Coming chlorine shortage? - It is Here!

[Mike1162]

Merged a large number of threads on this theme into one - TFP Mod - 4/30/21

Apparently the chemical manufacturer that started on fire from hurricane Laura makes pool chlorine. I wonder what percentage of the USA's supply is made there.

 

[Newdude]

Yeah man. That was my first thought too. Then I quickly turned to wondering how awful the air is

 

[Mike1162]

I wouldn't want to be downwind of it.

Sounds like they manufacture solid forms of chlorine.

 

[bmoreswim]

Sounds like they manufacture solid forms of chlorine.

Oh the irony.

But terrible situation for all down there. 2020 keeps on giving.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I wouldn't want to be downwind of it.

Hopefully it at least killed the corona downwind.

 

[Waiawa]

I just heard the chlorine shortage is starting to...well...get short!
Called 3 HD to order some LC and neither of them had any, but the forth one did.
I also found some at another HD, 4gal box for $15.98 plus tax, it's over $4 per gal.
With the Summer sun coming, I thought I'd better stock up, since I lost my UV in the snow flurry we had and I don't have a SWG.
I did a search on chlorine shortage, and the article says it was due to a Hurricane Laura hitting LA and causing a fire at the largest manufacturer of chlorine...I think this is more toward the tabs (tri-chlor), but I'm sure it will affect LC too.
The article also said it's due to the amount of pools built in 2020...that must have been a lot of pools, and I'm one of them.

Just wanted to bring this up and shine some light on it, should you need LC/tabs, you might want to stock up while you still can.
I don't think salt will become a problem anytime soon, but who knows!

 

[HermanTX]

The HD in the Katy, TX area is plentiful with LC. Just there the other day and must have been 20 cartons (4 gals to each carton).
You may want to go to Pinch A Penny - they sell LC in a 2.5gal jug for about $8. They refill the jugs themselves as they have a large storage tank onsite so it is pretty fresh LC.

 

[asusundevil]

Chlorine Shortage In 2021

www.swimmingpoolsteve.com

 

[Donldson]

Doubtful. The article seems written with SEO in mind and very little actual substance. No sources, much speculation, and of course half of the page is taken up by "Endorsed Brands From Swimming Pool Steve"

Will there be some shortages that require some people in certain areas using calcium hypochlorite or installing an SWG? Sure, there was last year and it is quite possible this year will be similar. Should I be worried because of a poorly written article by some YouTube hack looking to make a buck? Gonna go with a "no" on that one.

 

[zea3]

I think the situation was worse last year when everyone was hording chlorine and toilet paper. You really don't want to buy a whole summer's worth at once anyway, just pick up few jugs when you see a good price.

 

[JamesW]

In fact the word on the street is that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better...

His reference is "the street".

You can't really argue with the street. The street knows everything.

Also, he uses the word "fact", which means that it's true.

Mostly, it's clickbait nonsense.

There will probably be some equipment shortages for a while as is already evident.

If salt cells are not available, some people will turn to liquid chlorine.

Overall, I suspect that it's not going to be a problem.

 

[asusundevil]

When I told my wife I was planning to run to HD and gobble up 80 boxes of LC to prepare for the summer, she gave me the look of death.

 

[magiteck]

When I told my wife I was planning to run to HD and gobble up 80 boxes of LC to prepare for the summer, she gave me the look of death.

I just bought 12 bottles at Menards. The cashier looked at me like I was crazy. “Wow, that’s a LOT of shock. Stocking up for the whole summer? My buddy added a lot of shock once and ...” (I started tuning him out here.)

I’m thinking, “dude, I’m not in the mood to get Pool Stored from the Home Improvement store — so I’m going to go ahead and nod and not tell you that I chlorinate exclusively with this and it will probably only get me through June.”

Sigh.

Edit: and as far as any shortage is concerned, the website says my nearest Menards has 1,204 bottles in stock currently. No shortage in the Midwest at least.

 

[Sunnydaze]

Home depot had several pallets of it today. Mostly old stock from october of 2020 though. Walmart still consistently has fresh stock.

 

[usfbull]

This shouldn't impact many on here but i wonder if more green pools won't increase the amount of people looking for a better alternative?

Chlorine shortage could make it harder to keep Florida’s pools sanitized this summer

As temperatures have risen across South Florida in recent weeks, so has our desire to escape the heat by dipping into the refreshing clear water in our backyard swimming pools. But keeping that pool clean and inviting this summer could become more challenging than ever, as market forces have...

news.yahoo.com

 

[YippeeSkippy]

That article mentions a shortage of pucks/granular chlorine made at the damaged factory.

But I see no reason to think liquid chlorine will be in shorter supply and hope I'm not wrong. Hopefully between plain bleach and liquid chlorine we'll see our TFP folks continue to be algae free.

Maddie

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Oh yeah... I'm so glad I have a SWG already.

 

[SoCal_Pool_Owner]

These rumors actually gave me the kick-in-the-butt I needed to install a SWCG a few weeks ago. I was only using LC, but it was still concerning...

 

[usfbull]

I’m about 14 days away from using my SWCG.

@YippeeSkippy i think the premise is if there is a shortage in pucks then those users will be forced to use liquid. If that happens could be a shortage or if not a shortage then still increasing prices.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Ah....but how many won't realize that they can use plain bleach too??