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Having a swimming pool on your property is mainly viewed as a positive feature and it can provide hours of fun for friends and family on a regular basis, however, there should always be an acute awareness of the dangers that access to water presents.
Although you may only want to think about the positive aspects of swimming pool ownership it makes plenty of sense to focus your attention on how to keep everyone who will be using the pool as safe as possible at all times.
It only takes a brief moment for a tragedy to occur when it comes to swimming pool accidents and here are some tips on what steps to take to keep everyone safe while they enjoy such a great leisure activity.
8 Tips for Preventing Swimming Pool Accidents
Here is a look at some of the main safety considerations, including an overview of why pool safety matters, why some accessories are not such a good idea, ways to deal with an emergency, and why a set of rules should be on your agenda.
Children should be your number one priority
You will only have to ask someone from The Millar Law Firm, for example, about the subsequent consequences of a swimming pool tragedy to appreciate how dangerous this recreational activity can be without the right attitude to safety.
You only have to learn that drowning is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths amongst one-to-four-year-olds (according to the National Safety Council) to understand that you have to do everything you can to ensure that children, especially babies and toddlers, are supervised at all times when they are anywhere near water.
Over 70% of drowning incidents happen in residential locations according to the USA Swimming Foundation, so your safety procedures will need to be robust if you want to have the best chance of preventing a tragedy, and the main focus should be keeping your kids safe.
Restrict access to the pool
One of the best safety measures to execute is to build a pool fence to enable you to control access to the swimming pool and keep children away from the water when you are not there to watch over them.
Make sure the fence gates can’t be opened by your children and that they open outwards, away from the water.
The gates should also be self-closing and self-latching. In addition, the suggested minimum height for the fencing should be five feet, but the taller, the better if you are going to successfully keep children out.
Think twice about a diving board
Diving into the water can be a lot of fun but without wanting to spoil the party atmosphere you might want to think carefully about whether its a good idea to have a diving board.
Diving boards contribute to a large number of pool injuries and it is far too easy to lose your footing and slip off the board and hit your head.
Ready for an emergency
It only takes a second for someone to get into difficulty in a swimming pool and how quickly you react to the situation can make a huge difference to the outcome.
Make sure you have a life ring or life hook within easy reach of the pool so that you can pull someone out of the water in a hurry or give them something to help them float while you rescue them from trouble.
Having a first aid kit on hand is also advisable so that you treat any minor injuries as soon as possible.
Keep chemicals safe
You will regularly use chemicals to keep your swimming pool in top shape but it goes without saying that these chemicals can be very dangerous to children.
Invest in a secure storage facility that keeps these chemicals out of reach and make sure that the area is adequately ventilated too.
Pool chemicals can also cause injury and illness when they are not handled correctly or you get the mix wrong, so be wary when handling these items.
Regularly inspect drain covers
The suction pressure from an underwater drain can be lethal, especially to children who don’t have the strength to resist being pulled in and prevented from swimming to the surface.
Inspect your drain covers frequently and make sure there are no cracks or screws missing.
Get familiar with first aid techniques
As well as doing what you can in terms of being proactive with your safety features and procedures around the pool it is also a sensible precaution to learn some basic first aid techniques.
Learning how to perform CPR could make all the difference in an emergency situation.
Have pool rules
One of the best things you can do alongside the installation of good security features such as fencing, locks, and alarms, is to create a set of pool rules that everyone using the facilities understands and obeys.
Educating everyone on pool safety is an investment in their welfare and will help them to enjoy the swimming pool as safely as possible.
It would be a good idea to print a set of rules that are in clear view of the swimming pool and the basic instructions should include instructions such as no running, no diving in shallow water, and no pushing anyone in the pool.
Make children aware that they should not use the pool without an adult present and invest in swimming lessons if anyone in the family is weak or non-swimmer.
You might think that putting up a set of pool rules might be a bit official for a family swimming pool facility but if it serves as a quick reminder about safety and appropriate behaviour it could well be a move that avoids a potential disaster.
If you follow these basic and essential safety tips and always have a level of awareness about the need for pool safety it should help to ensure that everyone has a good time splashing around without getting into trouble.
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