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Summer memories can last a lifetime. With a few safeguards in place, swimming pool owners can ensure that the oasis of beauty, pleasure and relaxation in their yard brings only wonderful memories.
Whether homeowners plan to remain in the home for years or put it on the market, a pool can provide added value. For families with young children or grandchildren, however, barriers between the home and the pool can be the difference between considering the pool an asset or a liability.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, drowning remains the second-leading cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 to 4 nationwide. Drowning incidents in that age group typically occur in residential swimming pools. Studies have shown that for every child who drowns, three to eight additional children receive emergency department care for non-fatal submersion injuries, which can cause brain damage resulting in long-term disabilities. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance (www.drowningprevention.info) advises pool owners that layers of protection are the key to safe pool ownership. This concept recognizes that supervision alone is not the answer. Adult supervision of young children is vital, but a study released by Safe Kids USA showed that the majority of adults who lost a child to drowning said that a caregiver was supervising their child at the time of the incident.
The good news: drowning can be prevented. Pool owners should ensure they have multiple barriers in place to ensure the safety of young children living in or visiting the home.
Only an isolation fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate in good working order will prevent toddlers from getting into the water without an adult’s knowledge. Many studies both in the United States and Australia have shown conclusively that an isolation fence that separates the home from the pool can prevent 50 to 90 percent of all toddler drownings. Safeguards must also be in place to prevent neighborhood children from unauthorized entry into a pool area.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that the top of the fence should be at least 48 inches high, with the latch release mounted at least 54 inches above ground. Many states, cities and counties have separate barrier codes. Be sure to check with your local building department for requirements in your area.
Pedestrian access gates must open away from the pool, and must be self-closing and self-latching. The gate should have a locking mechanism, but self-locking latches are not recommended for residential use. Magnetically-triggered latches have been shown to offer the safest, most reliable operation, as they incur no mechanical resistance to closure.
Award-winning rust free gate latches and hinges that meet code specifications are now available through fencing contractors, home improvement, hardware and pool stores. The Magna-Latch manufactured by D&D Technologies (www.ddtechglobal.com) has been called by safety experts the number one child safety latch in the world. It features an extremely powerful magnet that ensures secure latching with no mechanical resistance. Both the longer “top-pull” style, which was designed to bring the latch release knob to the recommended 54 inch height when mounted on a 48 inch gate, and the shorter “vertical-pull,” designed for gates at least 5 feet high, are key-lockable. When used with D&D’s Tru-Close self-closing hinges, gates meet self-closing, self-latching pool code requirements.
Pool gates should be frequently inspected for alignment and tension adjustment, to make sure latches engage each time. No external spring is required with D&D Technologies’ hinges. Both hinges and latches are fully adjustable at any time after installation, an important added safety feature, as gates tend to settle and the latch mechanism may become misaligned over time.
Avoid inexpensive gravity latches, which easily rust and get out of alignment, rendering them ineffective. A few dollars saved up front are meaningless in comparison to your family’s safety and peace of mind.
If removable mesh fencing is used, make sure it includes a self-latching, self-closing gate. D&D Technologies’ products are also effective on mesh fencing applications. If there is no gate on the fence, many models require that you remove a section of the fence while the pool is in use, or have a section that swings open and must be manually closed. This type of configuration is hazardous, as a toddler might slip thorough the removed section when adults are distracted, or the section might not be immediately replaced after a swim session.
Never prop a gate open or allow others to do so, even if it would be more convenient to keep it open while doing yard work or entertaining.
An isolation fence should be the first line of defense, but other products can provide additional layers of protection. Always ensure that doors from the home are locked, alarmed, or fitted with a child-safety latching device. The child who gets out into the yard through an unlocked sliding glass door may have just figured out how to open it for the first time.
If the house forms one side of the barrier to the pool, then doors leading to the pool area should be protected with alarms that produce a loud sound when the door is unexpectedly opened, in addition to child-resistant latching devices.
Responsibilities of pool ownership include ensuring children in the home learn to swim, and that adults know CPR. Swimming lessons are an additional layer of protection, but arms-length adult supervision and barriers are still necessary. CPR and rescue breathing can make the difference between full recovery and brain damage or death.
A cordless telephone should be kept poolside at all times, so that adults never have to leave the area to answer the phone while children are swimming. For safety when children are in the pool, designate a “water watcher” to maintain eye-to-eye contact.
When not in use, keep toys and any objects that look like toys or animals out of the pool area. Never use air-filled swimming aids such as “water-wings” in place of life jackets for young children.
By: Orson Jackson
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