Winter News 2021

We all like to think the craziness of  COVID-19 is behind us.  Or is it?  The shortages in products that plagued the world seemed to hit the swimming pool industry especially hard.  So what exactly did happen to create the shortages?  When can we expect the shortages to be over? What can we do in the meantime?  Let’s attempt to answer each question.

What created the shortages in the Pool Industry?

• An obvious answer would be that factories closed down due to the virus itself.  Many of the products used in our industry are manufactured in the USA but made with parts from other parts of the world that were also affected by COVID shut-downs
• Those parts, when they finally arrive in the USA, are having a hard time getting offloaded at our ports, and then there is a trucker shortage to get the goods from the ports to the factories in the USA to make our pool products.
• There have been some very unusual weather circumstances that added to the problem:  A hurricane caused a fire in a factory in Louisiana that produced 40% of America’s pool chlorine tablets. A new replacement factory is still under construction.
• Arctic weather in Texas this February caused an estimated 300,000 pool pumps and filters to freeze and break. This made the pump and filter shortage worse.

When can we expect shortages to be over?

• Unfortunately, the shortages will most likely continue throughout 2022.  We have been told however by industry experts that the shortages will not be as bad as in 2021.

What can we do in the meantime?

• For the chlorine shortage, we highly recommend using some products that reduce your pool’s need for chlorine. One product to use is Endure.  Endure removes the carbon dioxide from the pool water and makes it very difficult for algae to reproduce.  This means your chlorine in the pool will only be needed to kill germs not algae. Secondly, we recommend using an Instant Frog.  This product sits in your skimmer and uses silver to kill germs, allowing you to safely run your chlorine level to 0.5 ppm instead of 1-3 ppm.  These products can be used at the same time creating a great combination.
• If you have an aboveground pool, it may be the year to switch to Baquacil. This three-part liquid system is completely chlorine-free and allows you to check your water and add chemicals weekly. You will need to change your sand every spring in your filter.