Until now, the crew that normally reopens it has been slowed down by coronavirus restrictions on nonessential businesses, but other homeowners are diving in, pushing ahead and shopping in pool supply stores like North American Pool Supply in Webster, which saw brisk business.

“It’s almost like business as usual, but just with masks now,” Manager John LeClair said.

LeClair reported steady business in recent weeks as some homeowners got an earlier than normal start, due in part to the drudgery of being locked down in coronavirus quarantine.

“A lot of people are getting bored staring at the pool, or the hole in the ground, in the back,” LeClair said. “And everybody’s quarantined. So they’ve actually got an early start this year.”

Some homeowners pointed at their backyard pools as a way to keep up social distancing.

“We are really not going to be able to go anywhere else,” Webster homeowner Adam Dolle said as he bought chemicals to make his pool sparkling and clear for the season.

“Everyone is going to have issues going to public places, beaches, pools, parks,” Dolle said. “And if we have an oasis at home awaiting us, it would be a blast.”

Leslie’s Pool Supplies in Greece is still only selling curbside.

Manager Adam Melinis reported slower sales than normal for this time of year. And while customers were grabbing chemicals and other supplies, sales were particularly weak for merchandise like pool toys, which he granted were, under normal circumstances, often impulse buys for customers actually in the store.

Melinis pointed to health information about swimming pools which recommended more caution than normal in a time of pandemic.

“We have seen a message from the CDC saying that the pool water itself, if properly sanitized, can’t spread the disease but that doesn’t take into account the social distancing if you let too many people into the pool at once,” Melinis said.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Emil Lesho at Rochester Regional Health echoed precisely that warning.

“The crowds would be something to be discouraged,” Lesho said. “And it will be very important for the pool to keep their chlorine up to recommended levels.”

And that key part of sanitizing pools, chlorine, is taking on extra importance this year. American Pool reports some customers are seeking out bottles of it to blast coronavirus as a disinfectant on surfaces like countertops and furniture.

“They come in, they tell me… They are like ‘Oh, we are buying this because we want the house to be clean.’ People are using chlorine for more than just swimming pools.”

https://www.whec.com/rochester-new-york-news/pools-coronavirus-memorial-day-weekend/5735327/

— WHEC