Millions of backyard above-ground swimming pools are being recalled after nine child deaths have been linked to a flaw companies have known existed since 2023.
The children who died were between 22 months and 3 years old, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The child deaths took place in California, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri between 2007 and 2022.
The recall covers about 5 million pools that are at least 48 inches tall.
The pools were made by Bestway, with operations in China and America, Intex Recreation Corp., and Polygroup North America Inc. All the pools were made in China.
The flaw that makes these pools dangerous is that they were made with compression straps that wrap around the outside of the pool and its supporting poles. The straps can be used as a foothold by a toddler to climb the outer wall of the pool, enter the water, and drown.
RECALL: Bestway, Intex & Polygroup recall 5 million above ground pools 48 inches and taller with compression straps running on the outside of the pool legs that may create a foothold, allowing a child access to the pool; drowning hazard. 9 deaths reported: https://t.co/sDa3bQJoqA pic.twitter.com/JFLYcJGjGn
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) July 21, 2025
The CPSC said consumers should get a free repair kit from Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup.
They will receive a rope to wrap around the support poles. Once the rope is in place to keep the pools’ sides straight, consumers are urged to cut the compression strap around the pool.
The recall includes the Power Steel, Steel Pro and Coleman Power Steel models made by Bestway.
Intex models covered include pools branded as Metal Frame Pools and Ultra Frame Pools, as well as models sold online and at Walmart in 2024 and 2025 branded as Prism Frame Pool and Ultra XTR Frame Pool.
Polygroup models include Summer Waves, Summer Escapes, Funsicle, Sand n Sun, and Blue Wave.
The pools have been available at retailers, which include Walmart, Target, Sears, Lowe’s, Kmart, Toys “R” Us, Sam’s Club, The Home Depot, Big Lots, Costco and BJ’s.
The pools were also sold online at Amazon, Wayfair.com, Bestway USA, Intex, Funsicle, and Summer Waves.
About 266,000 of the pools were sold in Canada.
“As part of this process, starting in 2023, the three companies began working with the CPSC and other safety advocates to update the safety standard for above-ground pools,” Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup said in a statement, according to Fox Business.
“The updated standard was finalized in May 2025 and aims to prevent unsupervised children from gaining a foothold on the products from compression straps that surround the outside of the pool legs.”
The companies said, “[M]ost above-ground pools 48 inches or taller in height currently being sold today have already addressed this concern,”
The recall will “ensure that these changes can be applied to all above-ground pools sold since 2002 that are 48 inches or taller in height,” the statement said.
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