Swimming Pool Safety
A swimming pool can be to epicenter for years of family fun and enjoyment, however swimming pools can also be alarmingly dangerous if not given the credence that they deserve.
The inherant danger of a standing body of water in your backyard is easy to over look since the pool is always there and not always at the forefront of your mind. The following article will help you to identify the most dangerous swimming pool items and eliminate them from your backyard envirnment.
Main Drains
The main drain, or main drains for your swimming pool are located in the bottom of the deep end and are part of the circulation system. Water is drawn from the main drains and sucked into the pump in the mechanical room before being forced through a filter which removes sediment and organic debris from the pool water before it is heated and retuned to the pool through returns in the pool walls that sit approximately 16 inches below the surface of the water.
How to identify problem main drains
For many years the main drain in any given pool was connected with a single pipe (usually 1.5 inches in diameter) directly to the suction side of a swimming pool pump. This design is now outdated and ALL swimming pools built should have the advantage of dual suction main drains. The signifigance of this can not be over stated. Dual suction main drains is essentially two main drains where a single one used to suffice.
The two main drains are spaced far enough apart that they can not be covered or obstructed by one person. The main drain pipes are connected together under the pool floor which creates a system that is not easily blocked. The importance of this is very disturbing.
Trap, Drown And Disembowel
Harsh language. On every swimming pool pump bought and sold in Canada there is a large warning sticker attached with metal wire. The warning sticker includes a pictoral of this event, and the warning is most clear. If a single main drain is installed in the pool, and the suction pipe connects directly to a swimming pool pump, this is a dangerous pool installation. The pool pump has easily enough power to cause devastating injury to any person or object that blocks the suction openeing. The purpose of having dual suction main drains is to create a path a least resistance for the pool pump to suck water from.
Main Drain Covers
Many existing swimming pools have only a single main drain as this was commonplace installation practice for the better part of the previous fourty years. If you have a single suction main drain then the only line of defence for your pool users is the plastic main drain cover which prevents swimmers from accessing the suction port directly. All to often this cover gets broken or becomes removed over the years. If your swimming pool has only a single main drain, and the cover for this main drain is broken, you need to call a pool prefessional to fix this problem for you, before you have a REAL problem to deal with. Pool safety should not be overlooked, and the main drain suction points are one of the most dangerous areas of your swimming pool.
Pool Winter Covers
You can now read more about every type of pool winter cover, including safety covers, at the new contracting website starting with this article on Pool Winter Covers