Our South African culture is buddies, braai and swimming in all seasons, all year. With our golden summers and subtropical climate, having a swimming pool has become an essential luxury, not only enriching your family time but also adding generously to your property value.
There are options beyond the traditional turquoise rectangular pool that you can consider if you are planning on installing a new pool or renovating your existing one. For eco-conscious homeowners or those in search of a truly unique swimming experience, the design you are looking for is a natural swimming pool. (NSP for short)
Origins Of the Natural Swimming Pool
Swimming in a secluded mountain lake is an experience that cannot be matched. This tranquillity and rejuvenation cannot be found anywhere else. As a result, a group of Austrian researchers in the 80’s started to develop ways to bring this experience back home.
Decades later what started as a backyard experiment has turned into a global trend.
What Is a Natural Swimming Pool?
Like a traditional pool, an NSP is an artificially created body of water. However, unlike its synthetic turquoise cousin, it does not need artificial, unpronounceable chemicals to keep it clean. An NSP filters water in a way that mimics nature thus making the use of harsh chemicals unnecessary.
Additionally, the aquatic plants assist in this filtration process and become a haven for indigenous fauna. Transforming the humble garden into a small sanctuary, sustaining the local wildlife that is crucial to our ecosystem.
3 Reasons Why a Natural Swimming Pools Are Great
1. Chemical Free
An important reason why NSPs are appealing is that there are no chemicals involved. There is no need to breathe in toxic fumes, use eye-watering acids, or purchase expensive potions, reducing the cost of pool care on a monthly basis.
The water in an NSP is kept fresh by simply imitating nature. A shallow portion of the pool, referred to as the ‘regeneration zone’, is designed for this purpose. This area houses the filtration pumps, gravel, and aquatic plants. A simple pump circulates water through this zone where plants absorb nutrients, replacing carbon dioxide with life-giving oxygen.
2. Less Maintenance
As work demands intensify, finding smarter ways to maintain our homes has become a priority. Standard pool care is both a mundane, and time-consuming task.
By contrast, a natural swimming pool is designed to be a self-cleaning system just like a naturally formed mountain pool. Since this is a man-made swimming pool it is reasonable to expect some maintenance will still need to be done. Like emptying skimmer baskets and tending to the wetland garden as you would a normal garden. Owners of NSPs are noted to find this maintenance to be rewarding, and even look forward to it.
3. Nature Returns
Natural swimming pools transform a lifeless area into an aquatic paradise. Life seemingly emerges overnight. A conventional swimming pool, on the other hand, is not conducive to life. A toxic cocktail of chemicals keeps the water sterile and blue, thus killing any organic matter unfortunate enough to fall in.
Swimming in a natural pool lets you reconnect with nature. A constant flow of water drowns out urban noise while driving intrusive thoughts away. The aqua garden attracts bees and butterflies that you otherwise wouldn’t see. Since dragonflies eat mosquitoes so voraciously, they become welcome guests.
Final Thoughts
A natural swimming pool seems daunting at first, but when you consider all of the advantages that you can enjoy, it becomes an attractive choice.
The top 3 pros of a natural swimming pool are:
- No harsh chemicals
- Less maintenance
- Private retreat
There should be more to a pool than splashing around and cooling off. As well as being a great place to relax, a natural pool is a superb place to enjoy a golden day with friends and family. Natural swimming pools also benefit the environment.
A natural swimming pool oasis can be incorporated into your backyard landscape design, and the professionals at Pool Spa are knowledgeable and experienced to build, construct, and install it for you. Visit www.poolspa.co.za
