Sam Crothers has been supplying pool owners in the Lehigh Valley for decades, but there have been recent tensions with customers who have been anxious to swim as the weather warms up.

The owner of Advance Pool Services in Allentown has had to deal with shortages of basic supplies, such as chlorine, and higher prices.

“It’s hurting a little, but it’s hurting more with customer relations,” Crothers said. “They take their frustrations out on the first person in the line that they see. They don’t take it out on my distributors, they take it out on me. So it’s more than that. But the bottom line: Yeah, it hurts a bit. Because certain things, we just can’t get it.”

The last couple of years have been a perfect storm for the pool industry. People forced to stay at home during the COVID pandemic had pools installed. According to the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, a trade organization, installations went up a record 21% in 2020.

The booming business has made it harder for suppliers to keep up with demand. That’s especially true with chlorine — also known as shocks when used in high dosages — which keeps the water germ free. A popular product, Trichlor, a chlorine tablet, has either been hard to find or is more expensive.

Amy Willer, associate director of marketing and communications for the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, said Hurricane Laura and a resulting fire that hit a production plant in Louisiana in 2020 affected about 40% of the national chlorine tablet supply. Then another fire at a New Jersey facility in January led to the loss of 100,000 more pounds of tablets.

BioGuard, which manufactures the tablets, says a new plant is expected to be finished this year. The start of production should help ease supply issues.

“The chlorine shortage has been an issue since a few months into the pandemic, and it has been a nationwide issue,” Willer said.

Crothers said he paid $52 for 25 pounds of dichlor, another type of chlorine, three years ago, and is paying $135 this year.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I can’t charge much more than [$52], so I’m charging them $70 and they look at me like I’m a villain.”

Advance Pool Services has been fortunate enough to keep supplies in stock because of long-term relationships with suppliers. Though, logistical issues such as a shortage of warehouse workers and truck drivers have also affected supply.

“Last year was tough for tablets,” Crothers said. “Fortunately, I have a 34-year relationship with my chemical supplier. So I got them. [Suppliers] never ran out, but a lot of people ran out. It was being sold on eBay for absurd amounts of money. I saw a 150-pound container for 800 bucks. That’s four times what it normally is.”

In the meantime, Crothers is recommending pool owners not use their supplies “willy-nilly” and to consider other options such as liquid chlorine.

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance says consumers can consider using other EPA-registered pool sanitizers such as calcium hypochlorite or dichlor. It also recommends:

For those who are looking to shell out between $35,000 and $100,000 to have an in-ground pool installed, patience will be a virtue.

The record-high increase in installations has brought longer wait times, Willer said.

“Pool buyers should now anticipate between six to nine months for completion of their project due to high demand and a backlog of supplies and materials,” Willer said. “In some regions, this can extend to 12 months. While demand is higher than ever, it is worth waiting the extra few months to avoid the risks of hiring a potentially unqualified company.”

Crothers said he’s heard that some installations won’t be completed until at least 2024.

Tom Casey, vice president of sales of Doylestown-based Anthony & Sylvan Pools, said the timing is dependent on several factors, such as obtaining municipal permits. The length can vary depending on where the customer is located.

Once that’s out of the way, Casey said, a bigger company could complete installation in eight to 12 weeks, depending on the complexity of the project.

“Demand overburdened the industry in 2020 and into 2021,” Casey said. “Thus far in 2022 the industry is starting to return to more normalized levels. People are getting back to normal lives, the lockdowns are behind us. I think we’ll see that this year and next year.”

He said installers may face their own labor issues and difficult obtaining equipment such as PVC pipes and pumps.

Willer said despite potential delays, consumers should still be careful in choosing a contractor.

“The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance encourages consumers to look for and work with certified industry professionals,” she said.

As for Crothers, he will continue to navigate through “strange times.”

“Everybody is stressed,” he said. “The consumer, distributors, me and my employees. It’s crazy. And it’s just right across the board.”

Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.