If a cover is not marketed as a Safety Cover it definitely isn't one! Safety Covers are designed with the express purpose of preventing drowning tragedies

Some other types of pool covers are safe enough in general terms, but a danger lies in the fact that the cover may not be securely fixed to the coping and a child or pet could get UNDER the cover and drown. You cannot see the whole of the pool when the cover is in place

Automatic Pool Covers

A child could operate the controls of an automatic cover and open it just a little to have a ‘crafty swim’

He or she might swim under the cover and drown, or another person might close the cover, inadvertently trapping the child underneath

Ensure that the controls to Auto covers are well out of reach of children

Floating Pool Covers

Floating Pool Covers are potentially dangerous, because an adult, child or pet who falls onto such a cover could roll off and under the cover

The cover would then reform over the child and seal to the surface of the pool and drowning is very likely

Train your family -  if this happens to them they must swim to the wall of the pool and pull the cover away to reach the air

Don't neglect to do this because it might just prevent a tragedy and the life you save may be that of your child

Winter Pool Covers

Winter Pool Covers are usually strong enough for a child or a pet to walk across but this should be strongly discouraged

Nothing lasts forever - including pool covers - and an old, weakened cover could split under the weight of a child, plunging the child into the water where he or she would be invisible

A child would have almost no chance of escaping this situation and would drown within a couple of minutes

In any of the above scenarios the child is not visible to the parent and a tragedy could happen all too easily

Safety Covers

If, however, a cover is marketed as a Safety Cover, has been installed correctly and the Manufacturers 'Owners Instructions for Use' are complied with - it will present none of the dangers outlined above

Such a cover will have been made to stringent criteria covering strength of the materials used, UV stability, maximum size of an object that can get through the mesh of the cover, etc.

A Safety Cover may be a little more expensive than other covers but they generally last a lot longer and, anyway, what price peace of mind?

We supply all plant and equipment featured on this website. All our work is Guaranteed; Parts and Labour

For free and unbiased advice, a site visit or no-obligation Quotation*, please make initial enquiries by email. Tell us a little about your pool problem and include a daytime phone number. Thanks, we look forward to meeting you soon

Note: - Please contact our recommended pool professionals for supply and installation of all pool-related services: - 

Andalusia and the Costa del Sol - Pool Safety Spain

Nerja area - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*We only offer Quotations: - a fixed, agreed price that cannot, and will not, be increased. We do not give 'estimates', as an estimate offers the client no guarantee of final price

Share this website with other Pool Owners and Users,  encourage them to read about Pool Safety, learn CPR and help them to save lives, time and money. Please help us to make every pool a safer place - by sharing this information we can cut the number of pool accidents and deaths.  Please also see our Facebook page

Ken Walker - MyPoolGuru©

What type of Safety Protection?

Any form of Safety Device is better than none - but some are better than others

Pool Alarms come in all shapes and sizes from Infra-Red or Laser-activated sirens to Mercury Switch ripple detectors and tremblor alarms on pool fences and safety nets.  Pool alarms can give a false sense of security, as the child is already close to - or is already in - the pool when the alarm sounds

Many pool alarms also go off when a dog breaks the Infra-Red beams, or swifts and swallows swoop down to drink from your pool, or when the surface is rippled in strong winds

Do you remember the cautionary tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf? An oversensitive alarm can sound several times a day - eventually a parent could loses confidence in the alarm and either deactivate it or be less alert when it goes off in a genuine emergency

Floating Pool Alarms

- this type ofl alarm sounds when the surface of the water is disturbed by, for example, a child falling into the water

It will also sound when an object large enough to make a wave falls into the pool, such as a ball. The alarm alerts the parents to the fact and they can rush to see what the problem is

There are many types of 'ripple' alarms; those that are triggered by a disturbance of the pools' surface

They are an inexpensive form of alarm; as with so many things in life, largely you get what you pay for

We supply all plant and equipment featured on this website. All our work is Guaranteed; Parts and Labour

For free and unbiased advice, a site visit or no-obligation Quotation*, please make initial enquiries by email. Tell us a little about your pool problem and include a daytime phone number. Thanks, we look forward to meeting you soon

Note: - Please contact our recommended pool professionals for supply and installation of all pool-related services: - 

Andalusia and the Costa del Sol - Pool Safety Spain

Nerja area - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*We only offer Quotations: - a fixed, agreed price that cannot, and will not, be increased. We do not give 'estimates', as an estimate offers the client no guarantee of final price

Share this website with other Pool Owners and Users,  encourage them to read about Pool Safety, learn CPR and help them to save lives, time and money. Please help us to make every pool a safer place - by sharing this information we can cut the number of pool accidents and deaths.  Please also see our Facebook page

Ken Walker - MyPoolGuru©

- are vital for getting in and out of the water safely and yet are also one of the most dangerous areas of the pool

Over 80% of falls occur on or near the ladders and steps as swimmers are getting into or out of the water

Ladders must be firmly secure; cement and tiled steps must be non-slip and free from obstructions

Asymmetric ladder steps (one handrail higher than the other) are much safer than symmetric steps as they prevent kids from swinging on them

One far-too-common pool accident is when a child (or adult) swings on the top of the handrails of symmetric steps and loses their grip because they have wet hands.

If they are on the 'back-swing:- they probably just fall off and bruise their knees and pride but, if they are on the 'forward' swing, they fall into the pool and the back of the head impacts on the pool coping with potentially fatal results

Another excellent safety innovation is the double-width top step (just about visible in the picture above) which prevents bathers’ legs from being trapped between the steps and the wall of the pool

Ladders can easily, and inexpensively, be retro-fitted to any pool

Tiled Pool Steps

It is very important that tiled step 'treads' are laid with non-slip tiles

Over 80% of all 'pool-fall accidents and fatalities' happen at the steps, when swimmers are entering or leaving the pool.

Steps get a lot of use from anyone who uses a pool - and not just for getting in and out of the water. 

Steps are the best place for the swim-supervisor to sit and relax; where they can be as close as possible to the kids they're watching out for

Steps also provide different depths of water so that kids of all ages can play safely, thus building their pool-confidence and water skills

Steps must have rounded 'noses'; falling onto rounded steps is a far less painful experience (if and when a person DOES slip)

Additionally, the edge of each step should be marked with a contrasting line of tiles, or a non-slip stripe in a painted pool. This allows a bather to see where the steps are and further reduces the possibility of a painful accident

Steps can be retro-fitted to most pools, either by draining the pool and physically building steps or by installing any of the several add-on modular models now available

Handrails

A handrail helps swimmers to get into, and especially out of, the pool by giving them a firm handhold to grip

These are particularly helpful accessories for elderly swimmers; and we're pretty much all hoping to be elderly swimmers one day - so we might as well install a handrail sooner rather than later, get the benefit of having this useful item and reduce the chances of falling when entering or exiting the pool

One point to remember about ladder steps and handrails is that they can get really hot in the sun - far too hot to get a firm grip.  Have a small, wet towel nearby, ready to cool the handrail if necessary. Just drape the towel over the hot metal for a few moments and the problem is solved, if only temporarily. A soaked oven glove, tied to the handrail, can also be used to protect hands from the heat

Some models of handrails are available with a rubber sleeve that provides some insulation

We supply all plant and equipment featured on this website. All our work is Guaranteed; Parts and Labour

For free and unbiased advice, a site visit or no-obligation Quotation*, please make initial enquiries by email. Tell us a little about your pool problem and include a daytime phone number. Thanks, we look forward to meeting you soon

Note: - Please contact our recommended pool professionals for supply and installation of all pool-related services: - 

Andalusia and the Costa del Sol - Pool Safety Spain

Nerja area - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Both companies offer years of experience, free unbiased advice and excellent, professional service.

*We only offer Quotations: - a fixed, agreed price that cannot, and will not, be increased. We do not give 'estimates', as an estimate offers the client no guarantee of final price

Share this website with other Pool Owners and Users,  encourage them to read about Pool Safety, learn CPR and help them to save lives, time and money. Please help us to make every pool a safer place - by sharing this information we can cut the number of pool accidents and deaths.  Please also see our Facebook page

Ken Walker - MyPoolGuru©