The Ultimate Safety Guide to Metal Swing Sets
I remember growing up as a child and one of my fondest memories was spending time in the backyard on our metal swing sets. Yes, we were fortunate to actually have two sets! As a result I have some experience with the best way to set them up, to maintain them, and to ensure your kids get the most fun out of them as possible.
It All Starts with Safety
As with a number of things that are designed for children, safety is of utmost importance when it comes to metal swing sets. Kids can get hurt easily with a number of things, but you put a big metal object in the backyard and if you are not careful, things can happen. The specific sections of this guide all revolve around safety. If you think about safety with respect to anything in your backyard, especially metal swings sets, you will get years of enjoyment out of them.
Attach Into the Ground
Step back into your childhood for me: it is a nice sunny day and you and your friends are hanging out at your house and are playing on your swing set. You and your friend’s legs are pumping like crazy and you are swinging higher and higher. Then it happens.
The legs on the metal swing sets starts to lift off the ground and throws you off
This happened to a lot of people and still happens today – the design of today’s metal swing sets has not changed too much and they are still prone to the legs lifting if not anchored properly.
It is very easy to fix – but does take a bit of work. There are products available that will anchor your metal swing sets to the ground. Take this product for example: Flexible Flyer Ground Anchor Kit for Metal Swing Sets
Buy Higher Quality
This tip is a trickier one, as it requires the outlay of some extra money. In these days of economic recession, discretionary spending is not high so it is easier to try to save money on metal swing sets. However, in my experience the higher quality, and thus higher cost, sets are the safer alternative. The reason is that the higher cost versions are typically made with better metal, have better welds holding the parts together, and are actually heavier which means less flexing and the dreaded leg off the ground phenomenon I spoke about earlier.
Yearly Maintenance of Metal Swing Sets
The last tip in the safety guide to metal swing sets is the yearly maintenance of your swing set. It does not take much, maybe 15 minutes at most, and will help enhance the look, length of life, and most importantly safety of your set. Here are the three maintenance items you should do:
1. Check the welds or connections where each of the legs intersect. Look for lose connections and fix.
2. Check the chains holding the swing seats to the metal swing sets. If any are rusted or look weak, replace them immediately.
3. Check that your anchors that are holding the legs to the ground. Ensure they are firmly holding the legs to the ground and are not lose.
Summary
Metal swing sets bring millions of kids backyard enjoyment every year. If you take care of them and focus on safety, then your kids will have wonderful memories just like you did.
