The unofficial start of summer is just days away, and if you're getting ready to open up your pool, you'll see much higher prices for the chemicals you need to maintain it.
It all started with a chlorine shortage about two years ago, and while some local stores have supply back in stock, it's at a higher price point.
"This is way higher than inflation," Pools Plus Inc. owner Scott Wheeler says.
Some pool supplies have a higher price tag this year, like chlorine. But at least this year, there's more of it in stock at Pools Plus Inc. stores.
"[The distributor is] giving me the buckets, but they're still only the three-inch puck," Wheeler says. "I can't get the other shapes and sizes at this point."
He says his store and others across the country faced a chlorine shortage last summer after a chlorine production plant in Louisiana burned down at the end of the summer in 2020. That cut the supply of chlorine in the U.S. by nearly 40 percent, and because other companies stepped up to produce more of it, we're seeing much higher prices this year.
"What we're paying now is what retail was just a year ago, I mean, it's just gone up so dramatically, so we've actually shrunk margins," Wheeler says.
Before the pandemic, a 25 pound bucket of chlorine tablets cost less than $100. Now, it's closer to $200 at both local businesses and big box stores. Pool shock is also increasing in price and decreasing in stock.
"That went up from like $5 a bag to almost $12. And we're going to be out [soon]," Wheeler says.
Closer to the lakeshore, Lankheet Pools & Spa Inc. owner Steve Lankheet says the store is running low on shock, too, and he's not sure when the next shipment will come in.
"Worrying doesn't help," he says. "So far, we're good. I don't let any of my customers make a run on it. I basically just fix them up with they need."
For those who have yet to stock up on supplies and open up their pool, Lankheet suggests doing that as soon as possible, get your water tested and try to conserve your supplies.
"I'm optimistic that it will be better next year," he says.
While there's a shortage of some products, both Lankheet and Wheeler say the demand for new pools hasn't gone down. It's an increase they noticed at the start of the pandemic.
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