Swimming Pool Chemicals
If you own a swimming pool, you have to be aware of the safety aspects concerning that pool. There is no counter-argument, that is one of the legal responsibilities of an owner of a swimming pool . You are going to get visitors coming around who cannot swim; people who have eaten or drunken too much and should not swim; children and skinny-dipping teenage intruders and you have to supply a safe environment in which to swim for all or them or decline access.
The first area of swimming pool safety to tackle is the denial of access and the easiest way of doing this is the erection of a security fence. It will deny access to passing children, interlopers and people who came around to see you on the off-chance when you were not in.
There are thousands of drownings by misadventure in garden swimming pools each year – most of them are children and drunks, who would still be alive today, if the pool had been chained up.
If you have your own children who cannot swim, get them taught as soon as you can and drill some safety routines into them. For instance, they must never get in the pool without an adult overseeing them and they must always wear flotation devices, which means that you should always have flotation devices on hand.
You will need waist rings, arm bands and life jackets. Those for use in a swimming pool by children are not costly and can be inflatable. It is also a good idea to have some pieces of styrofoam floating about just in case someone gets tired unexpectedly.
Make certain that there is always a capable swimmer on hand who knows basic First Aid, especially artificial respiration with specific reference to drowning. In fact, why not take the whole family down to the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade and all obtain your life-savers certificate? The least you must have is a proper life belt – ocean-going – on a rope that is long enough to extend anywhere in your pool and tie off the loose end.
It might be possible to get away with not having a security fence, if you use an above ground swimming pool, but you will have to confirm with the local authorities on that one. You will also have to take away the access ladders when it is not in use. Forgetting to do so could equate to criminal negligence if anyone were to drown in your pool.
Swimming pool safety is first and foremost about saving lives but it is also about the peace of mind of the owner of the swimming pool. If someone were to drown in your pool and you knew that you had not done everything within your power to prevent it, you would almost certainly carry that burden of guilt with you for the remainder of your life, especially if it was a child and even more so if it was your child or the child of one of your guests.
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