May is National Water Safety Month: Brush Up On These Pool Safety Tips

It is no coincidence that May is National Water Safety Month.

May is also the unofficial start of summer with Memorial Day and the end of the school year. This means that soon your pool is going to see a lot of action.

If you haven’t done so already, you should clean your pool’s water as well as get it prepped and ready to use. After all, who wants to be ready for a relaxing swim when your pool’s water is murky and smelly?

National Water Safety Month is a great time to brush up on pool safety tips.

Here are some pool water safety tips to get your pool into perfect swimming condition:

Check the Pool’s Electrical Flow

There have been fatal accidents where swimmers were electrocuted while swimming because of bad or incorrect wiring, grounding or bonding or an absence of a GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter).  Dangerous electrical currents can flow through the water or through metal fixtures such as handrails, ladders and underwater pool lights.

Before you fill your pool check the wiring and electrical components to make sure they are safe and working properly. Look especially at the pool pump, heater, lights, diving board and handrails. It is suggested that you switch from 120-volt pool lights to 12 volts that run through a pool light transformer. If you’re not sure how to do this, contact a professional.

Pool Chemicals

Chemicals clean your pool’s water, making sure it is safe and enjoyable to swim in. Too little or too much chemicals or improperly mixing chemicals can make for an unpleasant swimming experience and can cause damage to your pool.

Here are some pool chemical safety tips to try:

Follow the instructions and apply only the required amount of chemicals. Too much chlorine, for example can sting eyes and make skin dry. Too little chlorine will enable germs and bacteria in the water to thrive.

Stay out of the pool just after it has been shocked and before the pH and alkaline levels have been read.

Securely store pool chemicals away from children and pets. Chemicals are very dangerous in their undiluted form.

Practice safe and proper chemical handling. Wear protective clothing, mix chemicals outside in a well-ventilated space, wear gloves and avoid splashing chemicals when mixing them.

Avoid mixing Incompatible pool chemicals. Fires, explosions and dangerous emission of chlorine gas can result when mixing pool chemicals that should not be mixed. Read and follow the warnings on chemical packaging about mixing incompatible chemicals.

Pool Signs

You may think pool safety signs are only required for public pools and your private pool in your backyard doesn’t need signage. Technically, you’re correct in that you’re not required to post safety signs around your backyard pool. Accidents, however, happen in both public and private pools. It is highly recommended that you post basic safety signs around your private pool, especially if there are children around. While it is the responsibility of parents to watch their kids, you, as the pool owner also have the responsibility of ensuring pool safety.

You don’t need hundreds of safety signs around your pool, just the ones that would be most beneficial to your guests and the ones you want to most emphasize.

There are a variety of pool signs available in different shapes, sizes and colors. There are also serious, matter-of-fact ones as well as humorous ones. Many pool owners like getting unique pool safety signs that best capture their style and personality.

Pool Safety

Pools are great sources of fun entertainment and low-impact exercise, but pool safety should always be observed and enforced. While the most common risks are drownings, accidents can happen both inside the pool and outside the pool. Here are some of the causes and mistakes that are made that compromise pool safety:

• -Lack of Swimming Knowledge and Ability

• -Lack of Barriers

• -Lack of Supervision

• -Lack of Life Jacket

• -Lack of Drain Covers

• -Excessive Drinking

• -Lack of or Improper Mixing of Pool Chemicals

• -Lack of Safety Signage

• -Improper or Inadequate Pool Safety for Pets

National Pool Safety Month is a great time to adequately prepare your pool for a fun and safe summer of swimming.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our products, contact one of the specialists at Sunplay today.