Safety first! Although pools provide great fun, they also come with great responsibility. To ensure that your days of diving, swimming, and playing in the water are fun-filled and safe, it’s important that you recognize the potential for danger so that you can protect everyone who swims in your pool. Luckily, it’s incredibly simple. With a few safety features, a bit of education, and safe swimming practices, your pool will remain accident-free. Scroll down for some safety tips for swimming pools.

Safety Tips for Swimming Pools

Teach all pool occupants about swimming safety. As with most safety concerns, your first order of business should be education. Teach swimmers how to swim, tread water, and float, and provide personal flotation devices (such as life vests) for small children and untrained swimmers. Remind swimmers to be aware of the depth of the pool (so that they don’t attempt a dive in the shallow end!), and don’t allow children to use the pool without adult supervision. Post all safety tips and rules in a visible area near the pool.

Supervise and stay alert. Whether you choose a lifeguard or a vigilant adult, be sure that someone is watching the swimmers at all times. Additionally, make sure that the supervisor is able to watch the entire pool area and all swimmers at once. Finally, keep a first aid kit nearby as well as a portable phone, in case of emergency, and be sure that adult supervisors know how to perform CPR on adults and children.

Prevent drain entrapments. Drain entrapment refers to a person’s body, hair, limbs, or clothing becoming caught or entangled in the pool’s drain. To prevent drain entrapments, be sure that your pool has compliant drain covers and consider purchasing a Safety Vacuum Release System (which automatically shuts off the pool’s pump if a blockage is detected). Know how to turn off your pool’s pump, and teach children to stay away from drains.

Create a barrier. To ensure that a child cannot access your pool without permission, install a physical barrier such as a fence, a gate, or a wall. The barrier should be at least four feet high, and it shouldn’t have footholds or handholds (which would allow for climbing) or low latches.

Consider a pool cover or an alarm. Pool covers are placed over the water’s surface, and they can be manual or motorized. Visually and physically, they tell curious children that the pool cannot be used. However, you still need to teach your children that the pool cover cannot be walked upon. Alarms come in various forms and can be mounted in various places (gates, doors, the pool itself) but they all alert adults to children using the pool without permission. Look for an alarm that has an automatic reset feature and will sound for 30 seconds or more.

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For more pool safety tips, please visit Pool Safely, a government website dedicated to teaching consumers about pool and spa safety.

Now that you know how to keep swimmers safe, you’re ready to purchase a pool of your own! Whether you need a residential pool or a commercial pool, if you live in or near Springfield, Missouri, you should contact the top pool builder in the area: Fishel Pools. With over forty years of experience, you can feel confident trusting us with the design, installation, and upkeep of your residential or commercial pool. For more information, please give us a call at 417-886-6699 or email us at fishelpools@fishelpools.com. We look forward to hearing from you!