What
is suction entrapment?
Suction
entrapment is when someone is stuck to a drain in a
pool. Because the drain is under water, drowning is
more than likely. Since a picture is a worth a thousand
words, we have found a link to an old Rescue 911 episode
that graphically shows a drain entrapment episode from
the 1980s. Sadly these scenarios are still occurring
today.
Rescue
911 episode on You Tube.
There
are five forms of entrapment. They're easy, yet essential
to understand to "get" this whole issue.
1.
Body entrapment (a section of the torso becomes entrapped).
2.
Limb entrapment (an arm or leg is pulled into an open
drain pipe).
3.
Hair entrapment or entanglement (hair is pulled in and
wrapped around the grate of the drain cover).
4.
Mechanical (jewelry or part of the bather’s clothing
gets caught in the drain or the grate).
5.
Evisceration (the victim’s buttocks come into contact
with the pool suction outlet and he or she is disemboweled.)
How can I drain my pool without
a drain?
The funny thing is, drains are hardly ever used to drain
a pool! How goofed up is that?! TWO big points to remember:
1. With a composite fiberglass pool, there is no need
to empty your pool for general maintenance as you would
with a concrete pool. But if you ever did want to drain
your pool to add say, a pretty tile mermaid mosaic like
we did in our pool, all you have to do is use a sump
pump or open your filter plug. That's what a pool professional
would do. A sump pump is the quickest, most efficient
way to drain a pool. So no, you don't need a drain to
drain your pool. The "drain" in your pool
is not like the drain in your bathtub!
2. Remember---NEVER drain your pool yourself. Always consult
with a pool professional. Issues involving hydrostatic
pressure could really mess up your pool and deck area.
So what is a drain in a pool
if it's not like the drain in my bathtub?
A
pool "drain" is actually a misnomer. A pool
doesn't drain anything. That drain is really a suction
outlet. It's sucking water out of the pool and taking
it back to the filtration system, then back again to
the pool. It's like a straw. And the pump is like you.
Entrapment is like when you're sucking up that strawberry
shake from Dairy Queen and nothing comes up---then you
quickly discover a strawberry "entrapped"
at the end. Stop sucking and the strawberry releases.
Your pool requires a powerful pump to "pull"
that liquid back to the pump. So why in the world would
you want that "outlet" for suction inside
your pool where those sweet babies of yours are swimming?
Then
how do you get water to the pump without a "suction
outlet?"
Good
question! The water comes byway of a wonderfully, brilliant
little device known as a skimmer. A skimmer is a gravity-fed
product that simply collects water from the pool via gravity
and simultaneously skims out leaves and gunk. It then
deposits the water into a pipe that is connected to the
pump. The pipe is completely unreachable by swimmers.
No one ever sees the pipe that goes to the pump, which
is housed deep inside the skimmer, below the crud collection
basket. So there you have it. Easy breazy water collection
without a bit of danger.
I
had another builder tell me that if we didn't have a
drain system, our pool would not circulate properly.
This
is another one of the biggest objections by pool builders
for not having "bottom suction" in a pool.
The scary thing is, it is the least understood. It is
based on the "belief" that water becomes stagnant
in the deeper areas. It is not based on science. For
some awesome science on this whole concept, the must
read here is the
Fluent / Trilogy Pools study on pool circulation.
This study clearly shows that drains not only are unnecessary,
but they do not improve the circulation in a pool or
enable its ability to clear contamination. Imagine that!
Aren't
dual drains safe?
Yes.
For the most part. BUT, the real question is, would
you rather have your loved ones swimming in a pool that
is safe "for the most part" or in a pool that
is 100 percent safe? Here's the deal. Systems fail.
That is why Florida requires "layers of protection."
In the event that the second drain fails, a vent line
or a suction vacuum releif system will release the suction
and release anyone stuck on the drain. That's just great
until the vent line gets clogged with yard clippings
or rodent, or the svrs runs it's life expectancy. (Have
you ever heard of an appliance that doesn't eventually
fail?) Plus then there is the issue of the drain covers.
Guess what happens to plastic in a chlorinated environment.
You guessed it. Corrosion. The screws become loose eventually
and the plastic gets all funky. Now you have drain(s)
that have loosey-goosey covers that were supposed to
be protecting you from the last 3 forms of entrapment.
Yikes, and to think you didn't even need those drains
in the first place. See how frustrating this is?
I want a spa and a pool builder told me I had to have
a drain in my spa in order for it to run properly. Can
you build a spa without a drain?
Absolutely!
In fact the spa is the most dangerous place for a drain.
Because a spa is typically only 4 feet deep, where do
you think all the kids like to congregate? It's the
most fun for kids to goof around in a little warm body
of water, and guess what they do? Yep, they investigate
the drain(s). They're easier to get to in a spa that's
for sure!
We have
built many, many pool/spa combinations with no drains.
The reason a pool builder would want to use a drain
is because they need to supply the pump with water and
a bottom suction seems to be a great place to get it.
The thought of using skimmers on a spa is foreign. We
use multiple small skimmers and supply our pump the
same way we do our pools---through a gravity fed system.
Our spas circulate beautifully and have zero hazard.
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