With the warm weather now in full swing, people have begun opening their pools for the summer. While pools are a great way to escape the heat, there are several safety considerations to take to be sure your summer oasis is a safe one.
Fencing. Fencing is a must, and pretty much a no brainer for pool safety. If you have an in ground pool without a fence, you’re asking for trouble.
Access to the pool. Fences are great for keeping out unwanted visitors, but what about those who are already inside your home? The time it takes for a child to wander out the door and fall into the pool can be less than a minute. By the time you realize the child is missing and run to the pool, a tragedy may have already occurred. Be sure all doors leading to your pool area have alarms that sound when someone passes through the doorway.
Diving boards and slides. Diving boards and slides are common pool accessories. In the past, diving boards were the norm for many pools, but as time went by they were deemed dangerous and slides were viewed as a safer alternative. While it’s true that jumping off of a diving board the wrong way could cause that person to hit their head on the side of the pool, people do not often consider what kind of damage can be done if someone climbs the slide’s ladder only to slip off the last rung and fall back onto the cement. The bottom of a slide is closer to the water, but you also have a greater chance of slipping and landing on an unforgiving piece of concrete. There are inherent dangers with either option, so it is best to avoid them altogether if possible.
Ladder. Above ground pools should always have a removable ladder stored under lock and key, or a ladder that folds up and locks into place so it cannot be used without being unlocked.
These are all things most people think of when discussing pool safety for above ground pools. What people don’t often consider are those small inflatable pools that are only a couple of feet deep. They are very common nowadays, and I cannot tell you how many of them I see sitting in a yard unattended with absolutely no protection. A child can drown in less than a foot of water, so leaving a 3-foot deep pool filled with water in your backyard with no fence is a recipe for disaster. These pools should be treated with the same caution and care as any full-size in ground or above ground pool.
It may seem as if I’m putting a damper on lounging poolside this summer, but taking the appropriate safety measures before the pool season starts will help ensure a fun and safe summer. What other pool safety tips do you observe? Do you have additional suggestions for pool safety? Share them below.
Leave a Reply