Avoid toxic chemicals and the high cost of pool maintenance with an eco-friendly, self-cleaning natural swimming pool!

Image from bionovanaturalpools.com

Wouldn’t you love to have a beautifully landscaped, chemical-free swimming pool that’s full of crystal clear water? If so, then you would definitely be interested in a natural swimming pool. Just ask the Europeans about these amazing pools. European homeowners have been installing natural swimming pools in place of chemical-pumping pools for the past 20 years.

What exactly is a natural swimming pool? Natural swimming pools are the ultimate cross-breed between traditional swimming pools and beautiful garden ponds. Instead of using traditional pool building materials like concrete and fiberglass, natural pools are built with more environmentally friendly materials such as clay and gravel stone. They also incorporate plants into their design, which makes every time you swim a tropical adventure!

Need proof of how great these pools are? Here are a few very cool designs:

The David Family Natural Pool built by Biotop

Natural swimming pool built by Total Habitat.

  Nancy Adler’s natural swimming pool.

Natural swimming pool by Expanding Horizons.

Besides looking beautiful and exotic, natural swimming pools have other added benefits. Here are a few:

• Plants in the pool help circulate oxygen and act as habitat for wildlife.
• Natural bacteria in the pool act as biological filters to produce clear water (instead of that murky stuff you see in ponds).
• Once built, they’re cheaper to maintain than traditional swimming pools.
• They don’t have to be drained and refilled over and over again.

Oh, and there’s one other thing: the wildlife. Most natural swimming pools have fish in them, but you don’t have to worry about them bothering you or biting your toes. These fish are friendly, and they’re more interested in getting acquainted with the algae and insects in the pool. Plus, they’re very relaxing to watch, and you can feed them when you’re not swimming!

Take a look at this Australian home video to see for yourself:

Natural swimming pools are slowly gaining popularity in the U.S. with companies like Expanding Horizons (California) and Whole Water Systems (Idaho), but if you can’t find a natural swimming pool builder in your area, you can always attempt to build one on your own. Here’s a great article from Mother Earth News that shows you How to Build a Natural Swimming Pool.

So, what do you think about natural swimming pools? I think that I’m ready to swim with the fish like Mother Nature intended!

Contributed by Trish Smith (blogger for Greenopolis)

Follow Trish on Twitter:  @thegreengroove