Pool and spa entrapment accounts for too many deaths and serious injuries and could be prevented. NEVER let anyone play with or around the drain covers typically located at the bottom of a pool or spa because the suction power is so strong when in operation that no one man, not even two or more men may be able to pull a person or child off or away from the drain’s suction.
Beware of drain covers that may collapse due to brittleness or old age. Anyone that gets stuck or sucked into the drain can actually have their intestines sucked out of their body through their anus. Intestines, once outside the body in a contaminated, uncontrolled environment, cannot be put back in or re-attached to your body, consequently, a surviving child or person, in all likelihood may end up on a life support system for the rest of their life.
The swimming pool and spa industry essentially admits that the safety standards regulating swimming pool and spa drain covers may be set too low allowing tragic accidents to happen. Who would ever think such an innocent looking drain cover in a pool or spa could have such a devastating effect? Children have died because their long hair got sucked into the drain through the drain cover without the drain cover even coming off or being defective.
Once a person’s buttocks gets stuck or sucked into the drain it may be next to impossible to escape entrapment unless you can shut off the pump quiickly. Drain covers may look harmless but can be deadly due to lacking universal safety standards and lack of backup “cut-off switches” or alternative safety devices or attachments which could possibly help prevent entrapment accidents. Up to 90% of all pools and spas may have NO BACKUP safety system in place to prevent drain entrapment.
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ABC-TV 20/20 7/18/97