prospectpoolsllc.com Blog

As we approach the beginning of the swimming pool season I have been contemplating on what I should wright about this year in the blog that was not already covered. Dare I repeat myself? Well, safety from injury or worse is always worth more than one mention in my mind so I will give a few pointers as May is National Water Safety Month.

Perhaps you have not even begun to think about the swimming pool yet as the Northeast weather has been rather cold and rainy in April but as a Yankee surely you know weather in New England and the east in general can turn on a dime and we could have a heat wave upon us before we know it. Rather than waiting till the last minute to check your swimming pool for what preparations you may need to complete before the opening let’s go over a few items that can increase your safety and reduce cost and aggravation in the long run.

I have already received many phone calls on winter damage to swimming pools in our area; some for in the ground pools but the majority seem to come from the above ground pool owners who have had damage caused by the harsh winter of 2011. This brings me to talk about the structural integrity of the pool itself. If your pool has sustained damage to the wall of the pool itself such as kinks, crinkles and yes even holes caused by the weight of the winter snow you want to hire a professional to look at the pool to see if it is salvageable. I had a customer send pictures where his skimmer was torn off the pool wall not only leaving a hole from the skimmer but a good amount of the wall itself surrounding the area was gone as well. I was asked if we could weld or somehow put a piece of metal to cover the hole and then recut the skimmer hole. I advised him I did not think that this was a structurally sound fix and thought it to be dangerous and that he increases his liability by doing this. The reason is if the pool wall is now weakened that could increase the chance of the pool collapsing and no one wants this to happen when there are swimmers in the pool where injuries can occur.

Another safety check prior to your pool opening is your heater. Now is a good time to make sure there are no gas leaks, valves that may need to be changed or electrical issues. Heaters are one thing I tell our customers that are not a do it yourself project. Most states require licensing to work on gas lines and valves and most manufacturers require a service technician to make repairs to the heater itself. For your safety and others remember if you smell gas remove yourself from the area and call your gas company immediately. When working with electricity, I will advise you use a licensed electrician, it only takes a small amount of power to kill you and when working on outside equipment by a body of water the risks to your safety increase considerably. Also make sure that your outside outlets are GFCI (Ground Fault Protected) so if there is a surge the power supply is cut off. I cannot tell you how many people I have spoken to who have purchased those blow up pools and just plugged the pump into an extension cord or unprotected receptacle leaving your swimmers vulnerable to electrocution.

When you do open the pool make sure your safety grates on your main drains are compliant with the new safety laws and that low suction lines also have a compliant safety grate on them. Your skimmers should have covers and in some states a Safety Vacuum Release System (SVRS) should be installed. This system shuts off the pump immediately should any suction line become blocked releasing the blockage immediately. Of course proper fencing, pool alarms, self-locking gates and properly working equipment increase your feeling of a safe, fun environment for you and your family. These layers of protection are just a few things to be diligent about when you are a swimming pool owner. In addition to the previous mentioned I would like to stress that pool safety should be a subject discussed with your children before each season and during. Discussing the “rules around the pool”, what to do should an emergency arise, and having a family member know CPR helps everyone to remain confident that they can have a fun safe swimming season.

Of course these are just a few of the things we can do to keep our safety at the forefront of the summer season. There are many more and these can be found at the ASPI website found below.
Lastly, let’s try to remember to always supervise our children when they are swimming, just because they can touch the bottom does not mean they will be ok if an emergency arises. Keep your attention on your swimmers; it only takes a few seconds of distraction on the phone or elsewhere for a young child to get into trouble. This is true whether you own a swimming pool, swim in the ocean or lake or go to a water park. This also means that lifeguards are not your personal babysitters, so please do not just drop off or leave your child unattended.

My purpose here was to bring to the forefront some issues to attend to before the summer busy season begins. By doing some preparation work ahead of time you will be ready to have months of summer fun knowing you have done your safety checks and are aware of what issues need continued diligence to keep your swimmers safe. Please go check out the ASPI website for more safety tips at http://www.apsp.org/Public/Programs-Events/WaterSafetyMonth/index.cfm For more information on safety equipment visit our website at www.prospectpoolsllc.com, or visit our store. Your comments are always welcome.