Testing the Safety of Your Swimming Pool
Usually we talk about pool water testing and other matters pertaining to the overall operation of swimming pools, but today we want all pool owners to take a good look at safety issues. Thousands of people have gotten seriously injured and hundreds have died in pool & spa related incidents — many of which did not have to occur.
Below you will find some statistics about pool and spa related injuries and deaths that may shock you… and we hope they will make you perform a routine check of the safety measures and equipment in place in and around your own pool or spa.
From 2005 through 2007, an average of 385 children younger than age 15 drowned every year in pools or spas. More than 75 percent of those children were under five years old.
Serious injuries in pools also occur, but don’t always get as much attention. From 2007 through 2009, 4,200 children younger than 15 were treated each year in hospital emergency rooms from water-related pool injuries. Almost half of those injuries were to children between the ages of 1 and 2. Half of the injuries and about three-fourths of the deaths in these pool or spas happen at homes.
This loss of life and high numbers of injuries are tragic and preventable. That’s a key word – preventable. ( source )
For dramatic purposes we will again say what we believe needs saying over and over again until people pay attention and take action:
Millions of people enjoy a cool, refreshing dip in the pool each year without incident, but for others the lack of a few simple pieces of safety equipment meant injury and sometimes death — and many of those injuries and deaths did NOT have to happen.
With that said, below you will find a list of suggestions and tips that can help improve pool and spa safety. If you think of any we missed, please feel free to comment and we will share them with other readers.
- Anti-Entrapment Drain & Suction Covers — As a result of the tragic death of a young girl in a hot tub several years ago, all commercial and semi-commercial pools must now have anti-entrapment devices over main drains and wall suction openings. ( source )
So… Does that mean residential pool and spa owners don’t need to action? Legally, no, they do not… but having anti-entrapment covers over their own main drains could very easily prevent the death of a small child, and perhaps even an adult depending upon the strength of the pool’s circulation pump.
- Floating Rope Divider Marking Deeper Water — Sounds silly, but just imagine a non-swimmer walking around in the shallow end of a crowded pool getting accidentally bumped over the drop-off towards the deep end… and because of all the other swimmers no one notices him or her sliding down to the bottom of the pool.
The presence of a floating safety rope serves two purposes: First, it alerts non-swimmers that they have ventured close to deeper water and lets them know they need to reverse course; and secondly, any non-swimmers who might accidentally have gotten beyond it might have a chance to grab hold of the rope and pull themselves to safety.
- Pool Fencing — No one can drown in your pool if they can’t get to it. While law requires owners of inground pools to have their pool areas completely fenced in,
- Pool Alarms — Whether you want to keep unwanted late night pool jumpers from invading your swimming space or you want to know right away when an unexpected pool guest falls into your pool so you can quickly scoop him or her out, no device works better for that than a pool alarm.
- Yard/Gate Alarms — What better way to keep people from getting IN your pool than to keep them OUT of the yard that leads to your pool, right?
- In case the unfortunate does happen, having someone with current CPR training can make the difference between life and death.
- Although we don’t really think we should need to say this, statistics suggest otherwise. PAY ATTENTION TO THE WHEREABOUTS OF SMALL CHILDREN AROUND THE POOL OR SPA!
Also, keep non-swimmers within reach of strong/good swimmers. A simple slip in a few feet of water can push a non-swimmer into panic mode and yes, they can drown in the shallow end as a result of freaking out and not knowing what to do.
We all love the way cool, refreshing pool water feels on our skin so let’s try to make it so we can all enjoy that same feeling next year, too.
Tags: pool death prevention, pool injury prevention, pool safety equipment, swimming pool safety
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