Pool Safety

Having your own private pool is not just a matter of prestige, of gaining a status symbol. Pool is always seen as a refreshing, pleasant, and profitable addition to any home. However, while we know that water always hold infinite fascination to most of us, pools can become a deathtrap situation.

It is the reality; pool drowning isn’t that unheard of. On affluent neighborhoods where private pools and indoor pools are the norm, pool drowning has become the number one cause for children fatalities. That is because children, most especially toddlers lack the cognitive sense to steer clear of the danger pool brings. Most are ill equipped to navigate to safety, e.g. swimming to the edge when they fall over. Moreover, while impulsiveness is a cute characteristic we find most appealing to tots, this trait can get them to danger in a blink of an eye.

And do you know how quick a child, without any good judgment to close their mouth, can drown to death? Experts say around 2 seconds.

Pool safety is one thing that should be ignored. Yes you might not have kids, but what if there are kids on the next door? Adults are also exposed to this kind of danger, however minimally. Muscle spasms that take place on the deep portion of the pool, heart attacks and seizures can take down any able adult as easy as any hapless children.

Pool safety can never be stressed enough, because it is very real. The least you can do is provide basic pool safety measures, like swimming pool safety signs that show the water’s depth at a certain portion. Pool safety sign such as these might not help toddlers but smaller children that can read basic warning signs will be warned enough not to jump immediately. And as you know, pools always give the impression of shallowness, because the water usually is clear. Commercial pools have customary swimming pool safety signs that indicate the water depth usually painted on the pool ledge, adapting to the idea would hurt at all. Some private pools though, won’t have such markings since they tend to become unsightly.

Pool safety also includes pool ropes and pool floats that divide the deeper areas to the shallow areas of the pool. On larger pools, anchored floats on the middle deep portion could become a lifesaver to a tiring swimmer. There should also be readily accessible life rings everywhere. Pool safety products like a pool pole or a pole net can be used to tow swimmers to safety. One reason that young children jump into the pool impulsively is when they wish to retrieve something that’s fallen into the pool. Schooling them the proper usage of a pool net will decrease the chances of a child jumping in.

So now that we discuss in detail how to have pool safety measures in the pool, we now discuss how to implement the most timeless advice for safety. That is by prohibition.

When you are not available for supervision, then it is for the better not to allow any activity in the pool unless if the water is only a hip deep e.g. a children’s pool. There are several ways to do this. A pool fence with a secure lock that fully encloses the premise is one way to defeat children sneaking into the pool. Some pool fence designs are “climb-proof”, that they are designed so that no one can climb the pool easily enough. Usually this is enough, or so until they can find a way to bypass the pool fence. Then there is the usage of conventional alarms. On some high end residences, pool alarms are installed to monitor any intrusion to the pool. There are three kinds of alarms you can use as pool alarms: perimeter alarms, gate alarms and floating/wave alarms.

Again, drowning is real. It is in the statistics. Do not take the dangers of pool drowning for granted.