Tag Archives: Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers

Hot Tubs and Saunas, Pool and Spa Safety

Safety Tips for Hot Tubs and Spas

3 Comments

Hot Tub and Spa Safety

Residential hot tub safety is not always given as high a priority as swimming pool safety, but just as many dangers exist in and around hot tubs and spas as there are around pools.  Here are a few safety tips recommended by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that can keep everyone safe in the spa:

  • Hot Tub Cover — Always use a hot tub cover, and be sure to secure and lock it when the spa is not in use.  Remind children frequently to stay away from the hot tub unless they are accompanied by a responsible adult.
  • Drains and Drain Covers — Spas and hot tubs should have at least two drains which have compliant anti-entrapment drain covers.  Single-drain spas create a powerful suction that can entangle hair and entrap body parts, leading to injury and even death.  Check the hot tub’s drain covers several times throughout the year.  Replace damaged or missing drain covers immediately.
  • Pump Shut-Off — Know the location of the hot tub pump’s shut-off switch.  Turn off the pump immediately in any emergency situation.
  • Water Temperature — Keep the water temperature in your hot tub at or below 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Alcohol Consumption — Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages while in a hot tub or spa.

Make these few safety precautions a priority around the spa.  Doing so will keep everyone safe and ensure that hot tub time is relaxing and fun.

Innovative Solutions, Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Safety

Make Entrapment Hazards A Thing Of The Past!

Comment

Anit-Entrapment Drain CoversAnti-Entrapment System

Pool safety should be of the utmost concern for any pool owner. In addition to pool alarms, fences, and pool safety covers, anti-entrapment systems and drain covers are very important steps in protecting your friends and family in your pool. Drains can be very dangerous in pools if they are not handled properly. Because traditional drains lay flat, any object or body part that covers that drain can become trapped by a powerful suction from which escape is difficult, and sometimes impossible. Thanks to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007, all public pools are required to take anti-entrapment measures to ensure pool safety. This law does not apply to private and personal pools and unfortunately accidents still occur. You can ensure that your pool is safe by installing anti-entrapment pool drain covers or a vacless anti-entrapment system.

Anti-entrapment drain covers are not flat, but domed. This prevents objects or bodies from completely covering the drain and creating a dangerous suction. They offer an inexpensive and simple solution to prevent drain related accidents. To extend your protection further, vacless anti-entrapment systems automatically allow air into the pump in the event of an abnormally high vacuum suction (such as child pulled down on the mail drain). This air will then cause the pump to lose its prime, preventing any chance of entrapment.  Both anti-entrapment measures are very easy to install and you will rest easy knowing that you have taken great measures to ensure that your pool is entrapment hazard free!

Hot Tubs and Saunas, Pool and Spa Safety

CPSC Seeks Comment on Addition to Pool Safety Law

Comment

Safety Drain Covers

To prevent further injuries and deaths as a result of drain entrapment in pools and spas, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act requires that all public pools and spas be equipped with anti-entrapment drain covers that comply with the ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 standard.  Unfortunately, the term “public accommodations facility” used in the original law to describe who must comply was not adequately defined.  Which types of establishments fall into the category of “public accommodations facility” and which do not?

The answer to this question is the focus of a proposed interpretive rule that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) would like to add to the existing Pool and Spa Safety Act.  If the newly proposed definition for the term “public accommodations facility” is accepted, the CPSC will be able to more effectively enforce the law and ensure that more pools and spas are made safe for public use.

The CPSC will accept public comment on the proposed rule until December 21, 2010.  To read more about the proposed rule and how to submit a comment, visit the following page: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-26520.htm.

Pool and Spa Safety

Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers Make For a Safe Vacation

Comment

Safety Drain Covers

I’m vacationing this week with my family at a hotel with an indoor water park.  Fun?  Yes.  Safe?  Yes!  In addition to having several lifeguards on duty throughout the water park — at the top and bottom of each curvy slide, along the lazy river, near the kiddie spray area — they can also boast a safe hot tub.  Safe because the drains at the bottom of the spa are equipped with Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers, also known as Anti-Vortex Drain Covers.

Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers are domed, or in some way raised from the flat surface at the bottom of the pool or spa so that no body parts, clothing, or objects can ever completely cover the drain and create a deadly suction from which escape is extremely difficult.  Thanks to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007, all drains at public pools and spas must be fitted with Anti-Entrapment Drain Covers.  Most public pools and spas have complied, but it’s worth it to double-check the drains for yourself the next time you visit a public pool or spa.