Pool Safety Guidelines

It is important that your backyard paradise is not only a fun-filled spot, but a safe one as well. By learning and adhering to a few simple safety standards, you’ll help ensure an enjoyable pool experience for you, your family, and your friends.

Provide Proper Supervision for Children and Adults

Whenever children are in or near water, competent adult supervision should always be on hand. Water is quite a draw to small children, so adults should be watchful at all times around any water element.

• Never assume that flotation devices will suffice — there is no substitute for constant adult supervision.
• Even a child that has participated in swimming lessons needs adult supervision.
• If you must leave the pool area, take your children with you or assign another adult with the responsibility.
• No one — at any age — should swim alone.

An excellent website for children, one that focuses on water safety, is www.SplashZoneUSA.com.

Know How to Swim

Always ask a potential user, "Can you/your child swim?" Never presume! Swimming lessons are the best way to bolster safety around your swimming pool and build confidence in your swimmers.

Local health clubs, community health organizations, the American Red Cross, and the YMCA, are all great resources for swimming classes and swimming pool safety.

For help finding a certified swim instructor in your area, connect to www.clubswim.com, or consult your phone book.

Install Proper Signage

Area and warning signs may be obtained from and installed by your pool professional. It is important to permanently display safety rules and review all rules with all of your guests prior to allowing them to enter your pool. Adherence to the rules and safety warnings will help ensure that everyone using your pool will use it safely. If you do not have safety signage and warning labels, your pool professional can assist you in acquiring the appropriate signage to go along with your pool.

Layers of Protection

The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals endorses a concept known as "Layers of Protection." It involves equipping the pool or spa area with several safety devices in order to delay unsupervised access or warn of a child’s or person’s presence. Such equipment includes pool alarms, safety fencing, pool covers, and drain covers.

Take Care When Entering Any Body of Water

When entering any body of water, particularly one you or your guests are unfamiliar with, proceed with caution. The American Red Cross recommends that you always enter FEET FIRST!

For the pool owner, consult with your pool professional to determine applicable safety standards for diving in your pool. You must know the depth of the water as well as the configuration and slope of the bottom before allowing anyone to dive. If there is any doubt, do not allow your guests to dive or slide head first.

Avoid Drugs and Alcohol

When you gather around the pool or any body of water, don’t add anything to the mix that might impair reaction time or decision-making ability — such as alcohol and/or drugs. Anything that can cause sleepiness, drowsiness, raise or lower blood pressure, or impair thinking should be avoided when you plan to be in or around any body of water. Even a small amount of alcohol or drugs can affect a person’s judgment and increase the risk of injury around water.

Rely on the Pool Industry Professionals

The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) represents companies and individuals in the swimming pool industry and is committed to safe, healthful, and enjoyable use of pool industry products.

The APSP provides a variety of useful tools for pool professionals and consumers, including web sites that promote pool fun and safety. Those sites include www.HotTubLiving.com and www.PoolPeopleUSA.com. Each website has a wealth of information, including a number of printable materials to encourage safety.

Investigate Local Laws

Consult your city, county, or state codes or regulations for building, design, and safety requirements that will mandate some modification to your pool. Contact your local pool professional to ensure you are complying with all necessary safety standards.

The APSP states that the following devices are some options for protecting children and preventing accidents:

Pool Alarms

Pool alarms can be used in a number of ways, and many affordable options are available. Placed on a gate, a pool alarm can alert you to unauthorized access to the pool area; a perimeter alarm can be placed along the inside of pool fencing and will detect motion; and a surface alarm can notify you of any movement in the water.

Safety Fencing

Fencing around the pool area is one of the best ways to limit access and protect small children and pets from water-related accidents. For maximum safety, the fence should be five feet tall, and objects that might allow a child to climb into the pool area should not be located near the fence. Fences should include gates that are self-closing and self-latching. A lock on the gate may also help prevent unauthorized access.

Pool Covers

Pool covers can do more than protect your pool from dirt, leaves, and other debris. Pool safety covers can effectively close your pool when it is not in use, helping to keep children out of the water. A safety cover should be able to bear the weight of two adults and a child in case of an emergency. Both manual and motor-operated pool covers are available and may come in solid waterproof materials or mesh nets.

Rope and Float Line

Place these across your pool to alert swimmers to the separation of the deep end from the shallow end of the pool.

Rescue Equipment

Equipment such as a life ring and shepherd’s hook should be placed near the pool in an easily accessible spot.

Posted Emergency Information

Post all CPR, other emergency information, and warning signs, as well as the emergency phone number — 911 — near the pool, spa, or hot tub.

Outside Telephone

Be sure you have a telephone in case you need to summon help.

Drain Covers

These can provide added security to a pool or spa, helping to protect children from entrapment. Anti-entrapment drain covers can help prevent hair, clothes, and other small objects from being tangled or trapped in the drain. Please be sure to check that drains and drain covers meet ASME/ANSI performance standards.

For More Information

Consumer awareness information is available from the following sources:

The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals (APSP)

2111 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, Tel. 703-838-0083, www.APSP.org

Copies of brochures are available free from The APSP at 1-800-323-3996. To request copies of the ANSI guidelines regarding pools, spas, equipment, and water chemistry, visit the APSP at www.apsp.org/135/index.aspx or the ANSI at www.webstore.ansi.org.

Safety Education Programs and Material

Educational programs and materials (i.e., seminars, workshops, brochures, videos, and instructional guides) are available from the APSP, other aquatic safety groups, and private firms. As a means of communicating useful safety information to pool owners/operators and users, industry members are permitted to provide such information to owners/operators and to request or require owners/operators to sign a statement that they have received, read, and will follow the guidelines.

Other Sources of Safety Information

www.cdc.gov

www.cpsc.gov

www.drowningpreventionalliance.com

www.safekids.org

www.righthealth.com

www.poolsafety.gov

PLEASE NOTE: The safety tips listed above are provided as a tool to help you, your family, and guests enjoy a safe water environment. They are not intended as an exclusive reference for those using a residential swimming area or as a substitute for professional advice. Please refer to a qualified pool expert regarding proper safety installation and operation of your pool or spa as well as safety measures and equipment.