Swimming is both relaxing and refreshing. Outside of Olympic swimmers who do swim competitively, the rest of us take up swimming as a hobby during our free time, when we need to decongest and loosen up a bit. Whether it is taking turns sunbathing by the beach and taking a dip in the ocean or swimming by the pool, we all feel some level of enjoyment and benefit from the aerobic exercise swimming provides.

Some people prefer the convenience of private swimming pools. Nonetheless, swimming safety rules and measures are taken to avert the imminent danger of injuries that comes with swimming in a pool.

Design considerations

Ideally, swimming pools should be built at a safe distance from the house to prevent the risk of accidental slip-ups and drowning especially for babies and non-swimmers. Realistically speaking, this is often not feasible because of availability of space in residential houses and hotels. Moreover, some people want swimming pools next to their houses for that quick dip after a hard day’s work or in the morning before leaving for the office.

The best way to accommodate all these considerations in the design of a swimming pool is to provide for a wide buffer zone around the pool. The buffer zone should be finished with a rough yet soft space to provide for sufficient grip underneath the feet when walking along the pool.

Baby pools

If you have babies and toddlers, the chances are that they would like and insist on joining you on your swimming sessions. Even with adult supervision, adult swimming pools still pose a risk of drowning to young children.

The best safety measure would then be to make provisions for a baby or children’s pool next to the adult pool. Baby pools are shallow, and with a life jacket, the danger of accidental drowning is eliminated.

Life jackets and floating tubes

One of the most important safety tips when swimming is to always wear a life jacket. A life jacket is a wearable air-filled jacket to help you float on water. They come in useful if you find yourself in a spot of bother while swimming. They are suitable for swimming anywhere; ocean, river, lake, and swimming pool.

You can also use a cooler tube for river swimming if you have more advanced swimming skills. You can always let it float around in the pool just in case you’ll need it.

Install safety accessories

To further improve the safety around your swimming pool, you can erect a small fence and install a gate for a single point of entry into the pool. This will prevent accidental drowning.

Additional lights around the pool area will improve visibility and enhance the security around the swimming pool and you can go a step further and invest in a swimming pool cover.

A pool cover will prevent the foreign object from finding their way into your pool and contaminating it in addition to acting as an extra protection against accidental falls into the pool.