CHAMBLEE, Ga. — To keep residential pools clean safe, many people rely on chlorine systems. Thanks to a fire, the pandemic and increased demand, there’s a chlorine shortage just in time for the summer swimming season.

Summer is in full swing and pools will be filled with sun-kissed swimmers, but getting your hands on the chemical that keeps pools sanitized could be costly.

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Pool Supply Atlanta owner Bryan Geraldino told Channel 2′s Mike Petchenik that a chlorine plant fire in Louisiana last year decimated about 70% of the supply in North America.

“The supply chain obviously failed after COVID and the hurricane and all that,” he said.

Geraldino says China is now the main chlorine supplier in the world, and consumer demand has driven up prices.

“The cost of the granular...went up about 20, 25% depending on which one you’re looking at. The tablets almost doubled in price,” he told Petchenik.

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Bobby Wisinger told Petchenik that he stocked up on tablets last year, but will buy more now that he knows there’s a shortage.

“I would be very concerned if I couldn’t get chlorine because of discoloration in the pool and algae growth and so forth,” he said.

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The issue is mainly affecting residential pool owners. Fulton County and the City of Atlanta tell Petchenik that they are not having an issue because they use a different product.

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