Tag Archives: prevent drowning

Innovative Solutions, Pool and Spa Safety

Protect Your Pets and Other Critters From Accidental Drowning

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Protecting your children in your family pool is a given! Every parent knows the importance of protecting your loved ones, but have you considered protecting small creatures that may wander into your pool? Small animals such as cats, dogs, frogs, squirrels, and rodents can often find their way into your pool water. In the U.S. alone, over 50,000 family pets drown needlessly in swimming pools and walled lakes each year . This number does not even include non-pet drownings. There are tools available to help prevent this sad occurrence. In addition to the humane act of sparing the small animals’ lives, you minimize bacteria from animal waste because they will be safe and sound on your pool deck instead of being trapped in your pool skimmer. The Pool Critter Escape Ramp is a floating ramp with a weighted pillow that sits on your pool deck. When small animals fall into your water, they will instinctively swim to the sides of the pool looking for a way out. When they encounter the escape ramp, they can crawl out on their own. The Skamper-Ramp works in a similar way. It is constructed of blowmolded polyethylene that is both light and sturdy. It is also chemical and weather resistant to offer protection over many seasons! Both choices are affordable and almost effortless to install!

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety

Pool Alarms – Instant Alerts for Drowning Prevention

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Pool AlarmPool Alarm

Pool safety is extremely important. Any pool owner will be sure to tell you that they want to do whatever possible to ensure that they prevent drowning deaths and keep their pool as secure as possible. Other than monitoring your child at all times, the next best thing you can do to protect your open pool is installing a pool alarm. These alarms admit a piercing sound when a child or pet enters the water. It will alert you both at pool side and at a monitor inside your home. With this alarm, you can react in seconds instead of minutes, and when a child is accidentally immersed in a pool, those precious seconds can make all the difference.

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety, Pool Closing and Winterizing

Choosing A Pool Cover That Is Right For You

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 Pool Cover

Choosing a pool cover can be confusing. Below, you will find an explanation of the four different types of covers that pool owners’ normally consider. By comparing the explanation and benefit of each with your own person needs, you are sure to find the cover or covers that perfectly fit your situation.

Winter Pool Covers are mainly used to protect your pool from harsh winter conditions and to keep large debris out of your pool. A winter cover also block sunlight to prevent algae growth. They are normally solid and use air pillows to allow for water expansion in freezing weather and water tubes or weight bags to hold in place. They make opening your pool easier and less expensive in the Spring.

Safety Covers are used for maintenance as well as to protect children and pets from accidental drowning in a pool closed for the season. A proper safety cover is securely anchored into the deck area surrounding the pool and lies flat so there are no gaps between the pool and the cover. They are available in mesh and solid materials. Because they are stretched tight across the pool’s surface, water does not pool on top. These covers are very important if you have children or pets.

Solar Covers, or solar blankets, are designed exclusively to help heat and retain heat in your pool. They can be used to raise your pool’s temperature by an average of 10-15 degrees. They also reduce heat and chemical evaporation by up to 70%.

Mesh covers, known as leaf nets, are made of an open weave material that fits over your winter cover or solar cover and helps you avoid accumulations of wet, heavy, saturated leaves and twigs on top of your winter cover. These nets ensure a quicker removal of leaves and helps prolong the life of your winter or solar cover. They are perfect for pool areas that are surrounded by trees. They make removal of your winter cover much easier in the spring.

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety

Safety Covers Keep Children and Pets Safe

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Safety Cover

 I want to share some rather startling statistics regarding children and pool safety. According to the CDC, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children 1-14 years old. Additionally, the Consumer Product Safety Commission found that 75 percent of the children involved in swimming pool submersion or drowning accidents were between 1 and 3 years old. Owning a pool is a great privilege, but also a huge responsibility. In addition to securing your pool with a fence and installing pool alarms, pool safety covers are the perfect way to keep children and animals from accidental drowning. In order for a cover to be considered a “safety” cover, it must be able to hold a minimum of 485 pounds per five square feet. Since this is much more than the weight of even an average adult, you can be assured that any children or animals that might accidently enter your pool area will be safely supported. Safety covers come in two forms: solid and mesh. Both types of safety covers are anchored to a deck with straps that pull the cover taut over the pool. The straps are usually attached to springs and are anchored to recessed brackets in a deck surface. This gives the cover the necessary tension and strength to support huge amounts of weight. It is important to note that only covers that are designated “safety” covers are designed for this purpose. Solar covers, winter covers, and leaf nets will not aid in drowning prevention. Safety covers are an investment in your family’s protection.

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.