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Jul 5, 2007 7:08 pm US/Central
Private Pool Safety And Protecting Your Kids
by Jeanette Trompeter
(WCCO)
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Currently, new pools installed have two covered drains and a skimmer, shown above, on the side of the pool.
CBS
The recent swimming pool accident that involved a young girl being disemboweled after sitting on a pool filter, makes some home owners with private pools wonder if something like that could happen at their home.
More and more people in the Twin Cities are installing pools, so should there be a concern about private swimming pools?
Pool companies said it
could happen but only if you don't follow a few 'rules' about pools.
While you need a city permit to put in a pool, the city only checks to make sure things like footings and fencing are secure. It's the homeowner that needs to make sure the pool is safe.
"It just takes a few minutes to go around and check things. Check the screws, check the baskets, check the main drains ... just to make sure that things are secure and in place," Jim Koschmann, from Dolphin Pool and Spa.
Currently, new pools installed have two covered drains and a skimmer on the side.
When working properly, suction pressure is divided between all those places.
"It's just a big one circulation process," said Koschmann.
If you have an older pool with a single drain, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says you should upgrade to an anti-vortex drain which costs $15 at any pool store.
"It's domed a little bit so you can't lay anything flat across that drain ... to have a suction occur," said Koschmann.
The cover itself spells out what can happen if the drain is left uncovered: "suction can cause drowning or disembowelment."
"It might be long enough to cause some suction on that body part that's on (the filter) but again, the plates should be in place, the skimmers should have baskets and covers on them and they should be secured by screws," said Koschmann.
Experts said the most important rule of pool safety is to tell kids not to play with any pool equipment -- including drains, jets or skimmers and supervise your kids when they are in the water.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
