Caring for a natural swimming pool

Looking for that natural design of a swimming oasis in the woods? Perhaps you'd like to swim under a waterfall, or be surrounded by beautiful trees, water lilies and organic things in nature when you're swimming. This is where a natural pool would best fit. A natural pool is quite different from a traditional pool in its functionality, appearance, cost and maintenance.
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Natural pools include two different zones, a swimming zone and a regeneration zone. The regeneration zone is usually shallower and because of this, a large land area is needed. If you have limited land, you may need to install a hybrid system with separate filtration. A pump circulates water through a waterfall or some sort of fountain to oxygenate the water and remove large debris. This purification can also be achieved through plants and filters within the regeneration zone. Once it's purified, it flows back into the main swimming pool.

The appearance of course is one of the biggest differences visually about a natural pool and a standard swimming pool. The appearance is seamless with the natural surrounding environment. Grasses, water lilies and other natural pond items can create a sense of nature and a peaceful environment. The water in a natural swimming pool also fills clean and refreshing with no chemical effects. However, the cost is really the biggest difference when it comes to which one will work for your budget. It's really a wetland ecosystem and is more complex to build and design. Although they might cost similar per square foot they are usually twice as large making the more costly.

These are environmentally friendly areas but because of that they require different maintenance. They rely on plants and organisms to clean and purify the water but during the swimming season daily maintenance is required. You want to skim the water of any debris daily and water plants will need to be taken care of.
All of this is information that you should have if you're planning on buying a home that has a natural pool but if you're considering building one there are some myths to debunk.

They may be more costly overall but not as expensive as you might think. Construction costs started about $50 per square foot however, because there are no chemicals, yearly maintenance may be less.
Another myth is that people think so be swimming in the weeds of the grasses. But because the swimming pools feature two distinct connected pools, one for swimming and one regeneration to hold the plants, there usually won't be any Interaction. Often times people will feel that this is such a natural swimming hole that animals and bugs will be attracted to the pool but because there natural, the elite mosquitoes and their larvae keeping your backyard free of these annoying pests.

Many people think the bottoms are natural as well but sterilize soil can be good for the plant pond but for the swimming pool itself, most construction is of concrete, synthetic or rubber liners or bentonite clay. This is about $.35 a square foot not installed and usually a 3 inch layer of this waterproof material is the cheapest option.
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If you're considering a natural pool or you already have one and have some questions feel free to give us a call at any time. We work with a variety of different types of pools would be happy to answer your question.
Image by Flickr

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