Accidental drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four in the United States today, so keeping the pool area safe should be a number one priority. Using the right fence and gate can go a long way in keeping your pool one of the safest on the block.
While you may think that any old fence will work around a pool, experts advise that you should use a fence that is difficult to climb. Regular chain link fences offer tons of little handholds for little hands and feet and are easy to climb. The best fence for a pool is one that completely surrounds the entire area and is difficult to climb. This is why we see so many thin, shiny posts about 3″ apart on many pool fences. The straightness of the posts and their shiny appearance make them difficult to climb. They are too straight, there is nothing to climb on. grip on.and they are slippery to boot.To further deter some people also choose to put tips on their walking sticks.They look nice and also provide that extra layer of safety.
No fence is a good fence unless it has a good gate attached to it. For a swimming pool, it is recommended that you use a gate that has an auto-closing and auto-latching feature. When you walk by with arms full of pool toys or chemicals, for example, you don’t have to drop everything to close the door behind you. The door will close itself. Don’t worry, don’t worry.
Of course, you have to make sure that the gate is the same height as your fence and that it is also almost impossible to climb. Also, the latch should be high enough that small children cannot reach it and it should be hard to reach, located on the inside of the door. Another thing to keep in mind is that the pool door opens to the outside, not to the inside of the pool. If the little hands manage to open the gate, they have a few more seconds to get around the gate and around it before approaching the water. Those extra seconds could save a life.
Other things to consider are keeping that pool covered when not in use and removing all pool toys from the fenced enclosure when not in the pool. Safe children are happy children!