Swimming pools offer endless fun and relaxation, but have you ever wondered about their impact on the environment?

In this blog post, we will explore the 6 Rs – a simple guide for swimming pool owners to reduce their environmental footprint. Whether you’re an experienced pool owner or new to pool maintenance, these tips can help you make a positive change and reduce your environmental impact. So, let’s dive in and discover how you can enjoy your pool while being eco-friendly!

Rethink

Rethink your approach to pool care and consider reducing the number of products you buy. Buying fewer pool products helps reduce strain on the environment and supports companies that prioritize people and the planet.

Understanding the Impact of Pool Equipment

Rethink which pool equipment you purchase and why. Pool Equipment made from materials such as plastic should be chosen wisely due to their lasting impact on the world. Convenient apps seem harmless, yet run on giant servers in the cloud using large quantities of power and water. Make sure any future purchases are made from ethical, environmentally friendly manufacturers.

Exploring Eco-Friendly Alternatives

Explore eco-friendly alternatives to reduce your environmental impact. Seek advice from your pool professional for tailored information on finding greener options. Consider using mechanical devices instead of energy-consuming apps, as they have a smaller environmental footprint. Did you know that each use of an app emits the same amount of emissions as boiling a kettle?

Refuse

Don’t buy more pool products than necessary. Your pool professional can guide you on what you actually need. Avoid chemical overuse and stick to the essentials: chlorine (liquid or via salt chlorinator), pool acid, and pH buffer. Don’t be pressured into purchasing excessive chemicals that may harm the environment.

Choosing Products That Are Safe for People and the Environment

When choosing products, it’s important to prioritize safety for both people and the environment. By opting for products with a low environmental impact, we actively contribute to a healthier planet. As a pool owner, it’s crucial to be well-informed about the products you purchase. Make sure to ask your pool professional about the details and environmental policies of the manufacturers. Being knowledgeable and asking the right questions can help us make responsible choices and create a safer world for everyone.

Identifying Harmful Pool Chemicals to Avoid

Identifying and avoiding harmful pool chemicals can be challenging due to conflicting opinions from various sources. It is important to rely on trusted individuals who can provide reasons to support their recommendations. In terms of chlorine or salt water chlorinators, both essentially produce chlorine for your pool. Some people believe chlorine is detrimental to pools but consider salt chlorinators beneficial, which is contradictory. Additionally, it is advisable to refrain from performing weekly pool shocks as it can disrupt the water balance and necessitate additional chemical usage. Furthermore, the addition of proprietary chemicals is often unnecessary despite recommendations from pool shops.

Reduce

Cutting down on the amount of material and energy you use in the care of your pool is the easiest thing you can do to reduce the impact your pool has on the environment, and it can save you money long term as well!

Cutting Down Material Usage for a Greener Pool

To reduce your environmental impact, through the materials you use and buy, consider these tips for your pool maintenance:

1. 1. Make sure you keep pump baskets clean and backwash your filter regularly for their most efficient operation. When you keep your pool equipment well-maintained  it lasts longer due to your care. This means you make a smaller environmental impact by buying fewer products.
   2. Automated Chemical Dosing Systems are highly recommended to minimise chemical impact, and available for many sanitisers. These reduce the amount of chemicals put in your pool, which extends to what evaporates off the surface into the environment.
   3. If you have a pool blanket, use it when not in the pool, to prevent evaporation and limit water top-ups. If you consider a new pool blanket, ensure that you consider a completely recycleable one. They are available, and around the same price as others. Pool Blankets do wear out, so always be aware that you are purchasing something with a limited lifespan.

Minimizing Water Consumption and Energy Usage

1. Run pool pumps and filters in the daytime when solar electricity is operating, for 4-6 hours depending on pool size. Make sure your equipment operates on a timer so that you don’t forget about it, but the energy from the sun is far better than that of fossil fuels, and the cost of energy to the planet is limited to the initial production of the system.
2. Keep your pool topped up with rainwater if possible to avoid using tap water. The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology predict around 15% reduction in SA water supplies by 2030. (Reference: EPA). By using your own rainwater for top-ups you can have your pool, guilt-free. Having an extra tank, just for the pool, is even better (if you have the room) so that you don’t miss out in your house!
3. Use your backwash to water your garden or lawn areas. If you use a salt chlorinator, then you will need to plant salt-tolerant species. Many people already do this around their salt-chlorinated pool.

Reuse

Repurpose and reuse your pool equipment to maximize its lifespan and contribute to environmental sustainability. Get creative with finding new uses for items such as pool noodles, pool covers, and old pool filters to minimize waste and maximize their usefulness.

Repurposing Pool Products for Other Environmental Benefits

You can give your old pool products a new lease on life by repurposing them for other environmental benefits.

1. Your pool filters can be transformed into large planters or even compost bins, adding some greenery to your surroundings while reducing waste.
2. Pool blankets can be repurposed as weed matting, covers for wood piles, or substitutes for tarpaulins, providing practical solutions and reducing the need for other materials.
3. PVC pipes and fittings from your pool can be creatively used to create vertical planters, allowing you to grow herbs or small plants in a space-saving manner.
4. Lastly, those pool noodles can be repurposed as boot shapers, helping to keep your footwear in shape while reducing plastic waste.

So why not give these upcycling ideas a try and make a positive impact on the environment?

Creative Ways to Extend the Lifespan of Pool Equipment

I’ve just included a couple of examples as a teaser, but there are plenty more to explore. Take a moment to put on your thinking cap when you look at your own equipment and let the ideas flow.

1. Put a hat on it! Cover pool equipment with a removable or easily accessible shelter to protect it from the elements. This avoids dry, cracked, and even broken equipment. You can even upcycle old wood or fencing materials to create your own unique cover.
2. Keep it clean! Make pool care a family activity to ensure proper maintenance and prolong the lifespan of your equipment. When everyone knows how to take care of the pool, then there are no complaints about the pool needing a vacuum before use, because everyone knows how to do it. When basic pool care is performed by everyone, you reduce the need for excessive chemical treatments and ultimately save money on fewer equipment replacements.

Recycle

When it comes to recycling, it’s essential that we take responsibility for reprocessing our pool equipment and giving it a new lease on life. Choosing tradespersons and pool professionals who prioritize recycling is a crucial step in this process. By selecting professionals who will remove our old pool equipment and recycle whenever possible, we can ensure that it doesn’t end up adding to hard waste. Additionally, we should also do our part by disposing of any pool equipment left behind by a professional or tradesperson through recycling. Together, we can make a positive impact on the environment and give our pool equipment a chance to be transformed into something else.

Utilising Recycling Facilities for Pool Products

Many pool products can be recycled, so it is important for responsible pool owners to look at recycling options instead of simply throwing away old equipment.

1. Pumps, gas heaters, and heat pumps, for example, have various components that can be recycled by experts, such as scrap metal recyclers.
2. However, it is unfortunate that even most of the “climate care” ranges of equipment have not yet allowed for recycling.
3. Additionally, filter cartridges and many other components of pool equipment cannot currently be recycled and must be considered as hard waste.
4. Pool Owners should always ask their Pool Professional or Tradesperson when in doubt for the latest recycling information for pool products. 

By actively seeking out recycling options, pool owners can play their part in minimising waste and promoting a more sustainable approach to pool maintenance.

Encouraging Installers to Promote Recycling Options

When getting a new appliance installed, it’s important to encourage installers to promote recycling options. The right pool professional or tradesperson will have the information readily available and be able to inform you about the recycling options for the product. If they don’t know, they can easily find out through industry contacts how recyclable the recommended product is. If the person doesn’t seem concerned about recycling, it might be worth seeking advice elsewhere or getting a comparative quote. Remember, every small effort towards recycling counts!

Repair

Repairing pool equipment can significantly extend its lifespan, making it a cost-effective and sustainable choice. From pumps and filters to heaters and blowers, almost all pool equipment can be repaired instead of replaced. By encouraging companies to keep parts available, we can contribute to a more repair-friendly culture.

Making Repair the First Choice Instead of Replacement

Making repair the first choice instead of replacement is crucial for several reasons.

1. It helps to reduce waste. Often, when something gets old or loses its shine, the immediate reaction is to discard it and buy a new one. However, this mindset contributes to increased landfill waste. Instead, considering repair can extend the lifespan of a product, preventing it from ending up in a landfill prematurely.
2. Opting for repair reduces the environmental impact associated with manufacturing new products. By repairing existing equipment, such as pool pumps or filters, we avoid the need for the production of new items and the associated resources and energy consumption.
3. Repairing appliances typically requires only a few parts to be replaced, which has a significantly smaller impact on the environment compared to manufacturing an entirely new product. By choosing repair over replacement, we can actively contribute to minimizing our environmental footprint.

Benefits of Repairing Pool Equipment for the Environment

Repairing pool equipment instead of discarding and replacing it offers several environmental benefits.

1. It helps reduce electronic waste that ends up in landfills, which can release harmful substances into the environment.
2. Repairing equipment saves valuable resources like raw materials, energy, and water that would have been consumed in the production of new equipment.

By extending the lifespan of pool equipment through repairs, you actively contribute to minimising your overall environmental impact. And of course Poolheat can help you with repairs for all sorts of equipment – just check out our repairs pages.

So, the 6rs: how pool owners can reduce their environmental footprint. Can you do it?

By incorporating the 6 rs – Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair – all pool owners can significantly reduce their environmental footprint. Implementing these sustainable practices not only benefits the planet but also help save money in the long run. So, let’s make a conscious effort to rethink our pool maintenance routines, refuse excessive chemicals and wasteful products, reduce energy and water consumption, reuse pool materials whenever possible, recycle pool equipment responsibly, and repair instead of replacing. Together, we can create a greener and cleaner future for our pools and the environment. For more information on how you can make a positive impact, don’t hesitate to contact us by phone or email.