisville. For those in the North Texas/Southern Oklahoma area, there are also stores in Benbrook, Mesquite, Sherman, Wichita Falls, Corsicana, Waco, Lawton, Ardmore, Longview, and Marshall.
There are 408 locations of this chain, so I don't have the time to list all the locations but a quick scan indicates additional stores through Central Texas down to San Antonio and Corpus Christi, East Texas down to Houston, and West Texas out to Amarillo. As well, I saw stores listed all across the south, midwest, east coast, and up into New England--OK, KS, MO, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, FL, KY, GA, IN, OH, NC, SC, MI, WV, VA, PA, NJ, NY, MD, CT, MA, RI. It seems they cover most of the middle and eastern half of the country but nothing west of a line that would run along Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, and Michigan.
Now the good stuff: I can only vouch for Lewisville and Haltom City, TX but they had plenty in stock at those locations on Friday and Saturday. I did ask the checkout lady if they sell this at all of their stores and she said "as far as I know." It is the Pool Essentials 10% and sells for $3.79 per gallon, so a tad cheaper than Home Depot and a tad more than Walmart. But unlike HD, it is stored inside. And the three times I have purchased it there this season, it has been fresh. This last batch was coded 21 160 which I believe equates to a 06/09/2021 production date. It comes boxed in 4 packs for convenience if buying in quantity but you can also buy it one gallon at a time. They also have 1 lb bags of 56% Cal Hypo for $2.79 each. I generally only use liquid but with the chlorine uncertainty this year, I have grabbed some of those since my understanding is they have a better shelf life than the liquid. Better safe than sorry in case there is more of a pinch getting liquid later this summer and it actually has paid off, as my CH was a tad low, mixing in 10 bags over the past two months brought that number back in line.
More good stuff: If you sign up for their Ollie's Army Club online at
www.ollies.us you get an introductory offer of 15% off of your entire next purchase (must be used within 21 days of signing up, I believe). I used that offer this last visit and it brought my cost per gallon down to $3.22 (and the Cal Hypo to $2.37). Additionally, this week (yesterday through Saturday), they have their annual summer sale where everything in the entire store is 15% off. The checkout lady said the intro offer and the storewide sale could be stacked and asked if I wanted to wait and come back on Sunday. I didn't because I did not want to risk them not having what I wanted in stock but good to know for you one-time buyers this week. Plus I did not want to unload 20 gallons out of my basket. But I will probably go back towards the end of this week and buy another five or six 4 packs that should hopefully get me through July and August.
To be clear, I am no shill for Ollie's. Like I said in my previous post, it is a little disheveled and unorganized and can seem a little dirty (but not gross). If you hit it at the wrong time, the checkout line can be a bit long, as they only have one or two open, so be prepared. Pool chlorine has been my primary purpose for visiting since I realized last summer they carried it and it was fresh. I do a quick scan of some other items that can be cheaper there like shampoo, body wash, home cleaning products, cat litter, candy, etc. but I would never make a trip specifically for those items. But right now, they are hooking me up with fresh pool chlorine at a fair price and in stock. HD and Walmart were hit or miss on their stock earlier in the spring but I haven't checked lately because I have been getting it at Ollie's.
I hope this helps some of y'all keep your supply in check and fresh!!! Happy swimming and even happier pool maintenance!!!
