Eco Friendly And Environmentally Sustainable Swimming Pools

07 Mar Eco Friendly And Environmentally Sustainable Swimming Pools

4 Eco-Friendly Pools Worthy Of Your Backyard

From Care 2

A swimming pool is a vessel filled with water, which in and of itself seems to be an environmentally friendly amenity, right?  Unfortunately, the use of equipment and utilities that burn fossil fuel has always been the bugaboo with swimming pool ownership.  Luckily for the environmentally conscious, advances in technology and innovations over the last decade have seen environmental consciousness permeate into the swimming pool industry.  Efficient equipment, chlorine alternatives, and natural options in filtration have made the swimming pool closer to an eco friendly amenity.  This post from Care 2 discusses 4 of these advances to make your backyard a more natural, environmentally-conscious one.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

When the summer heat has baked your brain and sweat is dripping from every pore, there are few things as tempting as a swimming pool. Sparkling in the sunlight, a backyard pool looks like a desert oasis, just waiting to lower your body temperature and make you feel lighter than air.

But the lovely lapping water hides a toxic secret. Most pool owners use chlorine to ensure sanitary conditions for swimmers, but excessive exposure is anything but safe. According to the EPA, chlorine irritates the skin, eyes and respiratory system, and children who swim frequently in chlorinated pools may have increased risks of developing allergies or asthma. Chlorine exposure in adults has also been linked with other health problems including bladder and rectal cancer and, possibly, an increased risk for coronary heart disease, states Dr. Andrew Weil.

And that’s only what it can do to humans. Chlorine can also escape from water and enter air under certain conditions. “Once in air or in water, chlorine reacts with other chemicals,” explains the EPA. “It combines within organic material in water to form chloride salts. It combines with organic material in water to form chlorinated organic chemicals.” Draining a chlorinated pool at the end of the season is toxic to local waterways, putting plants and animals at risk.

To avoid swimming in a potentially poisonous stew, some homeowners and designers have developed cleaner, greener alternatives. These eco-friendly pools look slightly different, but I promise, they’re just as refreshing and will actually enhance the environment instead of hurting it.

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