If you're lucky enough to own a private swimming pool, spa or hot tub. Then you'll know that it's essential to keep your pool clean to use. To do this, you have to use swimming pool chemicals. Most people will know about pool chemicals, but do they know how potentially dangerous they can be?

Swimming pool chemicals can be dangerous, and even deadly. On January 14th at Clear Lake High School in Texas, 5 workers were taken to hospital after one of the 5, a contractor, mixed 2 chemicals together. The gases given off by the chemicals gave the contractor a head ache. He and four other school employees were sent to hospital.

Another example, which had the potential to harm alot more than 5 people, was in Ceres, a home depot store. The store was evactuated after a fire began in the Garden Center part of the store. The fire then spread to pool chemical containers which were then damaged, releasing toxic fumes into the store. Chlorine and other chemicals were released, however, the fire was contained thanks to the stores sprinkler system.

Only one person was injured due to the fumes, however, if the sprinkler system has not proven to be affective, then the fire could have become even more serious as more chemicals became involved.

These 2 stories show how dangerous and lethal swimming pool chemicals can be. So, how can you protect your family from these chemicals.

Here are a few tips to help you stay safe when using and storing pool chemicals:

• Never smoke when using pool chemicals.
• Never mix chemicals.
• Wear protective glasses when handling pool chemicals.
• Store the chemicals in a cool, dry space and out of direct sunlight.
• Make sure the chemicals are out of the reach of pets and children.
• Never store the chemicals above an adults head height.
• Always store liquid chemicals below powder chemicals.
• After handling pool chemicals, always wash your hands.

Those were just a few tips on how you can help to protect yourself and your family from the dangers of swimming pool chemicals.

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If you have been lucky in life and been able to buy your own swimming pool, spa or hot tub. You will know the importance of having a filtration system within your pool.

Due to the importance of having a filter in your pool. You should always ensure that it is working, if your filtration system stops working without you knowing, your pool could soon become dangerous to use and maybe even deadly.

The first sign that your filter system has stopped working is that dirt will begin to collect at the bottom of the pool, this is simply because the pool is not being cleaned by the filter system, maybe not dangerous or life threatening, but certainly not pleasant to swim in.

The biggest reason why your filter system should always stay active is to circulate the swimming pool chemicals, such as chlorine. If your filtration system stops working, the chlorine, used to kill bacteria, within your pool can stop circulating, this means that chlorine can collect in the pool, making it cloudy to view. However, cloudy water wouldn't be your only worry, because the amount of chlorine has risen, it becomes very dangerous and potentially deadly.

Because chlorine is designed to kill bacteria, if it's in high concentration, it can become poisonous and can damage your skin.

So, as you have seen, keeping your pool filter working can be life saving, however, if you have a pool filter or are going to get one, make sure that you have a drain cover on the filter. If you don't then this too can become a hazard. If a person gets sucked into the filter, it can seriously injure or even tear someone apart due to the force of the filter.

These are just a few tips that you should follow for maintaining your swimming pool and keeping it safe to use.

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