Tag Archives: Child Safety

Hot Tubs and Saunas, Pool and Spa Maintenance, Pool and Spa Safety

Spa Covers: Essential for Spa Maintenance and Safety

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Relaxing in a spa or hot tub after a long day is one of life’s ultimate luxuries.  But, what do you do with your spa or hot tub when you’re not enjoying a toasty soak?  Do you keep it covered?  If not, here’s why you should.

  • Spa covers and hot tub covers prevent evaporation, saving you money on water and chemicals.
  • Spa covers also insulate the water and keep the heat in.  Keeping the water warm when the hot tub is not in use makes it faster and less expensive to heat the water before you use it again next time.
  • Spa covers keep debris and dirt out of your hot tub.  Cleaning your spa takes less time and effort if there is less to clean up.

Walk-on spa covers are recommended for households where children and curious pets live.  Standard spa covers, while they look perfectly sturdy, may not be able to support the weight of a child if he or she thinks the top of the hot tub would be a fun platform for playtime.  Children and pets can become injured or may drown if the spa cover collapses into the water below.  Walk-on spa covers can support not only the weight of a child, but the weight of an entire family.  They come equipped with a locking mechanism, too, so the cover cannot be lifted or moved from the spa.

Even if you don’t have kids or pets, a walk-on spa cover is a good choice if you live in a snowy area.  Accumulated snow is quite heavy, and if not cleared off of standard spa covers regularly, those covers can become damaged.  Walk-on spa covers can easily handle the weight of many feet of accumulated snow.

Whether you choose a standard spa cover or a walk-on spa cover depends entirely on your situation, but covering your spa or hot tub is an essential step in properly maintaining it.

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety

Preventing Children From Drowning Through Layers of Protection

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Drowning is often a “silent death” because a victim is usually unable to splash violently or call for help, as one might expect. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children between ages 1 and 14 years, and an extensive study performed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that “75 percent of the children involved in swimming pool submersion or drowning accidents were between 1 and 3 years old.”

In addition, the CPSC’s study revealed the following statistics:

  • In most cases the children were being watched by one or both parents when the swimming pool accident occurred.
  • Nearly half of the child victims were previously seen inside the home before the pool accident occurred.  Twenty-three percent of the victims were last seen on the porch, patio, or in the yard.
  • Sixty-nine percent of the children who became victims in swimming pool accidents were not expected to be in or at the pool, but were found drowned or submerged in the water.

Preventing children from drowning or becoming submerged in a backyard swimming pool requires more than just a single safety device.  Providing “layers of protection” is the best strategy for keeping children safe in and around the pool.

Pool Fence
The first layer of protection is a barrier that surrounds the pool area; generally, this is a pool fence or wall. Fences or other barriers around the pool area should be at least four feet high, and the spaces between slats or holes in the barrier must be so small that it prevents a child from gaining a handhold or foothold which would allow them access to the other side of the barrier.  Any gates in the fence surrounding your backyard swimming pool should have the ability to close and latch by themselves so that there is no danger of the gates standing open for any length of time. In addition, gate latches should be placed out of the reach of children.

Door Alarm
Any door that leads from the house to the pool area should be equipped with an alarm that sounds if the door is opened. Door alarms need to alert you within 7 seconds after a door is opened and for a duration of at least 30 seconds, and the sound of the door alarm needs to be distinct and distinguishable from another alarm that may be in the house. In addition, door alarms should be equipped with a switch or keypad to allow adults to enter or leave through the door without the alarm sounding. This switch or keypad must be mounted high on the interior wall out of a child’s reach.

Pool Safety Cover
The next layer of protection is a pool safety cover. Solar pool covers and winter pool covers are not safety covers. In fact, solar covers and winter covers are potentially deadly because a person who steps out onto the cover while it is on the pool can become caught up in the cover as the pool cover sinks into the water. Escape is extremely difficult without immediate assistance.  When installed, a safety pool cover must be able to hold a minimum of 485 pounds per 5 square feet, according to the American Society for Testing and Materials’ (ASTM) standard F1346-91. Pool safety covers are anchored to a deck with straps. The straps usually attach to stainless steel springs and are anchored to recessed brackets in a deck surface. A mesh pool cover keeps water from rain and snow from sitting on the cover, but leaves, sticks, and other debris can gather in the pool while the cover is in use. A solid cover prevents debris from accumulating in the pool, but it does not allow rain and snow to drain through; as a result, the pool cover can sag and present a drowning danger to small children who may wander onto the cover if not carefully supervised. Choosing a solid pool cover with drain panels or obtaining a cover pump to remove the standing water is strongly advised.

Pool Alarm
Another layer of protection is a pool alarm. Pool alarms come in different varieties. Some are designed to detect movement on the top of the pool’s surface, some are specifically made to detect underwater disturbances, some act like motion detectors using infrared beams, and some are worn on the wrist and sound an alarm when the device is submerged.  Recommended features to look for in a pool alarm can be found in this previous post.

Adult Supervision
No matter how many safety precautions are made to protect children from submersion and drowning accidents in the backyard swimming pool, close and constant supervision by a responsible adult is the most important “layer of protection” for keeping children safe. Just knowing that a child can swim and providing them with flotation devices does not substitute for supervision. Implementing most, if not all, of the protective measures outlined in this post is the best defense in preventing children from experiencing a “silent death” by drowning in a swimming pool.

Sources:

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Document 359.  “How to plan for the unexpected: Prevent Child Drownings.”
  • U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Document 362.  “Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools.”
Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety, Uncategorized

Factors to look for when purchasing a pool alarm

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While pool alarms may come with many more features than are presented here, the following is a list of recommended features to look for when deciding on a pool alarm for your own backyard swimming pool:

  • Easy installation
  • Tamper proof
  • Includes a remote receiver with a range of up to 200 ft or more
  • Low battery indicator on alarm and on receiver
  • Recommended for the size and shape of your swimming pool
  • Able to detect an object as small as a 1 year old child, approximately 18 pounds
  • A loud and distinct alarm should sound within 20 seconds when a child simulator is dropped into the pool.

After you decide which pool alarm you need, performing regular tests of the alarm’s effectiveness will ensure that your alarm continues to function properly over time.

Finally and most importantly, no swimming pool alarm is totally infallible no matter how many technologies and features it has and no matter what claims are made by the manufacturer. Pool alarms should be considered as one of many layers of protection in the effort to halt children from drowning, along with protective barriers, door alarms, and safety pool covers.

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety, Uncategorized

Considering a Safety Pool Cover?

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An alarming statistic shows that drowning is the second leading cause of death for children 1-14 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and an extensive study performed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that “75 percent of the children involved in swimming pool submersion or drowning accidents were between 1 and 3 years old.”

It is no surprise that The American Society for Testing and Materials [ASTM] F1346-91 (1996) standard requires that a pool cover hold a minimum of 485 pounds per five square feet to qualify as a safety pool cover.

One of the most crucial safety devices any swimming pool owner should have, though, is a Safety Pool Cover.  Please note that solar pool covers and winter pool covers are not safety covers.

Safety pool covers usually come in two varieties:  Mesh & Solid.   Both types of safety covers are anchored to a deck with straps that pull the cover taut over the pool; the straps usually attach to stainless steel springs and are anchored to recessed brackets in a deck surface.

Mesh safety pool covers are designed for long-term use, such as when closing a pool for winter. Mesh safety pool covers require little maintenance because debris that lands on them blows off the top, and rain and snow drain through the mesh panels; however, with the screen-like material of mesh, some silt and dirt may get through the webbing. On the other hand, because puddles cannot accumulate on the surface, having a mesh-style safety pool cover eliminates the risk of toddlers or pets unexpectedly coming in contact with shallow water.

Solid safety pool coverswork similarly to mesh covers in that they can be secured to a deck by anchors. Solid safety pool covers may not be best for use in areas that receive heavy rain or snowfall. Unlike mesh covers that allow water to drain through the cover, precipitation can accumulate on a solid cover, creating a puddle of water over the pool. The collected water may tend to sag the cover and present a hazard to any small children or pets who, if unsupervised, wander onto to pool cover. To combat this problem, some manufacturers incorporate drain panels into solid vinyl covers.

Safety Pool Covers

Safety Pool Covers

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety

What is a Safety Pool Cover?

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Safety-Pool-Cover-Custom-Blue-Small

Safety pool covers are one of the most important safety features that every backyard swimming pool should have.  Homeowners may already own a solar pool cover and/or a winter pool cover, but these types of pool covers are not safety pool covers and should not be used as such.  A pool cover must be able to support a minimum of 485 pounds per 5 square feet before it can be considered a safety pool cover, according to the American Society for Testing and Materials’ (ASTM) F1346-91 standard.

Two choices for safety pool covers include mesh covers and solid material covers.  Both varieties of cover are anchored to a pool’s deck with straps that pull the cover tight over the pool.  The straps attach to stainless steel springs and are anchored to recessed brackets in the pool deck’s surface.

Mesh safety pool covers require very little upkeep because debris that may fall on the covers usually blows off the top, and rain and snow drain through the mesh panels; however, because mesh is a screen-like material, some dirt may penetrate the webbing. Alternatively, having a mesh-style safety pool cover prevents the danger of small children or pets coming in contact with shallow water because puddles cannot form on the surface.

Solid safety pool covers are similar to mesh covers in that they can be secured to a pool’s deck by anchors. The difference is that solid safety pool covers may not be most suitable for pools in areas that get heavy rain or snowfall. Precipitation can accumulate on a solid cover which creates a puddle of water over the pool. The puddles of water may weigh the pool cover down enough to create a sag.  Even a small puddle of water can be a danger to small children or pets who, if unsupervised, wander onto the pool cover. To reduce this potential problem, some manufacturers of solid safety pool covers include drain panels in the covers.  If no drain panels are present, a small cover pump that automatically pumps water off the cover as soon as it is detected may also be used.