At Home Swimming Pool Safety

A swimming pool in your home is a place of enjoyment and relaxation.  However, the pool can be a danger zone and can turn an enjoyable time into a nightmare. Swimming pool safety is essential to have a pleasurable time in your pool. It is a responsible step that you make sure your pool is used safely and that there are no dangers that could cause injury or death.

Kids age four and under have a higher risk of drowning compared to any other age group. Every year, about 300 kids in this age bracket drown in swimming pools at home. Even kids age 14 and under can be victims of unsecured swimming pools at home. In 2002, almost 2,700 kids had drowning related incidents. To prevent this incident from happening in your own pool, you have to consider pool safety procedures to ensure that your swimming pool does not present any danger.

You may not always be around to see that your pool is used safely, so installing barriers around your pool is a must. It should have a fence about four feet high with a thin strip less than four inches apart. The gate of the fence should be self-closing and self-latching that is unreachable to children. If your pool is above the ground, make sure that the steps and ladders are secured, or removed when the pool is not in use to prevent kids from entering the pool without supervision. To improve the protection of your home swimming pool, install door and pool alarms. It is also important that pets have supervised access to the swimming pool since they can mess up the pool area.

Though the area is secured with barriers, it is still important to always watch kids in the water as it only takes seconds for accidents to happen. Do not let kids swim alone, run near the pool, push or jump on others in the water, or dive or jump in shallow part of the swimming area. Post swimming pool rules in the swimming area. Also, you should have a cordless phone, list of emergency hotlines, first aid kit and rescue gears near the swimming area. It would be helpful if you learn CPR.

Inform any guests invited about swimming pool safety and rules. Make sure that the invited guest can swim. Ask parents whether invited kids can swim and, if not, you may select a day to invite them when you will not be opening the pool. Just in case you are having children for the first time, invite the parents of the children as well.

Polluted pool water can be health hazard. You should keep the cleanliness of your pool as it is important for the health of those who use the pool. It is less likely that people will get sick from swimming in your pool if you always keep it clean. It is a good habit to take a shower before you jump into the pool. And for others sake, do not swim if you are sick.