Apartment management companies leapt into action over Memorial Day weekend as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a voluntary recall of several pool and in-ground spa drain covers just hours before the opening of swimming pool season in most regions nationwide.
“We got word of the recall around 2 p.m. on the Friday before Memorial Day and were faced with a tough decision,” says Mark Fogelman, CPM, President of Fogelman Management Group in Memphis. “We decided that we could not take the risk and immediately closed all pools at our 63 properties and then set about determining which of the pools we could exclude from the recall list due to meeting certain conditions.”
The recall applied to drain covers from eight manufacturers made after Dec. 19, 2008. By 10 p.m. that same Friday, Fogelman’s company was able to eliminate all but 13 properties from its “closed” list.
Among those Fogelman closed was a 972-unit property with six pools and a 614-unit property with three pools, “so we did have many upset customers,” Fogelman says.
Riverstone Residential Group had its onsite maintenance associates physically inspect pool and spa drains by going underwater, using goggles for clarity of vision, to determine if drains were subject to recall. The company advised its communities that if this information was not received, in its entirety, by its regional maintenance managers by June 2, those pools and spas must be closed until maintenance staff verify that the drain covers in place are not subject to a recall. Likewise, if associates find that a recalled drain cover is in use, they must close the affected pools or spas until proper repairs are made.
The company’s completed inspection of drains found that 8.2 percent of its pools and spas were subject to recall.
“We’ve had no incidents that have hurt residents,” says Terry Danner, CPM, President of Riverstone Residential Group in Dallas. “Those pools and spas with the recalled drains have been temporarily closed.”
Danner said in early June that he expected the majority of closed pools and spas to have the drain covers replaced within a few days. Parts are available in most areas and cost from about $40 to $75 per location, excluding labor, he said.
Fogelman said he expected all of his pools fully in service by June 15. While he says it was not difficult or expensive to address the issues, the timing was “horrible.” –NAA’s Jeffrey Lee