A pool fence safety check helps ensure your swimming pool safety barrier is in good repair and ready to deter unsupervised access to the swimming pool area. Along with a pool fence inspection when buying a property with a pool or having a new fence installed, periodic checks should be done to ensure there’s no need for adjustments or repairs. By spending a small amount of time and effort, you can avoid escalating issues that lead to large repair bills or tragedy.
Removable mesh pool fencing is a tough, versatile pool fence option that’s easy to install, use, and perform pool fence safety checks on. It uses a rip-resistant mesh material that resists the elements and strong metal poles to create a barrier around the pool’s perimeter. The self-closing and self-latching gate prevents accidental access and is alarm-ready for added protection. Properly installed, it deters climbing, has no large gaps to push through, and can’t be raised high enough to allow passage. It can also be taken down in minutes to make room for entertaining and reinstalled almost as fast once it’s time to close the pool again.
Your removable mesh pool fence is ASTM-compliant, durable, and designed to be user-friendly. Time and Mother Nature, however, are undefeated. Safety checks help you identify areas of concern, whether they’re damaged fence components or pieces that need some adjustment to ensure a taut fence with minimal gaps and a gate that swings freely. When you make your pool fence safety check a regular part of your pool maintenance and upkeep, you can catch issues before they become unnecessarily expensive or time-consuming while keeping the time it takes for your effective safety check to a minimum. That leaves more time to enjoy the safer swimming pool area you’ve worked hard for.
Your pool fence safety inspection should start at your fence’s entry point, which is the most likely place someone who wants to enter the pool would try first. Your gate needs to swing freely for easy opening before closing smoothly on its own. As it closes, the latch should automatically engage, securing the gate so it can’t be pulled back open.
Many gate issues can be solved by adjusting the gate’s hinges. A hinge that isn’t properly aligned can leave your gate drooping, unable to close on its own, or unable to close at all. This is a simple, user-friendly pool fence repair that you can fix in a few minutes with some basic tools. Likewise, the latch and hinges can be lubricated with a small amount of 3-in-1 oil to ensure smooth travel through their full range of motion.
Carefully check your pool safety fence mesh for any signs of damage. Rips and tears are easiest to spot, but bent components or missing parts can all compromise the structural integrity of your otherwise ASTM-compliant fence and lead to torn mesh fabric. Checking your fence material is especially important before and after parties or get-togethers and after any big storm or incident where you know your fence was hit or leaned on heavily by a large object, like an inebriated guest or a tree limb.
Start at either one end of your fence or at the gate if you have a fence that doesn’t terminate against walls or structures. Move slowly, section by section, looking for any signs of damage to the material. Check the hardware installed on the fence. If any damage is found, you can make small pool safety fence repairs using our authentic All-Safe Pool replacement mesh. Major damage should be repaired by your local independent installation professional, as they have the tools and experience to ensure your pool’s integrity is restored.
If the poles offer too much movement to maintain the tension on your fence mesh, broken or damaged poles may be the culprits. While designed to be strong and resilient, the strength of your poles relies on secure anchoring. Loose poles are easier to bend, move to create gaps, or remove from their anchor holes completely.
Broken and bent poles should be replaced immediately with authentic All-Safe Pool posts or poles. Without their support, safety is compromised, and the remaining components are subjected to increased stress. Repair costs can add up quickly as cascading damages lead to more and more issues in your fence. Once the poles are replaced, verify your anchor holes aren’t the problem by addressing poles with too much movement.
Start by identifying which poles are moving the most and then verifying that the deck sleeves are still in place. These small sleeves fit inside the anchor hole to protect and support your fence poles, but they can also be easily lost when the pool safety fence is removed. Next, ensure the holes themselves are still tight and and they’re not showing signs of cracking or chipping around the pole. Due to the versatile nature of your pool fence, anchor holes can be moved, but care should be taken to ensure that the new positioning creates the taut fence you need, or you may have to adjust your fence’s length.
One of the big safety features of removable mesh pool fencing is that it creates a fence that has very few gaps and deters climbing. That means no large gaps a child or small pet could push through and no gaps to provide hand and foot holds for easier climbing. During your pool fence safety check, you’ll look for gaps that exist due to tension problems. Meanwhile, tension that’s too high will put undue stress on your fence components, possibly leading to ripped mesh material or broken poles.
Missing hardware, like molding screws or section latches, can leave portions of your fence or its material unsecured. While that is one reason you may also have loose tension, it could also be due to damage, loose anchor holes for the poles, or repeated stress that has stretched the mesh material in one or more places. If your pool fence mesh appears worn or stretched out of proper form and the square mesh is no longer even, replacement mesh should be installed. Likewise, replacement latches, molding strips, or other hardware can be ordered for easy pool-owner repair. If your tension is too loose, consider trimming your fence material or repositioning your fence poles to give your fence walls better support.
While your removable mesh pool fence will deter climbing when properly installed and maintained, creative and determined interlopers–usually kids or animals–will look for creative solutions to get around this problem. That’s why your pool fence safety check should also include the area inside and around the exterior of your pool fence. While you should be on the lookout for any hazards, potential climbing hazards are often missed threats to your pool’s security and safety.
Make sure yard ornaments, furniture, toys, and landscaping are a suitable distance from the pool fence. Inside the pool fence, that means far enough away a child can’t reach them over the fence to pull them closer. There should be enough clearance on the outside of the fence to make it impossible to climb or jump over the fence from these objects. For large features that can’t be easily moved, such as trees or heavier furniture, plan on extending your pool safety barrier to enclose these items to minimize the risk they’ll be used to gain unsupervised access.
Whether you’re installing a new pool fence, upgrading your existing one, or need professional inspection and repair services, your community’s All-Safe Pool Pro is your go-to source for a safer swimming pool. Contact them to schedule a free estimate and discuss your pool protection options. Keep your pool protected with All-Safe Pool today.
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