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After British scientist Sims Woodhead used calcium chlorine to disinfect drinking water during a 1897 typhoid outbreak, experts realized it could be used as an effective cleaning agent in pools, too.
The first attempt to sterilize a pool using chlorine was at Brown University in 1910, when the 70,000-gallon Colgate Hoyt Pool was chlorinated.
Experts are calling this the worst chlorine shortage in history, with prices for a 50lb bucket jumping nearly doubling to $140 in some places. Some suppliers have started limiting how much chlorine customers can buy
When chlorine is added to water, it forms a weak acid, called hypochlorous acid, that knocks out bacteria like salmonella and E. coli, as well as germs that cause diarrhea, swimmer s ear and other ailments.
. “You’re going to go to your local pool store, and they’re going to be out for a day or two. It’s not going to be all gloom and doom. You just might not shock or clean or kill all of the algae as much as you want to.”
Odyssey Manufacturing makes more than 40 percent of liquid chlorine sold in Florida.
The shortage was exasperated last summer after a chemical plant was destroyed in a fire caused by Hurricane Laura. Louisiana-based BioLab was one of just three companies that manufactures trichlor tablets, which are used to keep pool water clean and sanitized. The company said it hopes to resume operations in 2022, leaving just two factories to handle the demand.
It s been a concern for us, said Cody Saliture, owner of Texas Pool Professionals, which has been in business for 17 years.
The Rockwall, Texas-based company services 200 clients weekly, and Saliture said he recently began to stockpile chlorine tablets. He s also been looking for different chemicals to keep pools sanitized and his customers happy. We re looking for anything that we can get that we don t have here in North Texas, Saliture said. We ve been to about six states and 15 cities [for supplies].
The chlorine shortage is widespread and it will likely worsen driving chlorine prices even higher as homeowners start to prep swimming pools for the season. CNBC spoke to pool industry insiders in multiple states including Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Texas about the tight supplies, which are expected to blindside pool owners, who are largely unaware of the problem.
Operator
My name is Pamela and I ll be your conference operator. I would like to welcome everyone to the Oceaneering s first-quarter 2021 earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] With that, I will now turn the call over to Mark Peterson, Oceaneering s vice president of corporate development and investor relations.
Mark Peterson
Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations
Thank you, Pamela. Good morning, everyone and welcome to Oceaneering s first-quarter 2021 results conference call. Today s call is being webcast and a replay will be available on Oceaneering s website. Joining us on the call today are Rod Larson, president and chief executive officer, who will be providing our prepared comments; and Alan Curtis, senior vice president, financial officer.