Does anyone else have an irrational fear of pool drains?

I am terrified of pool and spa drains. As far back as I can recall I've hated them, although my phobia has become worse as an adult (now 38). It's so embarrassing, even my husband doesn't know about me fear...although, I have tried to instill a healthy "respect" for them in both of my (now teenage) children, as I was always afraid something awful would happen to them if they got near a drain. I won't even go in an in-ground hot tub because the drain is right there and there is no way to avoid being near it. We had a pool built at our last home and are about to have one built at our current home, and even seeing them during construction phase just freaks me out. I thought I was the only person in the world with this fear, but evidently I'm not!!

They do kind of suck, don't they?

No, why, are they attacking people now?

I am absolutely terrified of pool drains. And it's not because of the whole "I could get stuck in one and drown" or whatever. Every time I'm even standing next to a pool or spa that has a drain in it *it's even worse if there are two*, I feel like I can't breathe and I get really nervous, because I feel like the drain is aware of me. I know it's just a bunch of pipes and stuff, but I feel like the drain knows I'm there. And that's what's so freaky about them to me. Once, I was sitting (very reluctantly) in a spa with my family and they grabbed my leg and tried to pull it down so my foot would touch the drain at the bottom and I FREAKED. I almost broke my dad's nose because I was trying so hard to get away. I will never be rid of this phobia, no matter what I do.

Dude! I feel the same way. I love to swim, but my fear keeps me from it. I just wish I could make the fear go away!
I would suggest that you find a way that doesn't make you as frightened.
For example, I am less nervous when I am around people, or if I have a floatie with me.

This morning, I was at aerobics and I was totally fine. I swam right over the drain and wondered why I was so afraid of this harmless little grate.
As soon as aerobics was over and everyone got out of the pool, I got nervous. Then everyone went into the locker room and I was the ONLY one in the pool area. It freaked me out. I really wanted to stay and swim, but I just couldn't.
Last night, it kept me awake all night. I am so frustrated with the fear. I go swimming everyday and everyday I say, "I'm gonna touch it!"
And I never do...
I'm gonna get someone who will do it with me...

fear of pool drains isn't necessarily irrational. some drains can malfunction and create a stronger suction than they are supposed to. it is rare though. if you have small children, then your fear is justified. adults generally don't have to worry about drains unless you have long hair. i've never heard about an adult being trapped by a drain. i stick my fingers in the drain on my pool all the time to pull pine needles out, and i can't even feel the suction on it.

Yes!!! Everytime i have to swim near or over one i close my eyes.. but that still freaks me out. I'm a good swimmer and i really do like to swim but I cant cause being in the pool near the drain makes me wanna have a heart attack!!!... I sometimes think that the cap is going to pop off and suck me in. or that dark hole where the water would drain out of will come and get me.. or even that it stares at me. :(

I did for a while after seeing that rescue 911 episode.

YEEEEES!!! OMG i thought it was only me!! i have a very big fear of water and will not go anywhere near a pool, sea etc. but the drains scare the shizzers out of me! even when i did swim i would avoid them like the plague! i used to think sharks would come out of them! so glad i'm not the only one!

no i dont go swiming in a lake or river.

Ahhh !!!!
That is so true thats what im like !! Its not that ill get sucked in them because i know i wont its just how they look ! I can remember when i developed the phobia i was about 7 (im 18 now) and stood one on by accident and realised that it felt differently to the rest of the pool floor, and looked down to see that i was stood on this big black mesh like square.I am now so so terrified and the thought of swimming over them or standing on them , or hanging onto the pool side near a light...anything like that and i just cant breathe it is so so bad and i dont understand it !!!!

Shit! They're everywhere!!

I remained pretty ignorant of pool drains until I was a teenager, then my cousin told me about someone getting caught by a drain. I absolutely love to swim and I refuse to let this fear keep me from it. In the club pool where I swim I do avoid the drains, although I am sure they are totally safe. I will swim over them but I avoid doing this whenever I can and I do better when I don't look at them as I go over. I have this weird fear of seeing directly into them, although I don't think you can see through the covers. The best thing I have done to combat this fear is to learn all that I can about how pool drain systems work and what makes them unsafe as well as safe.

I remember taking swimming lessons when I was little and I remember one of my instructors telling us that they would suck us up or something to that effect. Now I'm 18 and that's obviously not true but I still hate swimming over them or really near them. I'm okay if I'm in the pool with someone else and just don't look at them but I know they're there.

I'm also terrified of pool vacuums. I hate how they move like they follow me and I'm afraid they'll suck up my toes(of course they won't). I was swimming at my best friend's house in her pool and we were sitting on the steps and her stupid pool vacuum, appropriately named Jaws, seriously climbed up the WALL and started nibbling my toes; I screamed so loud. Fortunately she knew I was afraid of them and took it away.

I have touched and/or stood on them before but they're different in each pool like they have personalities. I can touch the one in my best friends pool but not the ones in the pool next door or most any other pool. I've come to the point to not let it consume me completely. Kinda like Batman. (:

when I was a small child I did

Yeah, I'm 14 now and I've had this phobia since as far back as I can remember. It's really weird because I don't think it will suck me down or anything, I just get panic attacks and I freak out when I go near one.
I'm even afraid of pool lights and the little holes that the water goes through.
When I was around 5, I hated plugholes in my sink too. I don't know why, I am just scared of them. I'm not scared of anything else. I'm a hobbyist ghost hunter, I am an extreme sports enthusiast, and yeah, I sometimes think "I could die here", but I'm not afraid of anything but pool vents.

hahaha I do. I thought I was the only one!! lmao

I've had this fear ever since I can remember. I don't know why.

I remember dreading swimming lessons at school. I would some times get put in the middle lane & have to swim over it. It was round, plastic & White. I would be petrified playing ring a ring a roses at the end because all of a sudden I would walk over it & feel it. Oh god.

There's 3 in my local Swimming pool. Thankfully there's a lane you can swim in at the side of the pool which I can just about take if there's people in the pool with me. But I can still see them at the corner of my eye.. Down there in the dark.. under 2 meters of water.
They are Metal, Square & shinny. About 40cms in width/length & scare the hell outa me.

There was a 999 series on the BBC where a girl got her hair caught in a suction thingy in a spa & almost drained.

And there was even this time, when 22 boys took a screw Driver into the Baby pool (which is only a metre deep) & took the screws out & lifted it up! I saw it open, like a trap door under water. I jumped up & told the Life Guard. So scarey.

You are not alone!

I have the same fear. And ive realized now that Im not the only one. I am 20 years old and Ive had this fear for as long as i can remember. My mother tells me its because she read me a story of a little girl who got her bracelet caught in one and drowned. But im not quite sure. She even used to go sit on it for me so i could see it was ok... I love to swim....especially in pools. Im ok as long as someone is with me. there was even a point where I would jump in but swim really fast up to the top or away from the deep end to avoid touching it. What i HATE is when pools arent very deep and they have one still....like at the 5 ft mark. I am 5FT tall and this terrifies me. Its not that I will get sucked down its just that I know what they can do. And i HATE how they look. I have had the same boyfriend since I was 15 and I moved into a house with a pool. Luckily it didnt have a drain so I was ok...and I didnt tell him about my fear when we swam in this pool. But when we swim in other pools i swim with him and If I hold onto him and he goes near the drain in a 5ft pool i will climb him like a tree. And he just laughs. If its in the bottom of an 8ft or deeper pool i am ok....who knows. I dont think its irrational.

i have it too... but my problem is, i luv 2 swim...

oh my god yes!! i have had a major fear of swimming pool drains since i was 3 or 4 years old;those big black grate things at the bottom of the pool are completely terrifying ! i will have a panic attack if i go anywhere near one! i don't like under water lights/windows/vents which are on the side of pools either and wave machines are out of the question!! (That underwater prison thing that is at the deep end is enough to give me a heart attack!) When i go to a water park i have to walk around to check for plugs before i consider to get into the pool! And if i do manage to get into the pool i'll be constantly checking where i walk just incase i missed one (sometimes they are white!) i thought i was the only person in the world that has this irrational fear of drains its such a relief to know i'm not alone!xx

I'm 36 years old and I still won't swim over a drain in a swimming pool. It's a totally irrational fear, but I've had it as long as I can remember. I had an in-ground swimming pool in my backyard growing up, and it took me about 3 years to "make friends" with the drain and swim over it. It still gave me the creeps, though. The worst are the big square drains typically seen in olympic-size pools. They are extremely frightening for me. The first thing I do when I go to a different pool is scope out where all the drains are to determine where in the pool I can go. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has this fear--I was sure I was alone!

I don't think any fear is irrational.

i have had an irrational fear of pool drains /outake pipes , anything basically that has suction under water for as long as i can remember ! everyone always says im crazy and "theres no way that could happen " but it does all the time !

im constantly checking on the internet for latest suction entrapment cases its as though i have to feed my fear! and there are so many of them , hardly a month goes by without a new one cropping up and yet people still dont know this danger even exsists !

im petrified of swimming pools and as lots of others have said il always check out straight away when at any pool if all the drain covers are secure and the outake valves have covers and where they all are situated in the pool! i will do anything to get out of going in a pool and when i do am just a nervous wreak waiting any second to get pulled under !

i have had nightmares about drowning since i was very small and actually wake up choking in my sleep , to make matters worse once i was approached by a total stranger who told me she was a physic and she told me to listen to my instincts when it comes to swimming pool araagghhhhhh can you imagine !

lol
I constantly look down in the water to check for monsters when I'm swimming. I'm always scared i'm going to get sucked into one or something's gonna come out of one and get me.

I can't believe I found a sight like this! I'm 19 years old and have been scared of pipes/drains in water since I passed out in a school gala at school, after swimming passed one. I never swim in public pools because their drains re thhe biggest. I google drains too and stumbled across the one at the dam in Monticello. All dams have a pipe/drain type thing toward the deepest end and I refuse to even go near a dam anymore!!! Ugh. It's such a frustrating fear. There are drains and pipes everywhere and what's worse is my friend's will alwways try and get me near one by pushing me into a dam or pool. They did this until the day I had a panic attack and passed out. I'd rather be eaten alive by Goliath Bird Eaters, than put my little toe on a drain. Thanks for this site! Definitely adding it to my favourites.

WOW, I actually thought I was the only person with this.
It's bloody horrible :(
I can't enter a pool with the old square drains. NO WAY.
I have to survey the pool before entering and note the locations of filters and lights even, if there are too many I won't enter.

This makes me feel so much better! I thought I was completely alone in my strange fear of pool drains. I get so nervous around them, my heart races and it gets harder to breathe. I really love swimming, and this fear has really kept me from it. I am also much more scared of the square grates than the small round ones. When I go to the pool, I always have to find them right away so I won't swim near them. I try to act cool around my friends and family, but they make fun of me for it sometimes.

I don't really know where my fear comes from, I honestly don't think the drain will suck me into it. I've tried for years to rationalize my fear and get over it, but I'm 21 now and my fear is the same. My university requires all students to pass a swim test to graduate, I've put it off for three years because I'm so scared to swim near the drains. I know I have to conquer my fear soon because it could keep me from graduating.

I've had a problem with the drains (we're talking about the round white ones on the bottom of the pool, right?), pool lights, and emergency lights for most of my childhood. I'm 17 now and don't think I'm "afraid" anymore but they definitely make me uncomfortable. The drains I don't have a problem with if they're not in the pool, I can pick it up, touch it, no problem. The lights don't bother me so much when they're on, but I still sort of tense up when I see them and I avoid them if possible. I try to make myself touch them sometimes to help get over my fear, because I know it's ridiculous and I don't even know why they bother me. I'm trying to find a name for these phobias, but I have no idea how.

they dont actually drain the pool thats done from the skimmer its called suction goes to your pump then filter then returns to your spa and or pool, to drain a pool is done by placing a pump in the deep end and running a hose to a drain in your backyard or straight to the street

I'M NOT ALONE!!!
I have been afraid the drain ever since I could remember. I have always thought it would be cool to be a lifeguard or scuba dive, but this silly fear keeps me from it.

My ongoing project is to wipe out my fear of the drain.
My sister believes that my fear is a result of watching Ruggrats at a very young age.

Sometimes I can swim over the drain. The deeper the water, the better I can swim over it. I hyperventilate when I do though...especially while backstroking. Not being able to see it when I know where it is is even more scary.

Kaelisabeth@gmail.com

I don't think that's irrational

Ever since I was little I've always had a fear of the drain. It all started in a small swimming pool about 8ft deep with a little white drain. My swim teacher would throw rings down there after we were done for play time and I would pretend like I couldnt swim down there because i felt so disturbed when I dove down there. I would close my eyes and try to think that i wasnt anywhere near it. Then later my fear arose even more when I joined the swim team in junior high through high school. I've tried so many times to over come my fear of deep pools and drains, I cant seem to get it past me to this very day. So one day in high school i was swimming in the olympic size pool with the big rectangular drain. The lane lines were set up long ways so I had to swim right over the drain. I think I had only done a few laps, until i finally got out of the pool and told my coach that I quit. Its sad, cause I love to swim but the thought of the drain honestly freaks me out. It runs chills down my spine and I feel like something is going to happen down there. If I look at it it makes me very uneasy.. I wish I could find a way to make this fear go away. If anyone has any advice please let me know - mrJoeBlack21@hotmail.com

Yes, and not just drains either. Pool lights, and for a little while, even swim lanes terrified the living daylights out of me. I still remember sobbing when my dad made me go in a pool with all three. It's not really a fear of being sucked in, nor a fear of being electrocuted. I'm just freaked out by them... maybe it's the way that the water makes them seem like they are "moving".

All and all they just really scare me and I try to avoid pools with a lot of lights and a big drain. The little white capped drains I can handle if I make myself get used to them - the ones with grates... absolutely not! Thank you for posting this, I feel I little better knowing I'm not the only one who hates pool drains.

I have a definite fear of pool drains. Not irrational though.

I found a water aerobics class! I went there today, and did some aerobics over the drain that is 8ft down. When I got back into my workout, I was fine, but then I thought about where the drain was, and I got a little nervous. The drain was right below me, that's why I couldn't see it:) ha ha.
I discovered that bubbles come out of it. That was a little nerve-racking for me. I never knew that before.
I saw something on top the drain. I don't know what it was, but I remember thinking "What if that thing was mine..."
Gave me the creeps.
I LOVE the class though.
One of these days, I'm gonna touch that thing...and then blow a raspberry at it.

Hi
I have a 6 year old son who has a real phobia of swimming pool drains. We want him to have fun and confidence in the water but this is really holding him back. Worse still is the fact some swimming instructors refuse to acknowledge this problem and accuse him of being naughty or not doing what he is told when he wont swim near the drains, even after I have explained his fear. Does anyone have any solutions as I would hate for him to not enjoy his time in the water? He has swimming at school and the instructor there is great and he actually went up and touched the drain, however he refuses to do it in his current lessons. Any suggestions would be welcome thanks.
My own suggestion to the above question would be a cognitive behavioural approach where you gradually expose yourself to the fear in a supportive environment, we will take this approach with our son but if anyone has any other suggestions or things that have worked with them it would be great to hear.

i dont think it is wise to make your son touch the drain , he is right to be afraid of them and although these types of accidents are rare they do happen ! all children should be taught from a younge age not to touch the drains, they are dangerous when played with and most suction entrapment cases happen when children put their fingers and feet in the drain ! for more help and advice on drain safety check out www.drainsafe.com or goggle suction entrapment !

I've had a pool drain phobia ever since I was a little kid. One year, we went up to Canada for a vacation and we stayed at a campground . They had a big and small pool (for kids). Well, you couldn't see the bottom very well, and I remember stepping on the the drain, and you could feel a small amount of suction. Freaked me out and I haven't been the same since (I'm 35). I can swim in pools and even jump off into the deep end, but I sure as hell make sure that I jump as far away from the drain as possible and make sure that I pop up to the surface as fast as I can. I lifeguarded as a kid, and I remember that on occasion my boss would make the lifeguards swim to the drain to clean it of debris. I remember my heart rate skyrocketing as if i were about to have a coronary. To this day, I don't remember the excuses I gave, but I never did swim to the bottom to clean the damn drain. There were two of those classic 12" by 12" grate covers.

Oh wow! I didn't know that anyone else shared my fear!!! I read and related to all of those who have posted about this subject!
When I was 4 or 5 years old, I was in the deep end of a large public pool. I had managed to unhook the bubble on my back and I sunk to the bottom, right next to the drain!!! I think that was the beginning of my fear of drains! At 41 years old I will always check for the location and type of drain in a pool. The large square ones are the most creepy!!! Once I was in a pool where the drains were also built into the side walls. I touched one not knowing what it was and FREAKED!!!! Peace to my drain fearing friends! : )