3 Good Reasons to Have a Safety Pool Cover
Life can change in an instant if we’re not careful. It takes only a few moments for a young child, vulnerable adult or beloved pet to drown in an improperly secured swimming pool. When a swimming pool is not in use, a safety cover is the first line of defense against these types of tragedies. While safety covers alone can’t prevent all accidents, they can be very effective at protecting your family when included in an overall swimming pool safety plan.
Here are three good reasons to have a swimming pool safety cover:
- Debris covers, like tarps, mesh and solar covers, do not provide any safety against people or pets from falling through and into the water. Swimming pool safety covers are made of sturdy fiberglass mesh and firmly anchored so as to prevent anyone from falling in. Provided they are attached and installed properly, some fiberglass mesh safety pool covers can hold up to 400 pounds per square foot!
- Those who own an in-ground pool have extra reasons to install safety covers. These pools tend to be deeper, wider and are more easily accessed. Children and pets could simply walk over the pool’s edge and into the water. With a swimming pool safety cover in place, they would step out onto a surface that is sturdy enough they could walk or crawl back to solid ground.
- Watery red eyes and sneezes may not be life threatening, but the pool chemicals used to keep the water clean can cause reactions ranging from irritation to allergies and asthma. In addition to reducing debris and the need for maintenance, using a safety cover reduces a pool’s chemical consumption by 35–60 percent.
Though swimming pool safety covers are an integral part for protecting loved ones from drowning, it should not be the only security measure. Pool safety alarms sense when objects fall into the water and emit a piercing warning. Neither children nor pets can go over, under or through fencing made to surround in-ground or above-ground pools. Similar protections should also be obtained for hot tubs, spas, ponds and other outdoor water features to protect young children from drowning. When it comes to pools, one can never follow too many safety measures.