Prevent Pool Disasters with These Top Pool Safety Tips

To maintain a fun and safe environment around your swimming pool, there are several basic pool safety tips I advise all pool owners to follow. Make pool safety a priority in your backyard by following these guidelines:Safety GatesSecure your pool with appropriate barriers. Completely surround your pool with a fence or barrier with a self-closing, self-latching and outward facing gate. Place a safety cover on the pool or hot tub when not in use and remove any ladders or steps used for access. If you have small children, consider installing an alarm to alert you anytime anyone goes from the house to the backyard.Supervise ChildrenSupervise children at all times. Stay in arm’s reach of young kids. Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool—never allow anyone to swim alone including in the spa.Swim LessonsEnsure everyone in the home knows how to swim well by enrolling them in age-appropriate swim lessons.Learn CPREnsure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies by having appropriate safety equipment and taking water safety, first aid and CPR courses.Have Compliant Drain Covers (VGB)Virginia Graeme Baker, after whom the Pool and Spa Safety Act is named, died from drowning due to a suction entrapment from a faulty drain cover. All pools and spas should have drain grates or covers that meet safety standards to avoid incidents like the one that took Graeme’s life. Powerful suction from a pool or spa drain can even trap an adult.Keep All Glass Away from Your PoolThis summer Atlantis Pools has had to drain three separate pools due to glass tables in backyards that broke resulting in glass in the pool. I can not stress enough how important it is to keep all glass out of your backyard if you have a pool.GFCI and Pool Lights The ground fault circuit interrupter, better known as the GFCI is a safety device used on installations with a higher than normal risk of electric shock. GFCI is a fast-acting circuit breaker designed to shut off electric power in the event of a ground-fault within as little as 1/40 of a second. Pool lights need to be linked to the GFCI to prevent electrocution. Spa Use and Alcohol Alcohol and spa use should never go together. Common side effects of drinking while submerged in hot water are dehydration, heat exhaustion and drowning due to impaired reflexes.No Horseplay in or around the PoolHorseplay is a rough, rowdy kind of fun. If you and your friends are jokingly pushing each other into a swimming pool, it's horseplay. Horseplay in our near a pool can cause serious injuries and should be avoided.