Pool barrier check

This is the printable version. Turn on JavaScript to use the interactive tool.

All the way around

• The fence goes all the way around the pool, so the house is not one of its sides. A four-sided isolation fence cuts a child’s drowning risk by 83% compared with three-sided property-line fencing. The CPSC also says a fence that completely surrounds the pool is better than using the house as the fourth side.
• Every pool and hot tub has a barrier, including above-ground and large inflatable pools. The AAP says all pools, including large inflatable and other temporary pools, should be fenced on all 4 sides.

Can a child get over it?

• The barrier is at least 48 inches (4 feet) high, measured on the side away from the pool. The CPSC says 5 feet or higher is preferable, and some towns require 60 inches. Check your local code.
• Nothing nearby can be used to climb it: no chairs, tables, planters, equipment or toys next to the fence. Move anything climbable well away. The barrier itself should have no handholds or footholds.
• If the horizontal rails are less than 45 inches apart, they are on the pool side, and the vertical slats are no more than 1¾ inches apart. Close rails give a child a ladder. Narrow gaps (1¾ inches, about the width of a young child’s foot) stop footholds.
• Chain-link mesh is no larger than 1¼ inches (or slats close the openings to 1¾ inches or less). Choose “Doesn’t apply” if you have no chain link. Add slats fastened at the top or bottom of the fence, or replace the mesh.

Can a child get under it?

• The gap under the barrier is no more than 4 inches (no more than 2 inches over grass or gravel). Raise the ground, add a bottom rail or lower the fence. Measure on the side away from the pool.

Can a child get through it?

• No opening anywhere in the barrier lets a 4-inch ball pass through. Four inches is based on a young child’s head and chest size. Close any larger gap.

The gate

• Every gate closes and latches by itself, and opens out, away from the pool. A child pushing on a gate that opens outward will close it, not open it.
• The latch release is at least 54 inches above the bottom of the gate, or it is on the pool side at least 3 inches below the top. This keeps a young child from reaching over and opening it.
• Within 18 inches of the latch, the gate and fence have no opening bigger than ½ inch. Small openings stop a child reaching through to the latch.
• You test the gate often, it latches every time, and it stays locked. The CPSC calls a gate that fails to close and latch completely the weak link in the strongest fence.

Doors and windows from the house

If any door or window opens onto the pool area, it is part of the barrier.

• Every door to the pool area has an alarm that sounds when it opens: loud (at least 85 decibels at 10 feet) and different from the doorbell, phone and smoke alarm. The CPSC also says any pause button should be at least 54 inches up, out of a child’s reach.
• Those doors also close and latch by themselves, or have locks a child can’t reach. Self-closing, self-latching doors work alongside the alarm.
• Windows with direct access to the pool area have locks or alarms out of a child’s reach. The Red Cross lists door and window alarms and locks as a second barrier.
• There is no pet door that leads to the pool or other backyard water. The CPSC says never to have one: children have drowned after getting out through pet doors, and locking them is not enough.

Extra layers

• If you use a cover as a layer, it is a power safety cover made to the ASTM F1346 safety standard (not a floating solar or winter cover). Floating solar and winter covers are not safety covers: a child can slip under one and be hidden from view.
• Above-ground pool: the steps or ladder are locked, secured or removed whenever an adult is not watching. Also move outdoor furniture and toys a child could use to climb in.
• Whenever children swim, one adult is the Water Watcher, and you have a phone ready to call 911. Barriers protect children during the moments between swims. During swim time, close, constant supervision becomes essential.