Designing Your Swimming Pool With Safety In Mind

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Designing Your Swimming Pool With Safety In Mind

When you think about it, there’s lots more to being safe around a pool than simply reminding swimmers not to run, and ensuring everyone wears sunscreen. If you’re a safety-conscious pool owner, and you have the luxury of being involved in the design of your swimming pool from the very beginning, there are plenty of things you can do to ensure that you and your fellow swimmers have a safe and enjoyable pool experience.

Surfaces

Consider the type of tiles or coping stones you’ll be using around the exterior of your pool. Remember that these will often be wet when the swimming pool is in use and people are getting in and out, so choose a specially designed non-slip surface. You could opt for a rubber surround, or choose tiles which are patterned or have a textured finish to reduce the risk of slipping. You can also have a slip-resistant finish on your pool floor and steps to improve the safety of your swimming pool.

Steps

If your pool is primarily for pleasure rather than serious swimming training, you could think about making the steps a feature of the design, by having wide integrated stairs, rather than a simple ladder at the side of the pool. These make entering and exiting easier, but do reduce the amount of space you’ll have for swimming at depth. Ensure that you install handrails, which can provide vital support for young children or anyone who might require a helping hand going up and down the steps.

Cover

Any kind of swimming pool which could potentially be accessed by unsupervised children or animals should ideally have a safety cover. These fully cover the pool so that no water is visible or accessible, and provide a stable surface which is strong enough to walk on. Safety covers can easily save lives, by removing the risk of drowning or other injury by anyone entering the pool either by accident or unsupervised.

Fence or surround

If your budget can’t quite stretch to a good quality safety cover, for an outdoor swimming pool the next best option is to install a fence or gated enclosure which is lockable and childproof. You could also consider alarming the fence gate, or even the perimeter of the pool, so you’ll know immediately if anyone, or anything, enters the pool area unauthorised.

Other safety equipment: It’s wise to ensure that you have basic lifesaving equipment near to your pool, whether or not you anticipate ever needing it. A life-ring and floats can make a huge difference to somebody experiencing difficulty in the water. Make sure that every person who uses your pool is water-confident, or is supervised by a capable adult, so that you can be sure you’re doing everything possible to make your swimming pool a safe environment.

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