According to safety non-profit SafeHome, an average of more than 60,000 ER visits for children and adults in the last two years were attributed to home pool accidents.
We don’t want to scare you with this number — in fact, we want to reassure you. The majority of those accidents could have been avoided with just a few danger-minimizing precautionary steps.
A safe, memorable summer with friends and family spent lounging and luxuriating next to your home pool is out there waiting for you. Keep it that way by keeping the following home pool safety tips in mind.
Note: There is no priority order for these. Each tip is as equally important as the next when it comes to maintaining safety in and around your home pool.
Post the rules — and follow them
We all know the most common rules for keeping safe at the pool. When you’re having fun, though, it’s easy to forget things that normally come easy. Get back to the basics by printing and posting behavioral guidelines somewhere where they can be seen from both in and near the pool. You can either purchase a rule sign online or have one printed to meet your specifications. Either way, we recommend keeping the following rules non-negotiable:
- No running
- No pushing or rough housing
- No diving
Have a fence built
While a brand new fence can be a substantial financial commitment, it’s a necessary one if home pool safety is something you consider a priority. Three-sided fencing to keep people you don’t know from entering your pool area is a good start, but four-sided fencing can also prevent your own children from potentially getting into trouble.
Did you know that in Australia, nearly all states legally require four-sided, non-climbable pool fencing for all in-ground pools and that it has drastically decreased their rates of pool-related tragedy?
While it may seem like there’s no way to add three or four-sided fencing to your pool area without it looking unsightly, that’s far from the case. The right contractor will have the experience and know-how to install a protective barrier that meets both your practical and aesthetic needs.
Mop wet surfaces regularly to keep them slip-proof
One of the most basic but most helpful home pool safety tips out there: mop up excess water. The ground surrounding your pool is going to get wet. That’s unavoidable. What is avoidable, however, is that same wet ground leading to a slip that causes injury.
You can make it easier on yourself by keeping the tools you need to quickly mop up slippery spills in an easy-to-access storage shed near the pool so you’re more inclined to use them when the need arises.
Do not let children swim unwatched
We know that you’d never let your children swim unattended on purpose. This tip is for when you have a large group over to swim and that group includes children. In situations like this, it’s easy for each adult to assume other adults are watching, which can lead to a gap in attention where no one is. Here’s how to prevent that from happening:
- When a large group including children is using your pool, choose a dedicated watcher.
- This watcher is an adult who is able to keep an eye on the kids amidst the chaos of the party. If something goes wrong, they’ll be the first to alert the others into action.
- To make it easier and to keep the responsibility festive, you can give the watcher an item (for example, an inflatable pool toy or over-the-top novelty necklace) that they hold when they’re on “duty.” This item can be passed to someone else if they need a break and it can be used to signify their job so that other party-goers can rest assured or call them out if they’re not taking it seriously.
You matter. Your family matters. Your friends and neighbors matter. Keep everyone safe and able to enjoy your pool for years to come using these home pool safety tips.
Reading because you’re thinking about a pool but don’t have one yet? Prestige Pools is locally owned and has over 50 years of experience delivering safe, custom home pool design and installation solutions to the Twin Cities. We’d love to talk to you.