Another chemical supply update

My supply company told me today cal hypo shock may not be available for the rest of the year.

The U.S. production of chlorine is still not back to normal.

Since August 2020, Chlorine tablets has been in short supply. This was mainly due to the hurricane-caused destruction of a major chlorine manufacturing plant. That plant is still not rebuilt as of now, so the pinch on chlorine supply continues today.

The shortage of chlorine has forced pool pros and homeowners to switch to non-stabilized chlorine. As expected, demand for those non-stabilized chlorine types–mainly liquid chlorine–has increased substantially. Anyone paying attention noticed multiple price increases in 2021 alone. On top of that, the chlorine shortage led to a shortage of muriatic acid too.

As each commodity became harder to get, consumers shifted to alternatives, which then caused their demand to rise. Price increases followed. 'Supply and demand' is Economics 101, and we don't need to elaborate on it. Let's focus on specifics in the pool industry. We have chosen not to talk about pool equipment and building materials for simplicity's sake.

Here are just some of the chemicals that will be harder to get in 2022:

  • Chlorine Tabs. Yes, the shortage continues. We expect it will continue for another year or so, or until the chlorine manufacturing plant is back up and running at full speed. Pre-covid, a bucket of tabs could be purchased at almost any pool store or wholesale distributor. This year, that may not be the case.

  • Liquid chlorine. Yes, it will be harder to get liquid chlorine in 2022. Not only because the finished product itself is more difficult to get, but because elemental chlorine itself is harder to get. This elemental chlorine shortage is largely due to increased demand for other chlorine-consuming industries–namely PVC pipes/fittings and household cleaning products. Yes, we were surprised to learn just how much the PVC industry requires chlorine (PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride).

  • Muriatic acid. The same companies that produce and bottle liquid chlorine often produce and bottle muriatic acid too. Shortages up and down the supply chain led to issues producing muriatic acid. When summer 2022 hits and full demand resumes, expect shortages and price increases.

  • Cal Hypo. Granular cal hypo shock was not as dramatically impacted by COVID supply chain shortages, but it's safe to expect some in 2022. This is not the fault of the manufacturers, it's just the reality of manufacturing right now.

    In general, these shortages either stem from a lack of people or raw materials. And often it's a combination of both. For instance, if raw materials are imported from overseas, you can bet those products will be more expensive and harder to find in 2022.

Soaring Cal Hypo Shock Prices

Just a short note to address the soaring prices of Cal Hypo Shock for swimming pools.

Just as Chlorine tabs have sky rocketed, now so has the cost of Cal Hypo Shock.

What use to cost me under $200 for a 100lb bucket in now around $550.

I am telling you all this not because I am increasing prices but because there is now a shortage on shock in the industry also.

My supply company , who supplies all pool cleaners, has told me there will be no shock available at all until mid July. So for those of you that keep shock on property you may have to use it during this time period if any algae creeps into your pool or try and find some in the retail stores if available.

Just wanted to keep you all informed.

I will continue to try and keep your pool sparkling with the resources available to me.

PLEASE READ THE NEWS LINK WEEKLY

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PLEASE READ THE NEWS LINK WEEKLY 〰️

June Vacation

After this years worst pollen dump I have seen in all of the 15 years I have done cleaning pools.

I worked 42 days without a break trying to get all my pools back to normal and ready for summer.

Its now time for a much needed break. I will be taking my summer vacation from June 13th through the 17th.

Thank you all for your patience in the amount of time it took to dial all my pools back in this season.

Should be smooth sailing into the summer now.

Working 7 days a week

If you have a pool that still looks like this please know I had 30 others that looked the same or worse.

I have been working 7 days a week for the last month to turn all the pools back to normal.

I have about 16 pools left out of 50 that I am still fighting.

Please know I am on it and hopefully we will all be through this seasons crazy pollen dump soon.

I highly recomend you schedule a filter clean once the pollen has finished falling.

This is a quad filter that I cleaned this week.

It was also cleaned just a month ago so that will let you understand how bad this years pollen dump is.

Because of this I am recommend everyone has their filters cleaned after this madness ends.

I do not clean the filter unless given the go ahead by you. It is a $100 dollar flat rate. I use to do them for free but now that I have 50 pools on my routes that’s 50 hours of my time.

I am swamped at the moment trying to get everyone’s pools back in order but will get to the filter cleans as they come in.

Have a wonderful day

A short note about pollen, algae and extra charges

Since there has been such a horrible pollen dump this year some of you may notice a extra charge of $25 on your bill.

This is due to the amount of shock I am putting into the pools that have turned brown or yellow due to the amount of pollen this year.

I also am having to use a Mustard algae treatment on many of the pools as light algae is appearing this time of year,

Just wanted everyone to be aware. We are not done with the pollen yet.

Hopefully we will be back to clear water soon.

Spring is here and so here comes the pollen.

I’m sure you all have noticed this year’s pollen dump is crazy.

75% of my pools this week were fully covered in pollen and tea green.

This is not algae it is pollen. This allergen will cover your pool on a daily basis.

During this time period I suggest running your pool 24/7 and emptying all your baskets daily.

This wont eliminate everything, but it will keep the pollen manageable.

If you have shock on property the best thing to do is shock your pool at night. It is designed to kill bacteria and other pollutants. Remember I am only at your pool once a week.

Fortunately once all the pollen has dropped and filtered out it should be smooth sailing into a great summer.

It’s not just your pool. It’s all of them.

This is what I have been dealing with for the last couple of weeks and were not though it yet.

Summer Is Coming

Thank you all who have all ready stocked up on your chlorine for the summer.

A reminder to those of you that have not to do so soon as the hot weather will bring the algae and I don’t want to see any of my pools go green.

Remember for those of you interested in trying to keep the chlorine levels down, last summer my clients who decided to try Pool RX had good results.

Here is a link to the website with information on how it works.

Pool RX

Also here is a link to the product on Amazon

Pool RX on Amazon

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer

Chlorine reminder for the summer months

Just a reminder that as we move into March please start getting prepared for the summer months by stocking up on your chlorine.

I probably will not have to use them until the weather starts steadily staying in the high 80’s and above.

Please leave a bucket by your pumps or let me know where I can have access to them.

Prices are still extremely high.

Leslie’s pool supply has 50 lbs at $259.99

Sam’s Club has 40 lbs at $199.98

Home Depot has 35 lbs at $199.00

Costco had 35.7 lbs at $129.00 [these usually sell out the day they arrive]

Also last summer we had good results reducing the chlorine demand on your pools by using POOL RX Mineral technology. It last up to 6 months and did seem to work on those of you who decided to try it.

It is a one a year purchase between $79.99 and $99.99, depending on the size of your pool.

Here is a link. You can also find it on Amazon should you decide to try it to help reduce your chlorine cost this summer.

Pool RX

Hope this helps get all of us prepared.

Enjoy the summer

A reminder about freezing weather

Although it doesn’t happen often in Texas.

I just wanted to remind you that when the weather falls below freezing and it is also raining

I do not service pools on that day.

Not only is it hazardous to be on the roads but also to walk around pools with ice on the deck.

My equipment also freezes solid and is pretty much useless.

Freeze protections will kick on during this time and I will service your pool on the next visit.

Thanks, Stay warm.

Jan 16th 2022

Another chlorine plant fire and service update from Dragoo Services

As you know, last year I sent a notification to all of my clients about the Biolab Lake Charles chlorine facility in Louisiana that erupted into flames after Hurricane Laura hit.

This caused chlorine prices to triple. My cost for a 50 pound bucket of chlorine has gone from $69.00 to $255.00.

To put that in perspective. If I buy every client one bucket of chlorine today, what use to cost $3450.00 now cost $12,750.00


Most of you bought chlorine on your own to make it through the shortage last summer and somehow we managed to keep the pools healthy, which is great.

Now that we are in the winter months and summer will return seemingly quicker than we are prepared for, I have tried to come up with the fairest way to deal with the obvious increase in cost as I provide free chemicals in the all inclusive service.


One of my pool clients sent me an email informing me of a 11-alarm fire last Friday night at a chlorine manufacturing plant in New Jersey. He wrote "Did you see another chlorine plant in New Jersey burnt down last night ~ it just keeps on getting better".


I have checked with pool supply companies that provide all of us cleaners with chemicals to see how everyone is dealing with this. I was informed that many of the pool services have already increased their prices for all included services to $300.00 and even $350.00 per month.


The fairest plan that I have come up with for all of us is instead of raising my prices across the board. I will leave the price the same as it is now, however, chlorine will no longer be included.

I believe this is the fairest solution as every pool has a different demand for chlorine.

All other chemicals will still be free in my service although due to the Covid shipping crises even those are sometimes not as available as they used to be.It's been a crazy year for all of us.

What I suggest is that you buy a bucket of chlorine and leave it by your pumps or tell me where it is stored and when that bucket is empty I will remind you with a notice below the picture of your pool in my weekly service email when it is time to replace it.

I have found that Sam's Club was the cheapest chlorine I could find at $209 for a 40 pound bucket. Cheaper than my supply company but that was last summer and I have not seen chlorine available on their website for many months now. Also when a pallet did arrive at the store it would sell out in one day. Leslie's pool supply is currently $254.99 for a 50 pound bucket. Home Depot has 35 pound buckets for $199

For those of you with a salt pool, this will not affect you.

Sorry about the increased cost. I have always tried to absorb much of the cost of goods when suppliers raised prices but now it is no longer possible for me to absorb it all.

Thank you all for being great clients over the last decade. I look forward to continued service to all of you for many more.

Thank you all and have a wonderful day.

Aug 2nd 2021

A few changes at Dragoo Sevices

As most of you know I have been building my business over the last 12 years

and many of you have been with me through the years.


During that time period I never took a vacation and I never took holidays off.

Now that all of my routes have reached capacity I want to inform you of a few changes.


For most of you my service is basically a flat rate of $200 per month for weekly service with chemicals included.

That breaks down to $50 per visit but since five months out of the year have an extra week

in them I give you that cleaning for free in exchange for me now taking major holidays off.


If a major holiday falls on your service day and you are having a party just let me know and

I will make arrangements to take care of you, otherwise I will be taking the day off to enjoy the holiday myself.

Also after 12 years with no vacations, I will now take one week off twice per year to enjoy some much needed time off

For you this just means I will miss two visits per year for each client.

I will inform you all with an email in advance so you know what week I will be on vacation.


Thank you all for staying with me through the years and helping me reach the maximum amount of pools I can provide service for each month on my own.


I sincerely appreciate the fact that most of my clients have been acquired on the recommendation of the clients that I already service.

That means a great deal to me.

I hope to continue servicing all of you for many years.

Darrell Dragoo

May 3rd 2021

Info for clients on chlorine shortage

As I may have told some of you already last August the Biolab Lake Charles facility in Louisiana erupted into flames after Hurricane Laura hit.

This led to the shutdown of one of the major chlorine suppliers until the spring 2022,leaving only two current manufacturers of chlorine tablets in the U.S.: Occidental Petroleum and Clearon Corporation.

Retail prices could skyrocket this summer. My dealer cost on chlorine has doubled, affecting my business as chemical costs are included with my service.

Here is a link that CNN story that was posted yesterday

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/01/economy/chlorine-shortage-swimming-pools/index.html


I will continue to add chlorine as long as it is available but if the supply line runs dry I will not be able to keep out the algae that will come with the summer heat.

I can use up to 10 tabs a pool per week during the summer months.


I am sending this info to you so you are aware of this now.

If you want to be sure your pool makes it through the summer I suggest buying at least 100 pounds of 3 inch chlorine tabs to keep on site.