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Posted: 04 Feb 2011 04:24 PM PST

Eco-Friendly Pool Maintenance is a post from your green blog, striving towards a green home in an attempt to go green

Is there a way to help your pool go green, or at least contribute to a more sustainable environment? Todd McDonald has stepped up to the plate and explained how pool maintenance has become a more sustainable practice over the last few years.

Eco-Friendly Pool Maintenance Alternatives

If you've owned a pool for any length of time, it's quite likely you've had to deal with the occasional flair-up of algae or other pool contaminant. It's also likely that your prescription for a cure included a fair amount of pool chemicals such as chlorine, bromine, and copper algaecide. While they do the trick, these pool chemicals can be a bit rough on our environment (not too mention your skin and clothes!) as they go off into the air, mix with soil when water is vacuumed out, or even from the occasional spill.

Even if you're the best among us and you've kept your pool clear 100% of the time, it's virtually impossible to avoid using heavy doses of chemicals for maintenance…or is it? Below are a few ideas/products to help you find a little more balance between enjoying your pool and keeping our environment healthy as can be.

Eco-Friendly Pool Cleaning Methods

Ultraviolet Pool Cleaners: By harnessing the unique power of ultraviolet light, these pool cleaners blast contaminating particles as water flows through them. It's true that these wont allow your pool to be 100% chlorine free, but they can greatly decrease the amount of chlorine, bromine, or other pool chemicals that you might need to use. These systems have been around in other countries for quite awhile now and popularized due to their efficiency.

The Intellichlor chlorine generator is a great example of an eco-friendly pool cleanser. It creates chlorine naturally from salt water pool systems, reducing the amount of additional chlorine.

Salt Water Pools: Often misunderstood – salt-water pools do not function by utilizing extremely high levels of salt to maintain water balance. Instead, salt is added to the pool water and then utilized by a chlorine generator (such as the IntelliChlor chlorine generator) to create chlorine naturally. If you're interested in utilizing a salt water system, be sure you have a complete understanding of how the system works and are prepared to carefully watch your pools levels.

Ozone Pool Cleaning Systems: Pools utilizing ozone-cleaning systems do need to utilize chlorine, but as with ultraviolet cleaning systems, the amount can be greatly reduced. Essentially ozone is generated through a variety of ultraviolet light and mixed in with pool water via jets or other circulation systems. The generated ozone breaks down into the pool water and then destroys unwanted contaminants mixed into the water.

While no system is perfect, each of these three common chlorine alternatives/reducers can help you move away from a heavy dependence on common pool chemicals. There are other unique options such as aquatic plant pools and self-sustaining pools that can allow you to enjoy natural beauty and a great chemical-free swimming experience as well. These types of pools have also been enjoyed around the world for years and are just starting to break into the United States as a reasonable option when developing a pool.

If you've come up with a creative solution to help keep your pool clean we'd love to hear about it as well! Remember, no matter which direction you go, any step toward reducing your pool chemical dependency is a step toward a green home and a stronger environment.