Pool chemical shortage reported

...Prices for trichlor tablets, one of the most popular and convenient ways to keep pool water sanitized, has increased dramatically since Hurricane Laura caused a fire last August that destroyed one of the nation’s largest makers of the tablets, BioLab, in the Lake Charles region of Louisiana.

The shortage destroyed a huge amount of dry chemicals used to make trichlor (short for trichloro-s-triazinetrione) tablets, as well as granular chlorine preferred by some pool owners and the quick-boosting granular product known as pool shock.

Prices for bulk containers of the trichlor tablets have doubled for pool service companies since the fire, and some have said suppliers are refusing to sell more than two buckets of tablets to any individual purchaser. Retail prices for do-it-yourselfers have increased sharply as well.

Best wishes for readers who have swimming pools this summer.