Safe Fun In Pools and Spas
In December, 2008, a federal law was passed that mandated commercial pools and spas must upgrade their drains and pumps to prevent death and injury from drain entrapment.
Private pool owners are not required to do this. BUT, for the safety of any of your pool/spa users, especially children, the following actions are recommended:
Speak to a pool/spa maintenance professional about your pool system.
What You Need to Know:
In 2003, 285 children died from accidental drowning in a swimming pool. Every year, thousands more are treated in emergency rooms for near-drownings.
Most young children who drown in swimming pools were last seen in the home, had been missing from sight for less than five minutes and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning.
Two-thirds of parents have little or no awareness of the risk of entrapment!
One of the most horrific ways for a child to be injured or killed in a pool or hot tub is entrapment.
Entrapment occurs when part of a child’s body becomes attached to a drain because of the powerful suction of a pool or hot tub’s filtration system.
It also can occur when a child’s hair or swimsuit gets tangled in the drain or on an underwater object, such as a ladder.
Don’t be one of the 66 percent of parents who have little or no awareness about entrapment risks. Find out how to protect your children in pools and hot tubs.
What You Can Do
POOL AND HOT TUB SAFETY TIPS
Preventing Entrapment:
Warn your children about the dangers of drain entanglement and entrapment, and teach them to stay away from the drain.
Install protection to prevent entrapment if you own a pool or hot tub. For new pools or hot tubs, install multiple drains or use a no-drain circulation system. If you do have drains, protective measures include anti-entrapment drain covers and a safety vacuum release system to automatically release suction and shut down the pump should entrapment occur.
Preventing General Drowning:
Actively supervise your children around water, and have a phone nearby to call for help in an emergency.
Make sure your pool has four-sided fencing and a self-closing, self-latching gate, to prevent a child from wandering into the pool area unsupervised. In addition, hot tubs should be covered and locked when not in use.
Install a door alarm, a window alarm or both to alert you if a child wanders into the pool area unsupervised.
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