It’s important to “watch your kids around water,” as the public safety announcements on TV tell you.It’s also important to watch yourself around the water. In this respect, brushing your pool comes to mind. It’s important to be safe as you brush. The safest way is to brush as you walk forward. I am a pool professional and it’s been more than a few times that I’ve stepped backwards into a pool, usually at the love seat indentation. It’s startling but refreshing when it’s hot outside, but it’s not a pleasant experience in the winter.

Watch your dogs when you are doing maintenance around your pool too. They are so excited because they think you are outside to play with them, but if you’re not careful they can accidentally knock you into your pool while your are brushing, testing the chemistry, or adding chlorine. Larger dogs such as Labs and Rotweillers have knocked me into a pool more than a few times. Except for my ego, I’ve never got hurt falling in a pool, but depending where you fall in, it can be a serious thing. Being safe around pools isn’t just a reminder for children, it’s a reminder for everyone.

Of course, as a pool professional, my concern regarding pool safety is while maintaining your pool. There are of course many other kinds of accidents that can occur in and around pools. Drinking while swimming, horseplay, jumping in from the roof, not watching kids around water are all invitations to an accident. If your pool has a diving board you especially need to be careful when using it. As I used to tell my kids, “You can never stop being safe.”

Follow these tips and you should be fine, but if you have experienced any other maintenance related pool accident please post it as a comment below. Let’s alert others.