Pool Danger Prompts Massive Recall

NBC Connecticut ^

[matt04]

What perfect timing to discover the complete failure to test the drain covers properly. How much money will this cost for homeowners, schools, hotels, resorts and municipal pools to take the necessary steps to put the correct drain covers on.

[matt04]

If you have one main drain, I would tell you not to swim in the pool. Now I don't expect any of the kids to listen though, so my advice would be keep them in the shallow end and away from the deep end where the main drains are

Enough hype? Really the faulty cover will somehow kill you if you swim in any part of the pool. Give me a break. I have swam in numerous polls with various main drain configurations, even swimming in the deep end near them and haven't drowned or been remotely close to being sucked in yet.

[MarineBrat]

C-r-e-w C-u-t! :)

[Hebrews 11:6]

My son-in-law, the pool service company owner, has installed many retrofits correctly since the new law went into effect three or so years ago, even learning to scuba dive to do it efficiently. He discovered that many scam artists arose who install substandard covers, meaning those pool owners end up paying twice.

It's been a costly nightmare for many, but of course that's as nothing compared to averting tragedies.

[Hebrews 11:6]

You, a vigorous adult male, haven’t been sucked in, but several children have—it is they who are at risk, not you. Congress passed this law after former Secretary of State James Brady’s granddaughter was killed by a faulty drain.

[keat]

Kids sit on drains, either get trapped and drown or get disemboweled, which is pretty gross. It’s rare but it happens.

It seems like it wouldn’t be likely to happen in a residential pool where the drain is in the deep end. A public wading pool is dangerous but I would think they’ve all been fixed.

My pool was built with double drains but they are 10 feet under water. Can’t imagine Small kid getting down there.

[matt04]

True it has been mostly children who have been severely injured or died in cases of missing, broken, or faulty drain covers. As the article states, they never tested the covers correctly before certifying them as meeting the requirements of the new law. Complete failure on their part.

[vbmoneyspender]

Congress passed this law after former Secretary of State James Brady’s granddaughter was killed by a faulty drain.

Shaking my head at the thought of Congress regulating pools. Just ridiculous - as are the people who think this is what Congress should be doing.

[Tainan]

IMO, friggin nanny-state interference.

Next there will be OSHA specifications for proper placement of the drinks cart to the edge of the pool.
Ridiculous.

[phoneman08]

I have no idea whether or not my main drain cover is safe or not. Whenever we have guest with children or teenagers over, I simply divert the suction to the skimmers.

Non mandated solution that is guaranteed safe.

[bigbob]

I don’t want to see anyone injured, especially a kid, but you do have a point. Rather than get in the mode of relying on government bureaucrats and lawmakers to set technical standards I’d rather see free market competition providing options and individuals making the right choices. A good pool installer would probably be a much better source of information to do it right than what is written in some law they are forced to comply with that may or may not represent the best solution.

[smokingfrog]

Pennington's advice: Replace any flat drain covers. Install a vacuum release device. Tell kids to stay away from the drain. And finally, if your child gets stuck, roll them off the drain, don't pull straight up.

It might be a good idea to turn the pump off first. Actually, if you don't have two drains or one of the safer drain covers you could probably turn the pump off when the kids are using the pool to be on the safe side, and then turn it back on later.

[presently no screen name]

On Friday, his store will call the thousands of customers who will now need their faulty covers replaced.

So this is a new thing?

[Porterville]

Sh+ that Brady can’t get a break

[vbmoneyspender]

It wasn't Brady - it was James Baker's granddaughter - which makes the legislation even more ridiculous. Only 11 people have drowned from this 'defect' since 1999. That's one a year. You are 50 times more likely to die from a lightning strike than you are to die from getting stuck to a pool drain. Given these facts, one would think this is not the type of tragedy that is crying out for redress via a brand new section in the United States Code.

Put bluntly, this was feelgood legislation that was passed to make the family of a Washington DC bigshot feel better. Conservatives should find it truly disturbing that if some Washington DC insider has some tragedy occur in their family, they stand a good chance of imposing their will on all of their fellow citizens through ridiculous legislation that their fellow DC insiders pass in order to make all of them feel good.

Again this is just ridiculous and is emblematic of everything that is wrong with Washington DC.

[Defiant]

That Brady was never secretary of state. He was Reagan’s press secretary. Maybe he means James Baker.

[matt04]

And from what I have read about the drownings, several were from either broken or missing drain covers, leaving just a hole whit a pipe at the bottom, no plastic cover over it. And as I said earlier, to me it would seem you would have try to get stuck to a drain.

Even if it is a new pool, with two drains connected to the same pipe whit the safe covers on it, I’m sure you could find a way to block both drains, rendering any new laws on design and covers useless.

[Right Wing Assault]

it would seem you would have try to get stuck to a drain

The problem is that stupid things are the very kind of things kids like to do.

[antceecee]

Geez... how did we survive back in the 50’s and 60’s with so many irresponsibly designed pools?????
Let’s just mandate that any and every design of any and every thing to do with anyone’s life has to be absolutely, certifiably without flaw.... okay...now I feel better. I only wish I had a lawyer in the family.

[Gene Eric]

>>or been remotely close to being sucked in yet.

Yeah, they get “sucked” into the plumbing...

No moron, they can’t get enough upward movement to escape drowning. Not everyone’s a floating, buoyant chubby.