Chlorine is poised to be this year’s toilet paper.
A shortage in chlorine tablets, the primary method to sanitize residential and community pools, has sent pool owners including those in Central Massachusetts into a buying frenzy, driving up prices.
The deficit of chlorine tabs was created due to a fire at a key factory Bio-Lab Inc. in Westlake, Louisiana in August 2020, after Hurricane Laura.
In anticipation of shortages after the fire and increase in demand this summer, local pool suppliers stocked up on chlorine tablets early.
Typically, Chris Melanson at Pools & Cues & Spas of Auburn orders 7,000 pounds of tabs a year. After the incident in Louisiana, he ordered 15,000 pounds of tabs in September 2020.