Pool Owners: Possible Chlorine Shortage

[Bamaman]

I too have a salt water pool, but I do use a bag of Starter every week or two. And I assume it's chlorine based.

I'll be getting a year's supply shortly. Right now, my pool's a green frog pond and it'll be time in a week or two to get it cleaned up.

 

[kjpliny]

Can we expect the cost of public water to increase?

Probably. In my area, we're fortunate to have a very low water cost, with quarterly bills only around $30. I have a family member who lives in another state who pays over 10 times that amount for about the same water usage.

 

[Crabby Mike]

Talked to my pool guy yesterday about this. He laughed, and said this story is a year old. He said there was a real shortage last summer, and he had trouble getting enough, but he's well stocked this year.

 

[H2ODude]

Was at Lowe's this morning, had to get one more piece of crown molding because no matter how careful I am I always manage to get ONE (well, at least one) angle wrong! Anyway, there were two guys with a big roll around cart with boxes of chlorine tablets, maybe 4 x 5 in a layer at least 4 boxes high. If there was a slope in the parking lot they wouldn't have been able to push it up! Yeah, the new toilet paper.

 

[H2ODude]

Can we expect the cost of public water to increase?

Probably not. Chlorine relatively minor cost in overall cost of utility water production. Tablets are much different than what's used in utilities, IIRC the place tagged with the cost increase was devoted to tablets but could be wrong. Most utilities use high strength solutions, avoiding the gas of yesteryear for safety reasons.

Speaking of which....memories. We had tank cars of liquid chlorine, plant was surrounded by a drainage ditch, and then very dense lower income homes as well as a petroleum depot. Gasoline fire at a huge tank in the depot filled the ditch with flaming gasoline, flames were licking up around the connected chlorine tank car. One very brave employee climbed the car, no gear, and disconnected the tanker as a rr engine connected to it and pulled it out over the ditch with the gas flames. Fun times.

 

[Original Wally]

X2 on salt system is great, what we have also. Very low maintenance and costs to run. Just a little higher initial cost.

It was already in the house we bought. And the home price was pretty much the same as others in the development without pools. We are happy.


Sacramento: Today was mid 90's. Solar heater has the pool @ 86. Spent an hour in the pool ... nice

 

[rhrihm]

We have a saltwater pool and I just opened it for the season. I had just stocked up on pool salt a couple of weeks ago. Did not know there was going to be a chlorine shortage. I am hopefully good for the season.