It’s advisable to keep your swimming pool, as well as any other bodies of water such as ponds and water features, covered to protect children.
Your swimming pool is probably the last thing on your long list of to-do’s this month. The looming colder weather in Gauteng is undoubtedly making you think of filling the gas bottle for the heater and buying a new pair of warm slippers.
However, unlike in Europe and the United States where snow, slippery ice and freezing temperatures force families indoors for months on end, the relatively mild weather in South Africa means that people still manage to spend some time outdoors and around the pool – albeit not in the water.
During the winter months, it’s so important then to ensure that your swimming pool and the areas surrounding it are as safe as can be – especially if you have children and/or pets.
Here’s a list of the ways you can make your pool safer this winter:
1) Educate your children – and yourself
This point simply can’t be stressed enough. All swimming pool owners must ensure that their children are properly educated when it comes to the dangers of a pool.
Needless to say, the best way to keep your children safe around the pool is to teach them how to swim.
Moreover, children need to be taught that the pool and surrounding areas can be hazardous if not treated with respect.
Children tend to copy adults, so set an example by not clowning around and behaving like a hooligan around the pool.
It is also vital that every adult in the home – including the domestic worker – knows CPR and that babysitters can swim properly.
Children should also be taught to call for help when they see another child in trouble in the water. By trying to help the victim in the water they put themselves at risk of drowning too.
2) Pack stuff away
Toys, inflatable accessories and pool cleaning equipment such as nets, brushes and poles must be packed away.
They create unnecessary clutter around the pool area, which can result in dangerous situations if people trip over them.
Also, children may be tempted to retrieve items from the pool and fall in, increasing the risk of drowning.
3) Cover the pool. And the pond. And the water feature
It’s advisable to keep your swimming pool, as well as any other bodies of water such as ponds and water features, covered when not in use.
Safety covers should be considered as essential pieces of equipment when you close up your pool for the winter.
A solid PVC winter pool cover is durable and sturdy. It is supported by the water and is great because it keeps dirt out and prevents evaporation – saving on chemical and electricity usage.
The automatic pool cleaner can also continue working under the cover.
Although it is secured to the paving, the cover is not under tension so children can unhook it, get underneath the edge and fall into the water. And because the cover is solid they cannot be seen.
Failing to clear water from the surface of the cover also poses a drowning risk to toddlers, so please remember to siphon off extra water that has accumulated on top of it.
Though the PVC is UV stabilised and resistant to pool chemicals, older covers can become brittle and crack. Please check for cracks and replace, if necessary.
4) Clean and maintain
The most economical way to maintain your pool is to continue looking after it throughout the winter.
Failing to do this will only result in spending more time and money come summer.
So, keep cleaning the filtration equipment, rebalance the chemicals, run the filter and add a long-life algaecide.
From a safety point of view, the most important thing you can do is maintain the water levels in your pool. This allows for children to grab the edge of the pool more easily if they’ve fallen in.
So, before you dash out to top up that gas bottle or buy those slippers, make sure you’ve moved the item marked “Pool Safety” closer to the top of your to-do list.
Source: TopStep
