Reducing Slip-and-Fall Accidents With Rubber Deck Material

Alexa Morales

Most people who used swimming pools as children have a memory of slipping and falling on the concrete deck by the pool, often resulting in an unsightly scrape. While the fall served as a quick lesson on not running around the pool, it's generally better to prevent as many falls as possible, especially as people get older. Resurfacing your commercial pool deck with a rubber material can help literally cushion the blow.

Better Traction From a Soft but Slightly Rough Surface

The beige and light tan concrete that you usually see around pools looks very nice, but it becomes very, very slippery when wet. It's easy to slip on the surface, and even easier to slip if you're a little kid running around and not paying attention to where you're going. The rubber surface used around pools is softer but also has a rougher surface, akin to the tread on a sneaker. It's soft but just grippy enough so that when it gets wet, it's not as slippery. You still need to be careful and instruct your kids not to run around the pool, but if they do, the surface makes it less likely they'll take an unintentional dive.

Softer Landing for Falls That Still Happen

For those falls that still happen, because that's part of being a kid, the softer surface makes the landing less traumatic. Instead of falling onto hard concrete, this is a slightly springier surface, sort of what you might find in a playground. In fact, the same rubber surfacing can be used in those areas, too, in place of those thick black interlocking mats that many playgrounds have used. That helps reduce the number of bruises your kids could end up with after a typical summer.

Mitigating the Remaining Risk

If kids have fallen at your community pool, you can do what you can to maintain the rules and urge everyone to be safer. Look at surrounding the pool with the rubber material instead of just resurfacing a portion of the area. And always supervise kids in the pool area; it's easy to just leave the kids to their own devices, but if smaller kids are around, always require that an adult or lifeguard watching over them.

Pool deck resurfacing covers unsightly cracks and forms a more even surface with better grip. In an environment where kids can quickly start acting up and chasing each other, having a softer, less slippery surface is essential. For more guidance, contact commercial pool deck contractors. 


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