Swim Safely with Swimming Pool Safety Tips

While enjoying a day at the pool can be fun, it can also be dangerous if swimming pool safety precautions aren’t taken. Swimming pool safety doesn’t mean putting an end to the fun. It simply means taking a few extra steps to ensure no one gets hurt. With pets and kids, and even adults, you can’t have your eye on everyone at every moment. It only takes a brief distraction for someone to slip and fall into the pool. In fact, one study by the Pool Safety Council showed that in the case of children, supervision failed in 69 percent of the drowning incidents. The following are some basic safety precautions to follow.

Swimming Pool Safety Checklist

• Pool Safety for Kids. Do not allow children who can’t swim in or around the pool. Children age four and older should learn basic flotation techniques or attend a certified swimming class. Children younger than four should be accompanied by an adult in the pool. Never allow a child to swim alone without constant adult supervision.
• Drowning Prevention. Enclose your pool area with high lockable fences, baby barrier fences and alarms. Do not leave the area open and accessible as children and pets can fall in.
• Pool Safety Inspections. Hire a professional to perform pool safety inspections—especially for drains, suction fittings and jets.

–  Keep your grates and covers current to help prevent the entrapment of body or hair.
–  Make sure your drain covers meet industry standards. Broken, missing or unsecure drain covers for pools, spas     or hot tubs should never be used until a replacement is installed.
–  Safety doors should be installed in all pool cleaner wall suction lines.
–  Ladders, steps, handrails, diving boards and slides should undergo pool safety inspections.

• Electrical Dangers. Work with a licensed electrician who is experienced with pool safety inspections to assess your equipment, ensuring it’s all properly grounded, bonded and up to code.
• Swimming Pool Safety Covers. Secure your swimming pool with a professional safety cover designed to protect your investment and your loved ones. Swimming pool safety covers are designed to protect against accidental intrusions and unwanted debris. Professional pool and spa companies offer a variety of pool cover options to meet your needs and fit your budget. When not in use, make sure the cover is completely lifted over the pool. Do not partially open the pool.
• Water Chemistry. Proper water chemistry begins with regular sanitization and chemical balancing. Your local pool professionals can ensure your pool, spa and hot tub water is properly balanced to swimming pool safety standards for your enjoyment and protection of your investment.
• Warning Signage. One of the best swimming pool safety tips to protect your family and guests is to make sure they’re aware of potential hazards. Be sure to display any signs provided by the manufacturer, builder or installer.
• Emergencies. Make sure there is always a life-saving flotation device near the pool.  It’s also a great idea to enroll in swimming pool safety, water safety, first aid and CPR courses to learn how to prevent and respond to emergencies.

Swimming is the most popular summer activity. The best thing you can do to help your family stay safe is to enroll in age-appropriate swim lessons. Once you’ve taken all these swimming pool safety tips into account, there’s nothing left to do but dive into the fun!