All Is Water - Pool Lesson 2

In Lesson 1 we learned the value of finding a pool care professional who can mentor you through the learning process. Ask them to give their own list of safety precautions specifically for your pool situation. Here is my list of generic safety advice that applies to any pool. It is by no means exhaustive and should be supplemented by prudent steps your mentor suggests. 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.

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 their 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.

We label all valves and switches on pools we service, because we learned about a case where a child was stuck to the bottom drain of a commercial wading pool and no one could find the cut off switch. (I saw an update on this little girl who is grown now.) I'll try to find the link to it. She and her family successfully sued to pay for the girl's medical bills. As a result of this one nationally publicized tragic accident, everyone in our company makes sure all drain and suction covers are securely in place and are not broken.

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 is 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 their 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 can 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 pool side. So let's cover a few other safety issues that a pool owner needs to be aware of.

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.

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 from my own experience. I bet I have a story of woe for every chemical there is. Let's see.

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) delivery man 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 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). To learn more about chlorine, please visit Lesson 5 - Disinfection.

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. Once I 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 it's 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. When I got there, the Fire Dept. had just left. 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.

Ok, one more chlorine story. I took a bucket from my truck that had recently been emptied of chlorine tablets and I put about ten pounds of powdered chlorine in that bucket. As I was walking to the fountain where the chlorine was to go, before I added any water to the bucket, the two types of chlorine started to pop and sizzle. I walked a little faster toward the fountain and when I got there I immediately submerged the bucket allowing the water to flood the chlorine. After a minute or two, the bucket got quiet, and I had learned something. Now, when I find me a good bucket to keep, I rinse it out.

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 they can be opened by children playing in the pool. 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.

You wouldn't think algaecide would pose a safety risk, but if mishandled, it can. For example, I was adding liquid algaecide down a skimmer (glug, glug, glug) and it splashed up into my eye, causing a burning sensation. I rinsed with clean water and drove to an eye doctor with the half-empty container. He rinsed my eye again and said, interestingly, that the burning I 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.

With regard to chemicals generally, here are some additional safety precautions.

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.

1) Find A Mentor

2) Safety First

3) The Water

4) Your Pool

5) Disinfection

6) Filtration

7) Maintenance

8) Prevention

9) Problems

10) Pool Cleaners

11) Q & A from you

12) Shocking Pools