Get Out and Get Active Like Mother Nature Intended
Until spring arrives in North America, it can feel like you’ve been on autopilot and hibernation mode all winter. Toss that nagging feeling through the open window and let in the fresh breezes and golden rays instead. The moderate temperatures are just suitable for humans (around 72ºF), and the increased amount of daylight recalls the adage, “make hay while the sun shines”. Let birdsong provide the soundtrack to your life if you leave the earbuds at home and spot the baby animals that emerge from their shelter in the fresh dew.
Frolicking in the spring sun isn’t just for the baby critters. What better time to take your exercise routine outdoors again? When it finally becomes warm enough to throw on a bathing suit instead of a sweatsuit and set up the shade umbrella, you’re probably itching to dive in and paddle around in a refreshing pool. While some public pools are scheduled to open around Memorial Day, residents still have safety concerns regarding COVID-19. If you need help to keep yourself distanced during the spring and summer at a public pool, the length of a pool noodle in an outstretched arm is a handy guide! As for virus transmission, the CDC is not currently aware of any reports that claim the virus can spread through the water. However, the high traffic nature of public swimming pools may still pose a risk, so keeping the goggles on at your home pool is a safer option.
4 Tips to Make Sure Your Pool is Dive and Lounge Ready
If you own a natural swimming pool, the swimming season has arrived, and your pool is ready to be serviced. We’ve written about winterizing a natural swimming pool before, and getting your pool spring ready is just as straightforward. Before you race the kids out to the backyard to see who can make the biggest cannonball, remember to contact your BioNova pool contractor or maintenance technician to check the following:
1. Take down coverings or leaf nets that prevented litter buildup on the surface of the water. If you are doing this step yourself, don’t set the paper leaf bags by the curb and forget them, because the leaves you collect can make excellent compost in your garden.
2. Remove pipe plugs that kept water from collecting and freezing inside the plumbing, which could lead to damaged systems. Residents in Texas were bombarded with winter storms this February, and their traditional chemical pool filters took quite a beating (see below). Every step you take to prevent standing water in a system when it is shut down makes a this a less-likely occurrence, but not much can stop a blizzard’s windchill on pipes.
3. Have your natural pool expert survey the edges and foundation of your pool to spot any problem areas from severe winter weather. Materials expand and contract with the changing weather and the warmer air is a good time to see if anything has shifted or cracked.
4. It is vital to monitor the status of any aquatic plants in a natural swimming pool. Winterizing your aquatic plants in late fall should prep them for the arrival of spring, but plants that weren’t clipped below the waterline may have had their stalks or surface foliage damaged in a hard freeze. If your natural swimming pool system depends on aquatic plants for biological filtration, don’t overlook these crucial biological filtration elements. Have your aquatic plant technician give you a health report on your foliage and follow these suggestions for a clean, healthy pool that says “jump in, the water is fine.”
Nature’s Yearly Lessons
You already know that plants and sunshine go together like peanut butter and jelly. This partnership directly affects natural swimming pool cleanliness and water clarity; aquatic plants use solar energy for food, oxygen creation for us, and excess nutrients uptake from bodies of water. This interaction is doubly true in spring and summer when biological activity peaks. Natural pools with plants mimic natural lake ecosystems by using available forms of phosphorus and nitrogen. In short, more sunshine equals more photosynthesis to utilize nutrients for healthy water.
The spring season also inspires many to be creative, just like BioNova has gotten creative with our natural swimming pool filtration approach. We’re really jazzed up about our BioPool technology as the new wave (pun intended) of aquatic recreation. With a smaller space and material footprint than a traditional BioSwim Pond, BioPools accomplish the efficient biofiltration performed by plants with a more streamlined microscopic process. We’ll keep it reader-friendly in this blog, but if you want more information, you can download our free Definitive Guide to Natural Swimming Pools for 2021 here.
Bacteria with an (Out)Competitive Edge
When water mixes in the spring from wind and warmth, the phosphorus and ammonium built up in the bottom fuels increased algal growth. Historically, this has been a problem with chemically-treated pools chasing a chemically-induced water balance that can be as fickle as the spring weather. Any new input (rainstorms, bugs, lawn fertilizer runoff, etc) of nutrients into the water may trigger a bloom of algae, which restarts the balance cycle again and again.
Whatever nutrients algae can’t utilize can leave room for undesirable bacteria to flourish. These bacteria need a reality check from mother nature. That is what the BioPool filtration offers with a nature-based solution to water clarification! By mimicking a rapidly-moving body of water like a river or stream, our BF4 Biofilm Filter effectively scours the pool with water turnover rates to prevent unchecked opportunistic bacterial growth. By harvesting long-term nutrient storage in a controlled system, the undesirable bacteria is kept at manageable levels to let the beneficial bacteria survive and thrive in a microbial colony. With a “pantry” full of nutrients to snack on once they emerge from winter dormancy, good microbes have as much to love about spring as us!
Simply put, you don’t need a microscope or a science degree to enjoy the benefits of a natural swimming pool. If you already own a natural swimming pool, you’re familiar with the benefits of swimming in the emerald or aquamarine waters with your family. For those with a traditional chemical pool, you can join in the natural bathing water fun as well. BioNova offers natural swimming pool conversions as an option for making the switch to a living aquatic ecosystem as part of your backyarding activities. BioNova’s Quality Process (shown below) details all the steps we take to make your natural pool project a success.
We mobilize our natural swimming pool contractors after our consultation to outline what your vision is for a slice of paradise. Spring remains a busy time for most contractors, though, so start your planning for next year if you want to be the premier pool party for a spring bash! Get in contact with us here or check out our FAQ page for more immediate answers to your questions like natural swimming pool cost and pool contractors in your city or state. If you want to have a natural pool ready for next spring, reach out today to discuss a natural swimming pool build or conversion so we can start the process as soon as possible.
