A swimming pool should be a fun, happy place.
Unfortunately, accidents around swimming pools are common. That doesn’t mean swimming pools are inherently dangerous, or you can’t have a good time swimming.
What it means is that you need to follow essential safety procedures and keep your eyes and ears open when you’re around the pool, even if you’re having fun.
Here are the most important things you need to know to keep people safe.
1. Control Access to the Pool
You can’t protect people if you’re not around.
Installing a fence with a gate around the pool is the best way to control access and prevent neighbors, strangers, or unattended children from accessing the pool area.
Aside from giving you peace of mind, in some areas, installing a fence can provide legal protection if someone has an accident while using your pool while you’re not around.
2. Supervise Children and Use the Buddy System
Young children should never be left alone around the pool, no matter how skilled at swimming or well-behaved they are.
Adults should avoid being alone in the pool, too. Any kind of medical event, including unforeseen ones like heart attacks, can be deadly in a pool.
The best idea is to use the buddy system and make sure there is always someone swimming with you. If that’s impossible, someone should at least be aware that you’re in the pool.
3. Teach Responsible Safety Procedures
Both kids and adults sometimes forget simple safety procedures around the pool.
Running on wet tile or diving headfirst into a shallow area of the pool can be dangerous. No one likes to be a nag, but insisting that everyone in the pool area follow these simple rules is worth it and can help you avoid a trip to the hospital.
4. Don’t Trust Swimming Ability
Accidents happen in pools regardless of your swimming ability.
If someone is a good swimmer, it means they can keep themselves afloat – but that’s all.
Good swimmers can accidentally hit their heads, get dizzy, or get a cramp. Sometimes good swimmers are overconfident and don’t appreciate the dangers of being in the water.
5. Be Ready with A Safety Kit
Even if you do everything right, accidents happen.
Having a first-aid kit on hand by the pool is a must, to treat minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Add to that a good pair of scissors or medical shears to cut through shirts, rope, or hair that could get caught.
Most of all, make sure that whenever people are swimming someone has a phone ready to call emergency services if necessary.
Get Help From the Pool Safety Experts
Reach out to Scott Payne Custom Pools for safe and beautiful custom pools in Pennsylvania. If you already have a pool, we can help you with your pool fence installation in Pennsylvania to keep it secure and continue with your pool-filled fun.
