Portable pools Kids love water, so setting up a small backyard pool is a favorite summertime activity. The Consumer Product Safety Commission offers these tips to keep your children safe around water:
Empty and put away smaller portable pools after every use.
Once the pool is set up, keep close so you provide constant supervision. A tragedy can happen in just moments.
Fence portable pools and encourage your neighbors with pools to do the same.
Cover larger portable pools and put access ladders away when adults are not present (make sure they are fenced in, also).
Install alarms on doors leading from the house to the pool area to alert you when someone enters the pool area.
Teach children to swim, float and other basic life-saving skills; however, do not consider them “drown-proof” because they have had swimming lessons.
Make sure your neighbors, babysitters and visitors know about the pool’s presence in your yard.
Learn and practice CPR so you can help in an emergency.
Pool electrical safety Whether your pool is a tiny portable blow-up, a hot tub or a full-size inground pool, electricity and water don’t mix. These tips from Safe Electricity will help you keep the two separated for safety:
Keep anything that is plugged in at least 5 feet from the pool. The farther, the better.
Have a licensed contractor inspect the pool or hot tub wiring to ensure it meets code requirements.
Know where electrical switches and circuit breakers are and how to operate them.
Keep pool skimmers and other far-reaching tools more than 10 feet away from overhead power lines.
Make sure all outdoor outlets are GFCI protected. Test them once a month.
Do not touch electrical devices when you are wet or in contact with wet surfaces. Note that this includes cell phones when they are plugged into a charger.
Source: SafeElectricity.org
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