YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Business at pool stores is picking up.
"This is my new pool," Christina Kauffman of Spring Garden Township told FOX43. "I've actually wanted a swimming pool for several years, but I finally decided that last year I would take the plunge."
On top of the pandemic, Kauffman lost her grandmother last year. She is excited to have the pool open and friends over.
"It's really nice after a terrible year both personally and for everyone to have something to look forward to," she said.
One York County pool store owner says business is the busiest it has ever been, and she's having to limit how much supplies some customers can buy.
"It is just crazy," said Kriste Buchmyer-Felton, owner of Buchmyer's Pools.
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are the busiest days at the store off Route 30 in York County.
Buchmyer-Felton says, as disappointing as it is that people experienced COVID-19, pools sales have not taken a dip throughout the pandemic.
In fact, they've soared with many people wanting to make improvements to their homes and backyards.
"We are already booking pools for next year," she told FOX43.
The store has plenty of above-ground pools still for sale.
"You can cash, carry, take them home, put them up yourself. I have contractors that might be willing or have time to put pools in," she said.
However, in-ground pools are sold out until the end of next year.
"I've already taken deposits on 2023 above-ground pools and 2023 in-ground pools," added Buchmyer-Felton. "We're tired. I've actually spent the night, a couple of nights, which is a first this year, kind of curled up between two office chairs. I've done that several times this year."
The owner says she is putting an emphasis on selfcare.
"I am taking vitamins, and I really try to stay home on Sundays right now because it's my only day off," explained Buchmyer-Felton.
She says staff members must order supplies in advance. They're also limiting chlorine sales to whatever a customer bought last year.
"We're trying really hard - we have a sign on the door - we're trying really hard to make sure we're taking care of our regular customers. We did bring in some different brands of chlorine to supplement. We're making sure everybody gets something, but we're not going to allow hoarding or getting into a crazy toilet paper situation," she said.
Buchmyer-Felton says pool owners and managers will likely need to make multiple trips to the store this summer. She says that is the perfect time for people to check their water quality.