How To Make Pool Drains Safe
SwimmingPoolSteve.com is user-supported. In order to keep this resource about pools and spas available for free to all readers I earn commissions for purchases made through links on this page. For more information see the full disclaimer page. By using this website you are agreeing to the terms and conditions.
Please note that this article contains sensitive information relating to drowning and death potential in swimming pools, including examples of the death of children. If you are sensitive to this kind of information please be advised. The intention of this article is not to scare, but to state plainly the truth of the risk potential to swimmers from submerged suction outlets in swimming pools. Truly a hidden danger in some swimming pools, improperly installed or out of date suction outlets (like main drains) can be deadly. If you are a swimming pool owner the information on this page will help to inform you of the risks and hopefully arm you with additional information about avoiding suction entrapment in swimming pools.
In the shortest possible summary, swimming pool suction outlets can be dangerous. Swimmers should be taught of this potential danger and encouraged to never swim near, play with or tamper with submerged suction outlets like main drains. Of specific concern is small digits like fingers and toes, as well as long hair or jewelry which can become entangled in a submerged suction outlet. If you treat every submerged suction outlet as potentially deadly, and avoid them entirely, this will certainly help to lower the risk of an accident in any pool. Still, more information will help you to evaluate your options further, especially if you are still in the design stages for a new swimming pool and are exploring ways to make your pool safer. There is good news in this regard for how to avoid the danger of suction entrapment. Read on:
Modern day swimming pools are moving away from submerged suction outlets entirely which completely eliminates the risk of a suction related entrapment. Modern swimming pool filtration research shows that drawing water from the floor of the pool (main drains) is not actually required in order to achieve adequate filtration and diffusion of filtered (and heated) pool water. As a result, submerged suction outlets like main drains are being eliminated from the newest generation of swimming pool designs. Modern and safer pool designs include more skimmer suction points which account for all of the suction needed for the pool filtration system. No main drains at all. A skimmer is exposed to air through the skimmer lid, unlike the main drains which are completely submerged. This makes the potential for a suction entrapment to the face of the skimmer by a swimmer in the pool unlikely. Long hair or playing with / in the skimmer could still be a concern. It used to be that a swimming pool pump would burn out of the water level in the pool fell too low. This was essentially the only value provided by main drains or submerged equalizer lines. Modern variable speed pool pumps can detect a no flow situation and power down before damage happens to the pump. This means that submerged suction outlets are an antiquated design style with a great deal of inherent risk. Without any specific benefit eventually we will see submerged suction outlets less and less on new pool installations.
Can you drown from a pool drain? - Yes, 100% a pool drain can trap you. A pool pump is powerful enough to trap, drown and disembowel you. This is the actual wording on the warning card that comes on every new swimming pool pump. Talk about some direct wording! As a pool owner you need to both understand and appreciate how powerful a pool pump is. It is beyond imagination how helpless you are (would be) against the power of a pool pump running with a complete entrapment blocking the suction outlet. In the tragic accident where Virginia Graeme Baker died, which resulted in the Virginia Graeme Baker Act for anti-entrapment standards, four adult men were unable to pull her from the main drain despite this accident happening in a hot tub where they had access to both hold and try to lift her. The power of the pump was greater than four men pulling with all of their might. Since you can not tell simply by looking at a pool drain whether it has been installed to modern safe standards you should treat all suction points in swimming pools as dangerous. Avoid completely.
Can pool drains be made safe? - A tricky question and the real answer is to make a pool drain (submerged suction outlet) safe then you remove it completely. Even a disabled existing drain can be made to be back in service by future hands working on the pool. If you eliminate and permanently delete the main drain this is the only way to make it fully safe. Now, it might be possible to make an existing drain safer, but generally this is a job best left to the professionals who are familiar with modern standards for safe installations. The concern is there are quite a few configurations that a main drain or submerged suction outlet could have. You could have an active main drain system with direct suction to the pump. You could also have a passive main drain equalizer line which means no direct suction...unless the skimmer gets clogged with leaves in which case the passive line can become temporarily active with suction. To reduce entrapment risk modern pools require any submerged suction outlet to be split into dual outlets at minimum of 36" apart, hydraulically balanced, and covered with VGBA compliant "unblockable" drain covers. Additionally the flow to the drain should be less than the rated maximum flow rate for the drain body, the drain cover, and the VGBA standard of no more than six feet per second of water velocity for any suction line in the pool. Each individual main drain in the set should be rated to handle the entirety of the flow in the system without exceeding rated values. It is through a series of installation standards such as these examples which pool main drains can be made safe, or at least safer. To a swimmer in the pool you can not verify any of this installation standard so this is why you must make the assumption that the drain is a potential danger.
Treat all pool drains as dangerous. Teach swimmers and especially children that submerged suction outlets like main drains are not a toy to be played with. Always tie up long hair and remove jewelry before swimming. If you are in the process of designing a new swimming pool and you want a safer design then you should consider to be a front runner for industry change and design a pool with more skimmer suction points and no submerged suction outlets at all.
Top content from www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com
Pool and spa chemistry crash course
New pool owner guide
The Swimming Pool Steve blog
Have a question - ask Steve
Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool specialist from Ontario Canada and one of the most trusted voices in the swimming pool industry. With over 20,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the Pleatco Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print. Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Paid PDF Books From Swimming Pool Steve
Steve's Pool Survival Guide
The Swimming Pool Steve Pool Survival Guide is intended to help pool owners understand their pool and pool equipment better, understand water chemistry, water testing and chemical corrections to the water, troubleshoot the most common pool problems and have confidence in interacting and caring for their pool in the fastest possible frame of time. Also covers pool safety, things to avoid and how to operate your pool more efficiently.
New Pool Installation Value Guide
This is a value shopping guide written by Swimming Pool Steve to help home owners hiring for a new pool installation to get the maximum value for their investment with tips about how to protect your interests during the vetting, hiring and pool installation process. Anyone serious about having a pool installed will find value in this guide. Pool installers will sell the pool package that is best for them - not for you! Become an informed value shopper with this PDF guide.
Endorsed Brands From Swimming Pool Steve
The following links and products are to affiliates of the Swimming Pool Steve website. These are brands, products and services hand selected by Steve for endorsement. Please note that these endorsements can include monetary compensation, affiliate links and referral fees to Swimming Pool Steve, however there is zero additional cost to you should you use one of these products or services. Income generated from these links helps to keep this pool and spa resource available for everyone. To have your product or service considered for listing here as an endorsed brand email SwimmingPoolSteve@gmail.com.
Amazon Disclosure Statement - As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
www.PoolPartsToGo.com
New Black + Decker variable speed pumps are available online from www.PoolPartsToGo.com and they are a drop in replacement for many popular pump models including Pentair Superflo and Hayward Super Pumps. With an adjustable platform base, union connections included and a very strong warranty these pumps offer an impressive value to pool owners.
- Swimming Pool Steve