I went to the Leslie store located in Anna, TX. Had my water tested and bought supplies around 9:30am on Saturday morning 6/7/25. One of the supplies that I bought was a 50 Lb. bucket of Chlorine Powder. My drive is about 20 minutes away from the store. When I got home and got out of my truck, I smelt chlorine. I have a tunnel cover on my truck and just thought the bucket may have tipped over and spilt out. When I opened the tailgate, a strong odor hit me right in the face and took my breath away. I almost passed out. After I got my breath, I noticed the lid of the chlorine bucket was slightly opened. While holding my breath, I started to remove the bucket from the back of the truck. The bucket was really hot. I lifted the lid and noticed a small plastic bottle (about 1” x 3”) tucked down by the side and only the top of it showing. Whatever was in that bottle was reacting with the chlorine. I removed the bucket from my truck immediately and put at the edge of my driveway. I when in to tell my wife that I need to take the chlorine back to the store and show them. By the time I got back outside the bucket was smoking really bad. I took a garden hoe and removed the lid from the bucket, as soon as I did the chlorine ignited. I called the store immediately and explained what was going on, Matthew said he needed to call his district manager. Matthew called me back and said they needed pictures or video. I asked him where I need to send that and he said, “you need to bring it in, because we need proof, we don’t have anywhere you can send the proof”. I told him I could not come until later because I had a funeral to go to.
When I got to the store, the assistant Ryan said he was aware of the issue. Tried to call the district manager but, didn’t answer due to being at a sporting event for his kid. They were texting but, not sure what was said. I showed Ryan the video but, he did not know what to do about it. At this point it was about 5 hours after the incident, and I still have not heard from the district manager. We told Ryan that this is a major deal and could have gotten someone killed. I’m writing this letter Sunday morning and still have not heard from Leslie management.
Luckly, I took this out of my truck when I did. This looks like someone deliberately put this bottle in the chlorine to do some harm. I have not got no support from Leslie’s and I’m going to put this out everywhere I can on social media.
They made me feel like I was doing something shady. I have been going to Leslei’s for over 5 years; I will never buy from them again.
Recommendation: Do not buy from Leslie Pool Supply
You almost experienced a serious chemical explosion and the only response you got was “bring in photos”? That is insane. The lack of concern here goes way beyond negligence. You remained calm while dealing with the hazardous situation, and they treated you like an inconvenience rather than a person who saved lives. The issue of a sealed pail containing some foreign liquid which ignites on exposure is not customer service — it’s a hazardous materials incident. This automatically triggers corporate, legal, and safety response teams. You are correct to blast this everywhere. It is criminal that they are not taking responsibility.