Pool Safety: The Importance of Pool Textures

If your facility has a gutter trough system, you’re sure to often see people hop, stand, and sit on the grates. While children are the usual culprits, chances are you’ve seen a fair share of adults do it too.  Asking your guests to stay off the grates can be a difficult rule to enforce, particularly if the gutter is at deck level.

Other high-risk areas of your pool are easier to identify, but there are ways to ensure an even greater level of safety for both you and your visitors.

Check your pool grates.

Many of the most common types of pool gutter grating are made from fiberglass and have an inferior mild texture. Fiberglass results in a brittle grate that is not effective at supporting the weight of a teenager or adult. Aquatic design professionals frequently recommend installing grates made from polymers such as PVC or HDPE. In addition, the lack of purposeful slip-resistant treads raises another safety concern: slipping.

A community pool will have different uses and requirements than, say, a luxury apartment rooftop pool. A local pool with a large number of young swimmers will want to take extra safety precautions for the pool interior and perimeter (the deck and gutter gratings).

Slip-resistant pool deck.

Nowadays, it’s extremely important to ensure that high-risk fall zones have a slip-resistant finish. Choose a pool deck surface that will retain it’s texture when wet, and one that can withstand heavy use. Common slip-resistant pool decks include textured paint and coatings, but these quickly wear down in high-traffic areas and actually make the floor more slippery in places were people walk most often. A waterproof PVC covering like RecDeck has textures embossed directly into the surface. There’s a lot to think about when it comes to public safety at a commercial pool, but be sure to assess how effective your current slip-resistant solutions are during your next safety review.