A mother is issuing a warning to swimmers this summer: check your pool ladders. She says her daughter was injured by the one on their above-ground pool.
Yvonne Gonzalez (@gonzalez.66) recently posted a TikTok where she claims her daughter’s leg was punctured by exposed fiberglass slivers from the steps of her above-ground pool ladder. And she’s urging other parents to keep an eye out for any structural damage to the steps on their own pools.
Painful swim day
Gonzalez begins her video with a recording of a child crying as a man checks her calf. A text overlay in the video delineates the cause of the kid’s pain. “Guys be careful when your kid or anyone touches these above ground pool ladders,” it reads.
Gonzalez then records herself approaching an above-ground pool in her backyard.
“So if you guys … have an above ground pool like ours. Could be Vevor or Summer Waves or whatever, but, all these freaking ladders,” she says. Next, she shows the ladder in question. “These ladders right here, if I put it in the sun. Let me show you guys,” she narrates as she unhooks the ladder from the pool and begins carrying it away from the pool and under daylight. “I don’t know if you guys know, but, if I put it in the sun. Look at all this, you’re gonna see it a little bit,” Gonzalez says.
“I don’t know if you guys can see the shiny part but all this … is like fiberglass, guys. And, it had my daughter over there screaming and crying. I don’t know if you guys can see … but you see how shiny it is?” she says, zooming in even closer to the ladder.
“Well it got on my daughter’s leg. And she’s been screaming and crying ‘cause of this fiberglass,” she says “Be careful guys, be careful with your kids when they touch it”. Towards the end of her clip, she shows that the pool’s brand is Funsicle. She adds that they previously had a Summer Waves above-ground model that was constructed similarly.
Her video has 8.3 million views as of this writing.
Fiberglass and the sun don’t mix
According to Wikihow, exposure to fiberglass can be a “health hazard … [that can] irritate your skin, eyes, and throat.” The website recommends washing skin that’s been punctured by fiberglass shards with soap and warm water. After drying off the affected area, you can use a strip of duct tape to adhere to the fiberglass and extricate remaining particles and shards it from your skin. Similarly, you can shine a light on the area and use a pair of tweezers to remove it.
Creative Safety Supply reports that “itchy fiberglass ladders” are indeed a real phenomenon. In fact, there’s even a term for it called “fiber-bloom.” A blog on the company’s website featured an interview with Dave Francis, who is the National Safety Director of Little Giant Ladder Systems. Francis says fiber-bloom is caused by exposure to ultraviolet light. “Fiberglass ladders are damaged by the sun. It takes a long time,” he reportedly said.
He added that several pool fixtures are routinely made of fiberglass. “If you’ve ever seen pool equipment, diving boards, benches, slides, in the past, after they’ve sat in the sun for a long time, they start to become brittle and crack. That same thing happens with fiberglass ladders,” he explained.
The Big Lead has reached out to Funsicle via email for more information on the materials used in their pool’s ladders. Gonzalez has also been contacted via TikTok direct message for further comment.
@gonzalez.66 #fyp #viral #becareful #smh🤦🏻♀️ #my ♬ original sound – Ivonne Gonzalez