Before you buy a swimming pool slide, be it a gunite pool, poured-concrete pool, or above ground pool, you need to make a few decisions and consider a few important issues. As most people are looking to purchase swimming pool slides for children to use, the first issue that most people look at is the issue of safety.

Is there a difference in safety between pool slides? Yes, in fact there are several factors that will influence how safe a swimming pool slide is:

• Height of the swimming pool slides. Areas that you should look at are if the slide has a rail to hold to as you climb to the top, how far they have to climb, and how study the slide is. Obviously a four foot swimming slide is going to be safer than an eight foot slide, as long as the slides are the same slide. However, if the swimming pool slides are different, then the taller slide can actually end up being a safer slide overall. For example, if the eight foot swimming pool slide has a handrail to hold onto, then it very well can be safer than the four foot slide.
• Whether or not the pool slide is an open pool slide or a closed pool slide (i.e. a tube swimming slide). Tube swimming pool slides are safer, as the risk of your child or someone else sliding off the side is decreased, especially in larger, faster slides. While you may not think the risk of your child sliding off the side of the slide is very high, it is a risk that needs to be considered, especially if you have adventurous kids who may not always follow the rules (as in the type of kids who may try to find ways to go faster than what would normally be allowed by the slide). With closed tube slides you really don’t have to worry about that as long as the stairs to the top are safe and sturdy.
• The sturdiness of the slide. Find out how much weight certain swimming pool slides can handle. Some slides will be able to handle even large adults, while some pool slides may not even be suitable for larger teenagers, which may become an issue as your children grow up. Also, check the supports holding the slide to ensure the slide does not rock side to side nor has a tendency to slope or droop in certain areas, which would increase the potential danger of the slide.

The next issue to consider is much more fun, and that is how much fun can be had with the slide! There are so many different slide designs and places to purchase swimming pool slides that the possibilities are literally almost endless (you can even buy slides on Amazon for great prices now days). Straight swimming pool slides are popular for either smaller children were safety is a concern, or for people who want a taller slide that is faster than other slides would be. Swirly or curving slides (as I like to call them) are great for fun and can be used by children of all ages. While not as fast as straight swimming pool slides, they are also not as ‘boring’, and are generally loved especially by smaller children.

Overall, the addition of a swimming pool slide to your pool will not only enhance the amount of fun you can have in your pool, but it can also add to the value of your pool, making it easier to obtain swimming pool financing if you have not yet build and installed your swimming pool yet.

One last key point: if you also use your pool as a lap pool, then you may want to make sure you can install your slide on the opposite side of the lap pool to ensure that someone doesn’t slide down on top of you while you are swimming laps!