Imagine this: You can hear your kids playing outside in the swimming pool. The sun is warm, and birds are chirping in the trees. Honey bees are buzzing in the garden, and it feels like the perfect summer day. Welcome to the summertime. Summertime is the most popular season for pools and swimming, and it’s likely that your kids will be using the swimming pool every chance they get. Pools are great for cooling off, and they encourage children to get outside and have fun while exercising.
However, there is a scarier side to pool-fun. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, over 300 children a year drown in pools. For children under five years old, pools are a major safety concern. And, since children are curious, playful, and adventurous, it can be difficult to keep children out of pool areas. As a parent, it’s nearly impossible to keep your eyes glued to your child every moment of every day. It always seems like the second you look away, your child runs off on a curious adventure. If you own a pool, a child’s adventure can be dangerous. This is where a swimming pool alarm comes in handy. In fact, if you have young children and a pool, you will need a swimming pool alarm in order to protect your children from the dangers of water. Not convinced? Here’s why you need to invest in a pool alarm this summer.
Pool Dangers Every Parent Should Know
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in the world for children under the age of 15. On average, ten people a day die from preventable drowning and there are thousands who suffer from pool-related injuries. For children under the age of five, unsupervised pool-time can be extremely dangerous. To illustrate:
- 73% of nonfatal swimming pool injuries involved children younger than five
- Males under the age of 15 are twice as likely to be involved in a fatal pool accident
- 74% of fatal pool accidents happen in residential pools
- 17% of fatal pool accidents happen in above-ground pools
Needless to say, a swimming pool is dangerous, and children need to be supervised while they are using the pool area. In-ground pools should be covered with a pool cover when they aren’t in use, and the pool should be surrounded by a pool fence. To make things safer, you should install a pool alarm to ensure that you know exactly when a child has opened the pool fence. You see, supervising a child only when the child is swimming isn’t enough; they need to be supervised whenever they have entered the pool area since they could fall into the pool at any time. Take care of your children by installing a pool and gate alarm.
Types of Pool Alarms and How They Work
There are several types of pool alarms that are triggered when someone enters the pool itself, and there are alarms that are triggered when someone enters the pool area. Since pool alarms can help with drowning prevention, it’s important to understand everything about them. To make sure you know about all of the pool alarm options available to you, let’s first talk about wave alarms.
Wave Alarms
Surface Wave Detection Alarm
There are three main types of wave alarms. The first is a surface wave detection alarm. This type of alarm sits on the pool deck and extends to rest either on the surface of the water or just below the surface of the water. The alarm is mostly dormant until the water is disturbed. When something disrupts the water in the pool (like someone jumping or falling in), the alarm is set off. These alarms can be smart alarms and connect with your phone, or they can simply set off a loud alarm that will alert anyone in the area that the alarm is sounding. Since the device is wireless, it can be set up with a waterproof battery. However, since the alarm relies on the waves to alert it, it is possible to be triggered by the wind in the water. Usually, pairing one pool alarm with a gate alarm will be your safest way to protect your pool area. This type of alarm is also great to help protect your pets from the pool. Since it registers when something falls in the pool, it will notify you if a pet, child, dog, or cat has fallen into the pool and help you to take better care of every creature in your family.
Subsurface Detection Pool Alarm
The second type of pool alarm is the subsurface detection pool alarm. This type of alarm is placed below the surface of the water and, instead of waiting for waves, it feels for changes in water pressure. When something enters the water of a pool, the water pressure will change. Sometimes the change is only slight, like when a person slowly walks into the pool. Other times, the pressure change will be extremely noticeable, such as when a person cannonballs into the pool. The sensor waits for the pressure change. Since the detector is placed under the water, these sensors are almost always paired with a mobile app. Additionally, the alarm will rely on a small waterproof battery instead of wiring since the device has to be completely waterproof. Most subsurface alarms will not set off an alarm sounds since no one will be able to hear the sound under the water. Again, this alarm works best when it is paired with another type of alarm.
Pool Immersion Alarm
The final type of pool alarm is the pool immersion alarm. This type of alarm is different from the others in that you won’t place it in the pool and leave it there. Instead, this alarm is a wristband that the child wears. When the wristband is dunked under the water, it will send an alert to the mobile app on your phone. However, because the child must already be wearing the wristband, it’s not effective as your only protection against your own in-home pool. This type of alarm works better at pool parties since you’ll be alerted when your child enters the water, and you’ll be able to keep a better eye on your child. And, unless you plan to make your child wear a wristband every day at home, it would be better to use a different combination of alarms for your own pool.
Pool Gate Alarms
Now that we’ve finished talking about alarms for the pool area, it’s important to discuss pool gate alarms. Pool gate alarms are an important part of pool safety. First of all, if you have either an in-ground swimming pool or an above-ground swimming pool, you need to have a gate around the pool. In most cases of fatal pool accidents for small children, it was because the pool was not gated. So, if you learn anything from reading this article, learn that you should put a gate around your pool to act as a barrier to keep your children safe. The gate can be small and short (it doesn’t have to be anything fancy), but it does need to have a gate door that can be locked.
Once you have a fence around the pool, it would be a good idea to install a pool gate alarm to the gate door. This type of alarm would act very similarly to a regular home security door alarm. One part of the sensor will be secured to the door, and the other part of the sensor will be secured to the frame. When the door is opened, the two parts disconnect, and either a loud sound will be set off, or it will send a notification to your mobile phone, alerting you that the pool is now being used. This type of alarm is useful and reliable since false alarms are rare. The only way for a false alarm to trigger this alarm is if the door swings open on its own. Since that’s unlikely, you can be sure that the alarm is always accurate. This type of alarm works best for gated pools and can be paired easily with other alarms. We always recommend that pool owners should cover all of their bases and combine a gate alarm with a wave alarm. This ensures that you will have a complete picture of what is happening in the pool area.
Why You Need a Pool Door Alarm
Since you’re still reading this article, it’s easy to assume that you’re not quite convinced that you will need to install a pool alarm this summer. Our job here is to convince you that you do need a pool alarm to keep your children safe from the dangers of unsupervised pool activity.
One of our home security customers shared a story that illustrates the importance of pool safety:
She had three small children. Her youngest child was two years old and was adventurous. The child loved to play in the water and would beg every day to go out to the in-ground pool in their backyard. Luckily, the mother had installed a pool gate alarm on the gate that surrounded the pool. The gate was small and simple, but it had a door at one end that was rarely locked, and the pool cover was often left off. One day, the mother was washing dishes inside while her children played with their toys in the next room. Without the mother knowing, the youngest child opened the door to the backyard and went outside to the pool. Since the gate was never locked, the child reached up and opened the gate to the pool.
As soon as this happened, the mother was notified on her phone that the gate to the pool had been opened. Confused, she pulled up her phone and quickly went to her Cove Security app. She glanced through the live footage from her outdoor security camera and saw that her toddler was walking towards their uncovered pool. She dropped her phone and ran outside in time to catch the child before he fell into their pool. Thanks to the preparedness of the mother, the child was safe, and the mother locked the pool gate as she brought her toddler back inside.
So, why do you need a pool alarm? To keep your small children safe. At such a young age, most children aren’t able to understand why water can be dangerous. To them, water is fun, safe, and it makes them happy. There’s nothing that could go wrong. Sadly, their lack of understanding can be extremely dangerous. And because children aren’t able to understand the dangers of unsupervised swimming, it’s up to the parents to protect their children from pool dangers. Protecting your children is part of your role as a parent, and installing some type of pool patrol could save their lives. In the example that we shared above, the entirety of the story happened within a few precious moments. Thankfully, that’s exactly what a pool alarm will give you—a few precious moments. Combining pool security equipment will make your home safer for your children and help protect your small children from threats at home.
Things to Consider When Buying a Pool Alarm
By now, you know why you need a pool alarm to protect your family. So, now you’re going to decide how and when to buy a pool alarm for your in-ground swimming pools or above-ground pool. For this section, we are going to answer some common questions that people ask us about pool safety and pool alarms.
Why do you need a pool door alarm even if you have a fence around your pool? You should install a pool door alarm with a fence because fences won’t alert you if someone has opened the door. A fence is important, but it only solves part of the problem.
Where can you find excellent pool door alarms online? When looking for a pool alarm, you should consider several things. First, look at the price of the product, and then determine if the product is what you need. Most products will do a good job, so make sure to read up on the reviews to see what type of product you are receiving.
How can you select the best pool alarm for your family or business? If you want to get the most coverage for your pool, it is smart to pair two or more types of alarms. You should always have a pool gate alarm and then perhaps use a water surface alarm as well.
How can you determine if you want the pool alarm for intruders, to protect your children, or to ensure the safety of your pets? Safety is always a concern for homeowners. If the gate to your pool is one of the main entrances to your backyard, you will definitely want to focus more on home security than safety (though you should also install safety precautions). If you are worried about intruders using your pool gate, also install motion sensors and outdoor security cameras. It is always okay to use more than one tool to protect your home.
How long should a good swimming pool alarm system last? This will depend on the quality of the product that you buy. If the alarm is always submerged underwater, expect the product to last a year. If you’re using a pool gate alarm, expect it to last several years. Also, keep in mind that most products will use a battery to operate, so always switch out the product’s battery on time.
Which pool alarms will work best with your above-ground pool? If your pool is above-ground, a gate alarm should still work. You could always install a submerged alarm inside the pool. You can also use a poolguard safety buoy.
What kinds of pool door alarms are available? You can use an alarm that was built specifically for a pool door, or you can install a home security door alarm. Either should work as long as they are weather-poof.
Tips for Better Pool Safety
By now, you should be an expert on pool safety and security. You are now prepared to secure your pool and protect your young children from any dangers associated with pool safety. To complete your knowledge of pool safety, we want to share some pool safety tips to make your backyard a safer place. Here are some of the best pool safety tips and how you can use them to make your home a better place:
- Always keep young children within an arm’s distance while at the pool. Keeping them close will ensure that they will never slip below the waves without you knowing. This is especially true if you’re swimming in a crowded pool. In a crowded pool, it’s easy to lose sight of a small child. To avoid losing sight of your children, make sure that you can always reach out and grab them if you need to.
- Teach your children to swim while they’re young. Often swimming accidents happen because the person doesn’t know how to swim. When a person can’t swim, they are more likely to panic in the water. When they start to panic, they will thrash and lose precious energy, using up the air in their lungs. People who are comfortable with swimming are less likely to drown (even in stressful situations) because they are more comfortable in the water. Enroll your children in youth swim classes.
- Learn CPR and basic water rescue skills. Knowing life-saving skills can be one of the most important things that you do. While your children are learning to swim, you should learn other important skills like CPR, to potentially save a life.
- Install drain covers. One of the reasons why pools can be dangerous is because water can build up around the edges of the pool. When water builds up because the drain doesn’t drain properly, it makes it more likely that someone will slip and fall into the pool. Make sure that drains are installed properly around your pool.
By using these tips, you will make sure that your pool is a safe area.