Swimming Pool Safety – Views Of A Pool Contractor – If you have a pool in your backyard, chances are your pool will be a magnet for summer entertaining. Nevertheless, having a pool comes with the responsibility of making sure that it is used safely and that there are no accidents involving the pool. Swimming pool safety is essential for enjoying your pool. What can you do to ensure that your swimming pool is safe?
Make sure access to your swimming pool is restricted when there is no available supervision. You should have a fence around your pool with a gate that locks. In addition, your home should have a sensor that indicates when a door is opened so you will be alerted when a door leading to the pool is opened. Take precautions to ensure that children cannot access the pool by removing ladders when an above-ground pool is not in use or putting safety locks on doors in your home leading to your backyard in-ground pool. You should also take care to make sure that pets cannot access the pool. Make sure that pets do not have unsupervised access to the pool since they may make it unsanitary.
Educate your family and friends about swimming pool safety and post pool rules in your backyard. Reinforce that there should be no running or eating around the pool. Food in the pool attracts insects and running around a wet pool can result in slipping thereby causing an injury.
Make sure that any guests invited to the pool can swim. Ask parents whether invited children can swim and, if not, choose to have them on a day when you will not be using the pool. Additionally, do not leave guests or young children alone at the pool. If you are having a child for the first time, consider inviting the parent to enjoy the pool as well.
Safe swimming pools are clean. Keeping the pool clean minimizes germs and makes it less likely that people will get sick from swimming in your pool. Keep tools to clean the pool yourself or have a pool specialist come regularly.
Keep necessary safety and rescue equipment near the pool. At minimum, this can include a flotation ring, a first aid kit, and a telephone. In addition, family members should be trained in CPR and refresher classes should be taken regularly.
Make sure that you keep all pool chemicals that are not in use locked. Chemicals can be dangerous so it is important to keep them out of reach.
To ensure safe swimming pools, maintain your pool correctly and have it inspected for any possible dangers that may not be visually apparent. Heat, drainage, and the pump should be inspected regularly and appropriate repairs should be made as needed. Be certain to inspect the drain to make sure it is not damaged. Swimmers can be trapped against a drain so it is important to avoid swimming in a pool with a broken drain. Make sure that everyone knows where the cut off switch is located for the drain so that it can easily be turned off if someone becomes trapped against the drain.
