Looking for essential safety features for your family-friendly pool?
Hundreds of children visit emergency rooms for pool-related injuries and drowning every year.
Most of the time, these accidents occur at the family pool at home. According to the CPSC, 81% of fatal child drownings occur in residential settings.
Pool safety needs to be a primary concern for all pool owners, and it starts with design.
In this guide, we cover the features that matter most for preventing accidents and drowning in residential pools.
Here’s a preview of what we’ll cover:
- Why Pool Safety Needs to Start at Construction
- Pool Fencing: Your First Line of Defence
- Pool Alarms: Your 24/7 Monitoring System
- Safety Covers: More Than Just Pool Protection
- Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers: The Hidden Danger
- Pool Lighting: Safety You Can See
- Lifesaving Equipment: Always Within Reach
- Non-Slip Surfaces: Preventing Falls
- Wrapping It Up
Why Pool Safety Needs to Start at Construction
The majority of pool owners don’t consider safety measures when planning pool construction.
The moment their new pool is finished, safety tends to be an afterthought.
The problem with this approach is safety needs to be in the plan from day one.
The ideal time to integrate safety features into a pool is during residential pool construction. From a financial perspective, it’s always cheaper to build safety in than to retrofit later. Pool safety features also tend to look better when designed into the pool from the beginning instead of added on at the end.
If you’re having a new pool built, that means safety is already in your contractor’s plans.
If you’re an existing pool owner, that doesn’t mean safety should be an afterthought. Pool renovation and remodelling projects are the perfect opportunity to make safety a priority.
Pool Fencing: Your First Line of Defence
Pool fencing is the number one thing you can do to make your pool safer for children.
Research from the National Drowning Prevention Alliance shows that a four-sided isolation fence reduces a child’s drowning risk by 83% compared to three-sided property-line fencing.
But not all fences are equal, and a pool fence needs to meet some specific standards to be effective:
- The fence needs to be at least 4 feet tall with no footholds or handholds for climbing.
- It must have a self-closing and self-latching gate that opens outward and is out of reach of children.
- The vertical slat spacing should be no more than 4 inches. You should also make sure there aren’t any gaps larger than 1/2 inch between horizontal bars and the posts.
- Finally, your fence should be made of non-climbable material that’s safe for outdoor use. Wooden fences can have gaps that are hard to see. Woven materials are difficult to check for loose spots and holes.
Here’s one of the biggest mistakes new pool owners make…
They fail to fully isolate the pool area. An effective pool fence should create a barrier around the entire pool area, including the steps. It should not use the house as the fourth fence wall. Three-sided fencing and fencing around the property perimeter is still too easy for a child to access the pool through a door or window.
Pool Alarms: Your 24/7 Monitoring System
Can you be at the pool every second of the day?
No.
Children and pets can get into the pool in the time it takes to grab a glass of water.
Alarm systems fill the gap between your ability to supervise the pool and other times when the pool area should be off-limits.
Modern pool alarm systems use sophisticated sensors that detect unexpected access to the pool and send an alert as soon as an incident occurs.
There are several types of alarms to consider, including:
- Surface wave sensors to detect water disturbance
- Subsurface motion detectors for underwater movement
- Gate and door alarms for the access points
- Wearable alarms for children and pets
And here’s the mistake most people make with alarms…
Relying on a single type to keep their pool safe. The most effective systems use multiple alarm types to provide overlapping protection. A gate alarm senses a person entering the pool area. A surface wave sensor senses a person falling into the water. Together they provide redundancy in the event one alarm fails or a person circumvents it.
Safety Covers: More Than Just Pool Protection
Standard pool covers keep debris out of the water.
Safety covers can prevent drownings.
The difference between the two is enough to save a life.
A safety cover is a heavy-duty pool cover designed to support weight and keep someone from accidentally or intentionally submerging in the pool.
The key to a safety cover is that it provides a physical barrier over the pool when it’s not in use.
But not all covers are considered safety covers…
A safety cover must meet ASTM safety standards for weight capacity. The ASTM requires safety covers to hold the weight of an adult human to prevent accidental falls in. Safety covers also attach to the pool deck with anchors so they can’t be accidentally removed.
Safety covers provide protection when there’s a risk someone could enter the pool area unexpectedly and unsupervised. Drowning often happens during those times when you don’t expect someone to be near the pool.
Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers: The Hidden Danger
I want you to take a moment and think about something.
Swimming pool drains create powerful suction. It’s enough to hold a swimmer in place against their will.
If someone is trapped underwater and unable to escape the suction, drowning can quickly happen.
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act requires all public pools to have anti-entrapment drain covers. Every residential pool should have them too.
Anti-entrapment covers are designed to:
- Prevent swimmers from completely sealing the drain opening
- Distribute suction forces across a larger surface area
- Include emergency shut-off mechanisms
- Meet federal safety standards
They’re an affordable addition compared to many of the other features on this list. But they address one of the most dangerous hazards for swimmers.
Pool Lighting: Safety You Can See
Have you ever thought about how important lighting is at the pool?
Proper lighting is critical for safety and accident prevention.
Outdoor pool lights should illuminate the water, deck, and walkways.
They also eliminate shadows that conceal movement and surprise guests.
Here are some tips for pool lighting design:
- Combine lighting in three zones: underwater, perimeter, overhead.
- Use waterproof LED lighting where possible. These use less energy and are better for the environment.
- Plan on additional lighting for diving boards, steps, and edges.
- Combine ambient with task lighting. Ambient lighting is for general pool illumination, while task lighting illuminates specific work zones.
Lifesaving Equipment: Always Within Reach
Every pool should have a dedicated safety station.
It’s not an optional accessory, and you shouldn’t overlook its importance.
If an emergency happens at your pool, having the right equipment accessible can save a life.
Your pool safety station should include:
- Reaching pole or shepherd’s hook
- Life rings or rescue tube
- First aid kit
- Phone for emergency use
Keep the equipment in a visible location near the pool and maintain it regularly.
Non-Slip Surfaces: Preventing Falls
Slip and fall injuries are another danger at the pool.
Kids on bare feet and waterlogged surfaces equal accidents waiting to happen.
Non-slip surfaces should be a design consideration from the very beginning.
Focus on high-traffic areas, including:
- Pool decking and walkways
- Steps leading in and out of the pool
- Diving board surfaces
- Ladder rungs
Textured concrete, exposed aggregate, and specialty coatings are all good non-slip surface options.
Wrapping It Up
Family-friendly pools don’t just happen by accident.
Safety should be part of your plan from day one.
We covered a lot in this article. These features are not extras or add-ons, they’re necessities for protecting your family.
Here’s a quick recap of what we covered:
- Install four-sided isolation fencing with self-latching gates
- Use multiple alarm types for layered protection
- Choose safety-rated covers that meet ASTM standards
- Require anti-entrapment drain covers
- Plan for proper lighting and non-slip surfaces
- Maintain accessible lifesaving equipment
View the original article and our Inspiration here
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