"All Is Water" ~
Safety First
Here is a list of generic safety advice that applies to any
pool. It is by no means exhaustive and should be supplemented by prudent steps. Remember,
you can't be too cautious when it comes to pool safety.
Safety is the first thing
to consider in every decision you make about your pool, from who gets to use
the pool to how chemicals are stored. Having a safe pool environment depends
a great deal upon how attuned you are to the potential hazards around a body
of water. The following are topics to think about and act upon. They are not
designed to alarm anyone, but rather to educate you and inform your decision-making.
DROWNING
First let's state the obvious. Drowning is the worst fear
most people have about swimming pools. Now let's state the not so obvious. Drowning
is one of the least likely things to occur. You are much more likely to slip
and fall on a wet surface, or to get a big breath of chlorine gas while filling
the chlorinator. But since drowning often results in death, it is crucial to
make your pool drown proof. Because let's state another obvious fact: all drowning
accidents are preventable.
If there is a fence around the pool with a secure
locking gate, you've prevented most drowning accidents in one fell swoop. Next,
many more accidents can be prevented if you strictly enforce a rule that nobody
swims in your pool if they are 1) intoxicated, 2) alone, 3) poor swimmers or
4) under age. Then, you can prevent most of the rest of the drowning scenarios
by installing a splash detector, proper lighting and warning signs.
Here are some
drowning scenarios that can be prevented. Someone dives off a diving board and
impacts the pool floor or side with their head, knocking them unconscious. Tragedy
can be prevented by first making sure that your pool is safe to dive in, and
if not then remove the board. Make sure anyone who uses your pool knows the proper
way to dive. Never allow horseplay or show-off behavior. Pools can be fun without
being unsafe. Check the diving board for cracks before each use. All it takes
is to look underneath and perform a visual inspection. Post depth markers around
the pool so people know what they’re getting
into. Make sure your pool has ladders and safety ropes installed. Finally, learn
CPR and First Aid so that if an accident does occur, you know exactly what to
do to save a life. Drownings do not have to be fatal.
Here's another scenario
that can be controlled. Someone swims too close to the bottom drain and gets
caught by the suction. This happens more than you might think, sometimes with
tragic results. The first thing you can do is direct your pool professional to
configure your filter system so that the bottom drain does not have too much
suction to begin with. A valve can be installed to cut back the suction power.
Second, make sure swimmers with long hair or clothing tie back long strands.
Third, label the pool pump shut off valve clearly and prominently so the system
can be turned off quickly in an emergency.
One more preventable drowning
scenario is all too common. Small children are playing in the pool with adult
supervision. The adult goes inside for a few minutes and returns to find a child
has drown. If the lifeguard has to be away, then everybody should get out of
the pool. Anyone who assumes the role of lifeguard is obligated to take that
role very seriously. It is no small matter to say, "I'm going to protect
you from drowning". Obviously,
it would be best if everyone in the pool were an accomplished swimmer. But even
strong swimmers can run into trouble. So a person serving as lifeguard should
know CPR in order to revive someone if a drowning occurs on his or her watch.
To
repeat, the four basic rules listed above should be emphasized and strictly enforced.
No one swims if they are 1) intoxicated, 2) alone, 3) poor swimmers or 4) underage.
So
what do you do if a child climbs your fence to get to your pool when you are
not at home? Frankly, not much. Short of razor wire and/or guard dogs, your only
alternative would be to install a cover every time the pool is not in use. There
are automatic pool covers that are easy to take on and off, but they are rather
expensive. Beyond that, you should make sure your insurance is paid up and your
policy covers accidental drowning. For your peace of mind you should ensure that
all the precautions you could possibly take have been taken. That way if an intruder
drowns in your pool, at least you can be legally and morally absolved of any
responsibility.
As mentioned above, drowning is the worst thing most people
think of, but it is not the most common accident that occurs poolside. So let's
cover a few other safety issues that a pool owner needs to be aware of.
ELECTRICITY
Electricity and water are a dangerous combination.
The main place that electricity can contact the water is through an underwater
pool light. They come in 12 volt and 120 volt versions. 12-volt lights are a
bit safer because a transformer has stepped down the voltage to a level that
will shock but not kill. 120 volts can cause death. To prevent against shocks
the pool light electrical system must have a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter
GFCI type
breaker installed. Such a very sensitive device will trip the breaker in the
event that electricity contacts the water, before it has a chance to electrocute
a swimmer.
By code, no electrical outlet, switch or breaker can be located
within 5 feet of a swimming pool or hot tub. This is to prevent someone in the
water from touching an electrical power source. Be careful using extension cords
around a pool. For example, while using an electric leaf blower in the yard it's
common to accidentally let the cord drape into the pool. When using a submersible
pump, make sure the cord is in good shape, has three prongs, and is plugged into
a GFCI protected outlet.
CHEMICALS
Chemical safety is very important because some of
the chemicals used in pool care are dangerous by themselves or when used in combination
with other chemicals.
Let's start by saying, "I will read and follow the
directions and warnings on the label of any chemical I buy to put in my pool." That
was easy. Now let's add a dose of common sense - avoid breathing chemical fumes,
don't touch anything with your bare hands, and don't mix any chemical with any
other chemical. If you do these things, religiously, then you probably will never
have to call the Fire Dept. or run to the emergency room due some chemical mishap.
The
best way I can convey the danger of chemical misuse is to give some examples.
I bet there is have a story of woe for every chemical there is. Let's see.
Muriatic Acid
This stuff could be the single most dangerous thing we carry
on our trucks and add to pools. It's a 2% solution of hydrochloric acid with
a pH of about 2 (on a scale of 0 to 14). We use it to lower the pH of a pool's
water, but it can also be used to clean concrete or plaster cement, hence it's
use in acid washing pools. Of course if it gets on your skin you have about 2
seconds to wash it off before it starts burning. Don't even think about splashing
in your face or eyes. It's some seriously bad stuff.
A pool company once sent
a pick-up delivery truck loaded with chemicals on an afternoon run through east
Memphis heading to Germantown. Exiting off the I-240 ramp to Poplar Avenue, the
driver allowed a 30-gallon plastic 'car-boy' of muriatic acid to fall off his
truck. It broke open when it hit the pavement spilling acid onto the ground,
producing a strong, caustic, green smoke.
The quick-thinking (and apparently
fast-driving) deliveryman surveyed the remaining chemicals on his truck and grabbed
a 100-pound bag of soda ash. He opened the bag and began throwing the soda ash
on the acid, which had the effect of neutralizing the pH. The firemen who arrived
further diluted the chemicals with water.
My advice to pool owners is to buy
only as many gallons of acid as you intend to use quickly, so you don't have
to store it. Or you can purchase dry acid, which can be stored more safely. If
you must keep some acid on hand, don't store it in your garage with your car,
keep it out of the reach of kids, and maybe keep a sack of baking soda just in
case you need to neutralize a spill.
Chlorine
Chlorine is a green gas that is poisonous and corrosive. Since
gas requires expensive and potentially dangerous pressurized canisters to contain
the chlorine, it is instead processed and combined with other materials to make
it safer and easier to use. Chlorine comes in three familiar forms: liquid (like
bleach), powder (two types), and tablets (both large and small size).
New
pool owners often don't realize that different types of chlorine can catch fire
and/or explode when mixed together. Chlorine can
also react with acid, algaecide and who knows what else. So that's where the
rule comes from to not mix any two chemicals together.
Here are two true examples.
A service company got a call from an apartment complex manager who said her chlorinator
exploded. Her maintenance man had ran out of 3" chlorine tablets, so he
poured granular chlorine into a Rainbow brand chlorinator thinking one type is
as good as another. Ten minutes after he screwed the lid on it, the plastic chlorine
canister exploded violently, spewing its contents all over the filter room. When
I walked in, there were glowing hot pieces of chlorine all over the walls and
floor. They periodically exploded, and the fumes were overwhelming. It looked
like a war zone.
Another case involved a homeowner who mixed granular chlorine
with 1" chlorine tablets in an E Z Clor brand chlorinator with similar results.
This time the chlorinator was outside and did not have a pressurized lid on it. The
side of the house was scorched badly all the way to the eaves. Witnesses said
the tablets were spewing out the top of the chlorinator 10 feet high like a roman
candle. These folks were lucky not to have lost their house to fire.
These examples
illustrate that it doesn't matter what type of chlorinator you have, or even
if you are using a bucket, mixing two types of chlorine can turn out badly.
On
the subject of chlorinators, I don't recommend using floating type chlorinators
for two reasons. They are not consistent in their chlorine output, and children
playing in the pool can open them. Instead, the better way to chlorinate your
pool is an automatic chlorine dispenser, particularly those with sealed lids.
They are installed at the filter system so they are less likely to be tampered
with by curious children. And they dispense a metered dose of chlorine allowing
you to control the level of disinfectant better.
A final word about chlorinator
safety. Sometimes chemicals are added to the skimmer for quick dispersion into
the pool. When adding chemicals down the pool skimmer, turn off the chlorinator
so that no chemicals accidentally mix with the chlorine in the chlorinator. You
can turn the chlorinator back on after 15 minutes or so when the chemicals have
been completely dispersed.
Algaecide
You wouldn't think algaecide would pose a safety risk, but
if mishandled, it can. For example, a service tech was adding liquid algaecide
down a skimmer (glug, glug, glug) and it splashed up into his eye, causing a
burning sensation. He rinsed with clean water and drove to an eye doctor with
the half-empty container. The doctor rinsed his eye again and said, interestingly,
that the burning he felt from the chemical was due to a high (or alkaline) pH
rather than a low (or acidic) pH.
Also, some types of algaecide will react with
chlorine causing a high-pressure gas to form. So never pour it into a chlorinator.
CONCLUSION
With regard to chemicals generally,
here are some additional safety precautions.
- Never add chemicals to a pool while people are swimming, and make sure swimmers
stay out long enough for the chemicals to circulate well.
- Store your chemicals in a safe, dry place. I recommend a large plastic container
with a lid on it.
- Don't store your chemicals in the garage with the family car or even a shed
with the lawn mower. Many of the chemicals you use in your pool are oxidizers...
that means they corrode anything metal and during a fire they will give off oxygen
feeding the fire.
I could probably go on and on about safety because it
is a never-ending process. Safety is a frame of mind you put yourself in; where
you try to imagine everything that could possibly go wrong. Then you work to
prevent each one. For the most part, safety is common sense. And don't let anyone
tell you that you are worrying over nothing. Every safety precaution you take
is one less thing that can contribute to an accident. Again, by bringing up these
issues I don't want to alarm you or make you afraid of your pool. Rather, knowledge
is power and prevention is the key to having a safe pool environment.
|
