Experts' Advice on Safety Products
By Bob Calandra
Creating a safe pool environment for family, friends and pets is not that difficult. Short of hiring a lifeguard, it takes just a little forethought and a small financial investment to obtain peace of mind and better ensure an incident-free pool environment.
Unfortunately, there is no single safety device to prevent all backyard pool and spa accidents. That's why most experts, including the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, recommend several layers of protection.
This is especially important if your household includes the most vulnerable to pool mishaps—small children and pets.
"Watching kids is a challenge," says Bob Lyons, Ph.D., president of Terrapin Communications, Inc., of Ottawa, Ontario. "The smaller ones can escape supervision in a blink."
Sounds for Security
That's why Lyons invented the Safety Turtle, an alarm system with a wireless base station and a watch-like band that goes around a child's wrist or can be adapted to fit around a dog's neck, like a collar. The wristband is an immersion alarm that activates the moment it hits the water, sounding at the base station, which can be poolside, inside the home or even attached to a home's alarm system.
"When people first take young children into the water you have a gauntlet to run until the kids become swimmers and respect the water," says Lyons. That gauntlet is where the Safety Turtle comes into play. It is like a seatbelt: you put it on a child or pet and they can't take it off. It completes the fortification of the pool."
Lyons, a former satellite and communications engineer, recently introduced the Safety Turtle Gate Alarm, which can support several wristband alarms and can also be taken on vacation and used at a lake or river.
Other types of poolside alarms include:
Gate alarms, which are typically mounted on a gate door with magnetic switches; they activate when the door is opened, causing a break in the electrical field on the latch. Most have a pass button that allows adults to enter without sounding the alarm; the alarms then automatically reset. Even with gate alarms, it's still important to have self-latching gates, with the latch positioned well above the reach of children.
In-pool alarms can be freefloating or attached to pool walls. Some activate by detecting wave motion on the surface or movement in the water; others provide electronic surveillance and sound when an intruder enters the pool area.
Door and window alarms, installed to protect a home from intruders, work when a small child tries to open a door or low-lying window leading to the pool area.
Fencing Finesse
A fence surrounding the pool area is the most basic form of accident prevention—and typically required by most municipal governments. In some areas, the fence must surround an entire property with a backyard pool; in others, only the pool itself must be enclosed.
Either way, a fence should completely surround the pool—meaning the house itself should not be considered as one "wall."
To be considered a safety fence, it must be at least 48 inches high and cannot have openings wider than 4 inches. Vertical slats are best to prevent climbing, but plastic inserts can be installed on chain-link and other "climbable" fences to prevent children and others from scaling them.
A 5-foot fence is even better, says Tom Griffiths, Ed.D., a noted pool safety expert who directs the Aquatic Facility and Safety Office for Athletics at Pennsylvania State University.
"The fence should have a properly maintained, self-closing, self-latching gate that is difficult for a child to manipulate," he says. "A lot of safety problems go away when you have those. If you have the money to install a pool, you owe it to yourself to buy those items."
Barrier fencing differs from fencing used to enclose a backyard. This type is usually made of mesh or other finely transparent materials for strength, but allows for an unimpeded visual of the pool from inside the home. Unlike other fencing materials, it prevents children from being able to get a foot-hold for climbing.
Invisible fencing, best known for corralling pets on a property, can also be used to safeguard a pool area. These battery-operated fences feature both movement and heat-sensitive sensors that activate when a boundary is crossed.
Cover Those Concerns
A safety cover is another important layer of protection. These impenetrable barriers are made of thick vinyl and secured to the pool by tracks that run along the side. In order to qualify as a bona fide safety cover, it must meet specific standards by the ASTM International (American Society for Testing and Materials) and be able to support 485 pounds within a 3-foot diameter.
Safety covers, like every other type, should be removed completely when the pool is used. Automatic units are powered by a motor, operated with a key or electronic control, whereas less-expensive manual units must be physically pulled across the pool and retracted with a wrenching device.
Spa covers are equally important. They, too, can be manually secured and removed. For easier maneuverability, consider a cover lift device that makes the spa cover easier to handle. That's because even though a new spa cover weighs only about 25 pounds, over time the foam core can absorb water, making it weigh nearly 100 pounds.
Still, there is no pool safety product—or even a combination of several types that can replace the need for careful supervision.
"Water is attractive to everybody, whether they are six months old or 60 years," says Griffith. "On dry land, you have minutes to catch up with your kid. With a pool, you have only a few seconds. Active and aggressive supervision is required around water. Aquatic and water safety is always a case of miscommunication. The husband thinks the wife is watching, the wife thinks the husband is watching, and the parents think the grandparents are watching. Nobody stops and says, `Who is the designated watcher?'"