WINDHAM, Maine — The demand for private swimming pools is at an all-time high due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I've been doing this for 17 years. We've seen demand go up and down, but this year, easily 200-300 percent," Ben Strout, owner of Dave's Pool Sales and Service, said.
Strout said he's been sold out since August 2020 because of supply chain issues.
"All the products we are trying to order currently are 30-35 weeks out as of today. What happened in Texas, which is one of the biggest vinyl manufacturing states, they got hit with all that nasty weather and got shut down," he said.
Christman Pool Service in Portland is feeling the impact make a splash as well.
"People staying at home. They are in their backyard, they're doing projects on their homes. It's a bit frustrating not being able to provide our customers with the product they want. At the same time, we are getting creative to find creative ways to help them out," Cliff Abbott, service manager at Christman Pool Service, said.
Meanwhile, Strout said he could install more than 200 pools, but is limited to 70 this year, and is already booking for 2022.