Here in Trinity, swimming pools are a wonderful source of fun and enjoyment, but we can't ignore the fact that injuries and even fatalities occur in and around swimming pools every year.
Nothing is more important than pool safety!
During the design phase of a swimming pool, many homeowners are so focused on the shape, colors, and amenities of the pool they completely forget safety considerations. That's unfortunate because a lot can be done in the swimming pool design phase to make a pool safer.
10 Swimming Pool Safety Tips for Trinity Swimming Pools
1) Eliminate visual obstructions. Children should always be supervised by an adult when they are near a pool area. Therefore, design your pool so it doesn't have visual obstructions that might prevent adults from seeing the entire pool. Think about the placement pillars and planters in relation to seating areas where adults are likely to gather.
2) Minimize walking hazards. When designing your pool, avoid placing large planters, stones, and other hard features right next to pathways and decks where people will be walking. People can easily bump or fall into them causing an injury. Use bushes and plants as a safety buffer.
3) Light it up. Design your outdoor living space to include good lighting for when you swim or entertain at night.
4) Diving boards and slides are lots of fun, but they are dangerous, particularly in residential pools which tend to be shallower and smaller, making them closer to the edges of the pool. Diving boards also increase insurance costs, so carefully consider the cost and risk you would be taking on before deciding whether to include a diving board or slide.
5) Step tiles. If your swimming pool design includes steps, at a minimum make sure small tiles are installed on them to help swimmers see the steps and judge their depth. For added safety, tiles can be installed along the entire edge of each step. (This look makes your tile really pop!)
6) Screen enclosure. Add a screen enclosure to around your swimming pool to prevent children from the neighborhood or playing in the back yard from accidentally (or intentionally) falling in the pool.
7) Security fence. While a screen enclosure may be enough to keep children in the neighborhood from accidentally wandering into your pool (as long as its locked), if you have young children at home or you have guests with small children, a security fence with child-proof latches is absolutely essential.
8) Alarms. For added safety, consider a gate alarm on the security fence. You might also consider a wave alarm on the pool which will sound when someone enters the water.
9) Visual cues on or near steps. If you design your outdoor living space around the pool to include any changes in elevation such as a lower seating area or raised kitchen area, include visual cues so guests don’t trip or fall off the steps.
10) Work with a seasoned pool designer with decades of experience creating safe pools. While reading these safety tips, at any point did you find yourself thinking, "Great idea! I hadn't thought of that?" Every pool is unique and there's no way to list every possible safety issue to consider, so make sure your Trinity pool builder has an excellent track record for safety.
We at Grand Vista Pools have been designing safe pools for decades, Tampa swimming pool construction to Tarpon Springs pool remodeling. If you’re considering building or renovating a pool, contact us today!
