As Northern California’s safe pool professionals, we keep a close eye on emerging trends and technological advancements in pool safety equipment. Everything from pool alarms to immersion detection has come a long way with the advent of smart technology and the ubiquitous nature of wireless connections in American homes. While there are more options than ever to protect your loved ones from accidental drownings, it takes more than just a smart pool alarm to get the job done. Let’s take a look at some of these advances in safety technology and how they work with old-fashioned common sense to improve water safety in and around your backyard oasis.
More Tools That Save Lives
Pool safety equipment is keeping up with the needs of its users, and that’s a good thing. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance reports that 3500-4000 lives are lost to accidental drownings annually. That makes it the number one killer of children under four years of age, and it remains one of the top causes of premature death until well into adulthood. Traditional safety measures, like the wrought-iron or chain link fencing and battery-operated pool alarms your grandparents used, help, but they don’t do enough.
Modern pool safety equipment is quickly changing to adapt modern technology to the age-old issue of protecting our most vulnerable friends and family members from water-related injuries. This includes more advanced sensors, connected devices, and modern materials that are more reliable out in the elements and around the harsh chemicals used to treat and maintain your pool.
Upgrade Your Safety Barriers
The Centers for Disease Control cite missing or ineffective safety barriers as contributing to a heightened risk of accidental drowning. Pool fences help prevent unsupervised access to the swimming pool by creating a secure perimeter, and manufacturers continue to reimagine and refine pool safety to include better barriers with more features to help keep your friends, family, and pets safer.
Removable Mesh Pool Fencing
Removable mesh pool fencing is strong, durable, and helps deter climbing. Made from a see-through mesh material that’s stretched between strong poles anchored in the ground, it gives you a rip and tear-resistant barrier that has minimal gaps for hand or foot-holds that can aid climbing. This modern fencing is easy to use, easy to maintain, and can be completely removed when the pool is open to give you more space for entertaining. Secured with a self-closing and self-latching gate, it’s a vast improvement over traditional pool fencing materials that were cost-prohibitive, easily climbed, or deteriorated rapidly due to the chemicals and humidity present in the pool area.
Pool Fence Gate Alarms
Alarms are designed to warn you when a dangerous situation occurs, such as your pool gate being opened when your child is supposed to be anywhere but the pool. Traditional alarms featured limited battery life, easy deactivation, and volume limits that could make them hard to hear over a television or radio inside the house.
Modern smart pool alarms use the latest in connected technology to notify your connected devices of a breach while sounding a loud audible alarm. In today’s smart homes, with control hubs, cell phones, tablets, and smart TVs, this gets the alert out faster through more channels so any responsible adult anywhere in the house can respond immediately to a gate being opened without supervision or being left ajar in a moment of carelessness.
Pool Safety Covers and Nets
Fencing isn’t your only option for pool safety equipment, as pool nets and covers have been upgraded to help prevent accidental drownings. Pool safety covers and pool safety nets can hold the weight of a full-grown adult up and out of the water tanks to their strong construction and rugged anchor points around the edge of your swimming pool. These give you a second barrier to water entry for a one-two pool safety punch.
Set Up Sensors
Along with developments in wireless communication, the technology that allows machines to sense, measure, and even “see” their surroundings has greatly improved, giving you more tools to keep an eye on your pool area when you can’t be there to keep an eye on your pool area.
Floating Sensors
These smart pool alarms float on the surface, sensing disturbances in the water. Once tripped, they may sound an audible alarm or send a notification to connected devices alerting you to check the pool. Advanced models may even be able to register patterns, such as the lapping waves caused by a windy day, minimizing false alarms while maximizing your protection.
Immersion Sensors
Similar to floating sensors, these devices monitor water under the surface for disturbances that could indicate a swimmer in distress. This can be especially helpful if you have an industrious pet or wildlife in the area, such as raccoons or squirrels, that can use nearby trees or powerlines to gain entry to the pool area.
Infrared Sensors
Similar to the motion sensors used by your home security system or the automatic doors at a grocery store, an infrared “eye” monitors the pool for temperature variations and movement that corresponds with a person or pet entering the water. Also connected devices, these are some of the pricier smart pool alarm options, but they’re balanced by the peace of mind that comes with advanced pool safety equipment.
Personal Immersion Monitors
Especially helpful for households with pets and kids that have trouble taking no for an answer when the pool is closed, these devices may look like a child-sized wristwatch or a pet’s ID collar fob but notify you as soon as entry into the water by their wearer is detected. This portable pool safety protection device works not only at your home but also on trips to visit friends with pools, staying at a hotel while traveling, or when visiting a beach.
Step Up Your Water Safety Education
We’re big believers in formal swimming lessons for kids and adults, but sometimes it can be hard to find the right time. Turn their tablets or phones into an important piece of pool safety equipment with these handy Apps.
Swim by The American Red Cross
Available on both the Google Play Store and App Store, Swim by the American Red Cross features videos, activities, and instructions about swimming and water safety for kids of all ages. As a parent, you can keep track of their progress and help guide them as they develop their skills between their IRL swimming lessons.
The Adventures of Splish and Splash
Created as part of the Pool Safely campaign from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, The Adventures of Splish and Splash introduces younger kids, representing the most vulnerable age groups to accidental drowning, to important pool safety concepts in and around the swimming pool. It’s also available on both Android and Apple to make sure the widest possible audience has access to this fun and engaging water safety tool.
Get Started On Your Safer Pool Area
There’s no cost or obligation to talk to one of our pros about your pool safety options. Schedule a free visit, and they’ll talk to you about your pool needs, take measurements, and create a written estimate that shows you just how cost-effective safety can be. Request your free quote from Lifeguard on Duty today.
