Natural Swimming Pools

With rising awareness, the world is slowly progressing to greener methods from solar power to indigenous gardens and organic food. It is by no means impossible to make your home a greener place and today we’re looking into natural swimming pools. Natural swimming pools are slowly taking over from the traditional chemical filled pools, not only as a healthier alternative for the earth itself, but also for our own health and wellbeing.

There are many methods of having a more natural swimming pool, but all of them include lower maintenance, lower running costs, and better water quality. Let’s take a look at a few methods of sustaining a more natural and earth-friendly swimming pool.

If you already have a pool and are hesitant to make a total switch, there are a few methods which can turn your existing pool into a more eco-friendly version. Placing plants along the edge of your pool or even turning a section of your pool into a natural water garden creates a living filtration and oxygenation system.

You can also use hydrogen peroxide to sanitize your pool - a 35% percent solution which can easily be found at natural food stores. Baking soda and Borax are great to use if your pools pH levels are out - use baking soda if the pH is too high and borax if it is too low. Another great tip we came across was putting tennis balls into your pool to absorb any oils such as those from sun creams. When the tennis balls start to look a little dirty, simply replace them with new ones. You could also look into an ozone generator, a system which uses the natural disinfectant properties of ozone to keep your pool so clean that you could drink the water. Installing an ozone generator means you can convert your already existing pool with very little hassle.

If you’re totally on board and ready to either build a new pool or overhaul your existing pool, then let’s have a look at how it works:

Eco pools are like the crystal clear, refreshing pools out in nature. The added benefit is that the natural pool is right in your back yard so you don’t need a 4x4 trip or a long hike to reach it. Plus they don’t have mud and creepy-crawlies on the bottom!

These pools work on a biological system instead of a chemical one, recreating a full mini eco-system which functions just like the ones out in nature. There are two separate parts – the pool itself and the filtration section/aquatic garden. The aquatic garden can either be right by your pool, with the plants separated via a dividing wall or you can have it as a feature elsewhere in your garden and link it to your pool via pipes. The plants in the aquatic garden filter out and clean the water, leaving nothing behind for algae and bacteria to grow; this is what keeps your pool nice and clean without the need of chlorine or hydrochloric acid. Whilst these pools are designed to be self-cleaning, they do need to have occasional maintenance in terms of cleaning out leaves and debris and require a small pump.

On top of the awesome chemical-free water, eco pools are also energy efficient as the small pump uses far less electricity for day to day running and can even be run on solar power.

The great news as that there are several natural swimming pool installation companies throughout South Africa who offer a variety of choices, from traditional looking pools to totally natural looking pools, it is all up to you.

So whether you want a total overhaul or opt to simply update your existing pool, moving towards a chemical free swimming spot is not only better for the earth but better for your own family’s health too.