High-Tech Innovations to Make Your Pool Safer

Smart homes and high-tech appliances get a lot of attention, but most families choose their home devices based on safety and convenience rather than showiness. When it comes to pool safety, there are plenty of innovative technologies designed to help keep your family safe in your backyard pool—and they'll still impress your neighbors come summer. Here are some of our favorite pool-safety technologies on the market:

1. Insta-Link Home App

The Insta-Link Home mobile application simplifies the process of testing and treating your pool's chlorine and pH levels. The app comes with testing strips and turns your smartphone—whether it’s an iPhone or Android device—into a testing meter. Testing with Insta-Link couldn't be simpler: all you need to do is dip the strip into the pool and scan the strip with your smartphone camera. You'll get treatment recommendations in seconds.

Accidental drowning is one of the biggest dangers of owning a pool, especially if you’ve got young children around. According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children ages one through four. In addition to vigilant adult supervision and thorough knowledge of pool safety guidelines, the Wahooo Swim Monitoring System is designed to help prevent tragic drowning deaths and injuries. The system uses lightweight sensors that swimmers can wear as headbands or attach to their goggles. The sensitive sensors trigger audio and visual warnings if a swimmer remains submerged too long.

Wireless applications can save a life if a swimmer suffers physical distress or medical complications in the water. The new crowd-funded Seal Swim Monitoring and Drowning Detection System aims to connect swimmers and lifeguards, parents or caregivers through wearable bands. Each band has its own electronic signature so that multiple swimmers can be monitored simultaneously. If a swimmer becomes distressed, a high-intensity alarm sounds on both the swimmer's and the guard's bands and on a central hub.

Your pool can pose a real danger if someone slips and falls or a child tries to swim without supervision. and a pool alarm system is designed to protect against such situation. PoolGuard Pool Alarm system earned a 100 percent reliability rating from the Good Housekeeping Institute and works equally well for both in-ground and above-ground pools. The alarm can't be deactivated once it’s activated, and it alerts an in-house receiver up to 200 feet away if any large object enters the pool. Small objects like rainfall or twigs won't trip the sensitive sensor, and you can simply put the alarm in sleep mode when it's time to use the pool.

One of the most important pool safety measures you can take is to ensure that the whole family learns how to swim properly. If you’re looking to supplement your child’s swimming lessons, consider SwimFin, which functions as a flotation device and support system for children learning to swim. You’ll never need to inflate or deflate the device, because it adjusts itself automatically as the wearer becomes more confident and skilled. The higher that SwimFin comes out of the water, the stronger your child's swimming skills are becoming.