More often than not Pool Fence is the last thought on the minds of a home buyers list of things to take care of . Children are excited by the prospect of having a new home with a pool and having their new bedroom and what color it will be painted and all of the other associated excitement surrounding the move.

As parents, we must all remember that pool safety comes first. Not second, third or fourth. It takes seconds for a child to fall into a pool and the end result can be from bad to fatal. Removable pool safety fence is not a law in Puerto Rico. It should be but we all know the politics surrounding just getting the "common sense" laws passed in the Commonwealth.

As a first step it is recommended to put door alarms on all doors leading to the backyard from inside the house. These can be purchased online and are very economical. The second layer of protection you would want to add to your property is to make sure all gates leading to the back yard are lockable and self closing. The most important layer of protection is the pool safety fence. This protects children when you are looking and when you are not looking. The importance of a self closing, self latching and lockable gate are self explanatory especially when you have a pool service person (the gate closes itself so the exposure to the pool is reduced).

Whatever your priorities are when it comes to acquiring a new house with a pool, make sure that pool safety fence is one of them because it can truly make the difference !     

Pool safety covers have increased in popularity in Puerto Rico for a couple of reasons. The first is that the value of a pool safety cover during the "off season" allows the pool to be closed with little to no maintenance all the while keeping the pool safe. As we all know if you do not have a heater on your pool, the pool is a little cool during the "winter" months of the year in Puerto Rico and many do not see the value of weekly service for their pool when it is not in use if they can simply close the pool for a couple of months. The second and lesser of the two main reasons for the pool cover is the rampant growth of the population of iguanas on the island. A Pool fence will  not keep these pesky reptiles at bay. A pool net will not keep them at bay. A pool safety cover will keep them out of the pool. Will they still leave "presents" on top of the pool cover? Yes. This is easily resolved by letting the "present" dry and then simply using a hose to spray it off (it will get wet again however it will get washed off the cover easier than when new). The second option is to use a lawn blower and blow it off. Either method is certainly more sanitary than the mess that is often left in the actual pool itself. Contact Pool Guard of Puerto Rico today for your free in home estimate for a pool safety cover.    

Pool fence comes in different colors  When looking for pool fence, ask to see the various colors not just what the person has available .The most common colors in Puerto Rico are Beige, Brown and sometimes a combination of the two. While all black fence tends to be popular in the United States, here in Puerto Rico the housing color and size of the yard plays a role in the tendency to use a lighter color. Some may argue that is shows dirt easier however with the UV coating that the Pool Guard fence has, cleaning is as simple as a hose and broom for a light cleansing. The darker colors tend to make an area look smaller (interior and exterior designers will tell you the same about house paint especially when painting a small room, a light color will make the area feel bigger). Take a moment to contact Pool Guard of Puerto Rico today for your free in home estimate to make your pool safe for kids.  

There seems to be several reasons for people wanting to cover their pools here
in Puerto Rico other than just the mere safety of having the pool secured. Often
people that have a property with a swimming pool in Puerto Rico cover their
pool because they are going to be gone for an extended amount of time from
their property and not only want it secure from children but from
the debris that the vast amount of vegetation generate given we are on an
island. Certainly the third and most paramount irritant in owning a pool in
Puerto Rico is the amount of Iguanas. These pesky reptiles continue to grow
in population and have now reached epidemic levels as they continue
to damage crops, disrupt planes landing at all the local airports and
use residential pools as their personal swimming holes. A pool safety cover
prohibits them from having their leisurely day in the sun at your pool
while you are at work during the day. How? Very simple. The horizontal
 barrier does not allow them to get to the pool and thus eliminates
your pool as a source of drinking and swimming source for these reptiles. Pool
safety covers come in an assortment of colors and materials so that
you can have a selection of what you feel is best needed for your specific
pool. Certainly not all covers are built the same and that is why we recommend
you to contact your local pool cover installer and review the benefits of the
manufacturer and their respective material. The warranty will range depending
on the manufacturer and the product so make sure that the product that
you select can be referenced back to the website of the company and that you get
your warranty registration papers when you have your cover
installed.    

It's no secret that Puerto Rico has the longest holiday season in the world. This holiday season brings about several new situations that are presented to people that own homes. The first is that there are an abundance of holiday parties. This increase in traffic means that people will be in the back yards and possibly bring their kids with them to the events. If you have a pool and you do not have a pool safety fence or pool safety net or pool safety cover, then you should consider the implementation of one of these products because accidents can happen when nobody is paying attention to the children. There will be food and of course drinks. The drinking of alchohol tends to cause people to relax their attention level and response time. It only takes a minute for an accident to happen with a pool involved. Pool safety fence is the number one product for pool safety. Layers of protection are advised when it comes to pool safety. A good example would be to have door alarms, window alarms and even a pool alarm. Certainly having all of these would be too much but we invite you to pick the products that best work for your house and family but for certain have at least a pool safety fence in place so you can truly enjoy your holidays.

As the lending landscape changes, so do the requirements for purchasing and refinancing a home using FHA. Inspections and appraisals are the standard but now the mandate is pool safety before closing. That's right, you need an approved pool safety product prior to closing. The most convenient product to use is a pool safety fence or commonly referred to as a pool fence. This product allows you to take the fence out of the ground and roll it up and store it when you have an adult party in your back yard and need that additional space. When you have a party for the children or if you have grandchildren, it certainly makes sense to have a pool fence for safety purposes. This product comes in many different colors. The recommended height is four feet as this is the national standard. An optional product (but is certainly the standard) is the self latching, self closing and lockable pool gate or baby gate. If you need your fence installed fast with a lifetime warranty and professional service, contact Pool Guard of Puerto Rico.   

Purchasing a home with a pool safety net when you have never owned one can be kind of an interesting process in regards to taking one off and placing it back on the pool when you are not familiar with the product at all. Pool Guard of Puerto Rico recently had a client contact them to do a safety check on the pool net as well as provide instruction as well as assistance in regards to how to use the product. Upon review of the pool net there were some areas that needed some attention. The rope in the center that is the main tensioner for the CTS (central tensioning system) had a great deal of wear and needed to be changed out. The overall condition of the product was pretty good provided the pool net was roughly six years old. A new pulley was provided for the customer's use along with the key to open the net and now the pool is once again up to pool safety standards.  Pool safety should be a top concern when you purchase a home with a pool or have a pool installed in your back yard. Above ground pools, in ground pools and even hot tubs all present a potential drowning hazard if not addressed with layers of protection such as a pool fence, pool net,pool safety cover or an alarm.      

We recently received a call from a parent of a previous installation that we had done (three months ago) and he wanted us to install a pool fence for his child however this location would be at his father's house. We scheduled an appointment and he made it a point that he did not want us to put a fence in without a pool safety gate. He was very stern in his opinion because he had a gate installed at his property with his pool fence and said there is just nothing practical about having a pool safety fence and not having the self closing gate. His biggest concern of course was somone opening the fence and not closing the fence back and with the self closing baby gate this is not a concern. The ironic part is that he is a pediatrician. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a 4 foot removable pool fence with self closing, self latching and lockable gate. "It just makes sense to have a gate" was his comment. Another satisfied pool fence customer has been established!       

Pool Guard of Puerto Rico is pleased to announce that we have several different colors of pool safety net to choose from. Pool safety nets usually are only offered in blue. Pool Guard now offers beige, brown, black and blue. The products are all made in the USA and all components come with a limited warranty so that you know the products you are purchasing are backed by a company that has been around and will be around. Call Pool Guard of Puerto Rico today for your free estimate. It's time to make your pool safe!
   

Few things are more annoying that walking by your pool and noticing there are leaves on the bottom of the pool only to find that when you remove the leaf it has left a lasting impression that is not a positive one....A STAIN! Leaves have a tenedency to do that and in Puerto Rico there is certainly an abundance of leaves since the weather never gets cold, the trees grow year round and thus making the cleaning of the pools a year round job as well (no compaints about year round warm weather for sure!). The challenge is to protect your pool from the arch enemy...leaves. There are two answers when it comes to pool covers. The first is the pin down pool safety/leaf cover and then there is the automatic pool cover (this would be the Mercedes of pool covers or leaf defense). The prices of these products are in variance according to a couple of different aspects. The size of the pool is the first aspect, the shape of the pool (rectangle is easier than say a kidney shaped pool) and last but not least any obstructions that the pool cover has to be built a special way in order to prevent one of the straps from being placed in the very same spot as a ladder. In other words, if you have a square pool and no ladder or waterfall and things of the such, it should be fairly easy to measure, if you have a more complicated shape pool then you will need to have a professional take an AB line measurement and other critical measurements to make sure that your custom pool cover will fit exactly. The time to measure these usually takes about an hour to two hours. The data then has to be sent to the manufacturer and built. The finished product is then shipped (this may take a week or so for the company to build it and then ship) to the professional and then installed. The installation process could take as little as four hours and some of the more complex covers may take up to a full day or a little more (pools that have waterfalls, multiple layers etc.).