Green Your Pool: 4 Alternatives to Chlorine

3 of 4

3. Moss-based cleaners

Think adding moss to your pool would create a swampy mess? Not so, according to Creative Water Solutions: The Minnesota-based company says its moss-based products can keep pools clean, while reducing the need for pool chemicals like chlorine by as much as 90 percent.

While chlorine does a good job at killing free-floating bacteria in a pool, it cannot penetrate the colonies of bacteria that form in the pool – called biofilm, the company says. Biofilm actually absorbs chlorine, so that larger amounts of harsher chemicals can be required to keep your pool sterile.

Go Natural: DIY Health and Beauty Remedies for Summer

But Clean Water Solutions’ moss-based products, PoolNaturally and SpaNaturally, prevent the formation of these bacteria colonies, so less chlorine is needed to maintain your pool – just enough to kill the free-floating bacteria.

The company’s pool cleaning products are made out of sphagnum moss – a type of moss sustainably harvested from New Zealand bogs and typically used in the flower industry to germinate plants and wrap orchids.

After the moss is hand-picked and transported via helicopter to protect the bog’s ecosystem, the moss leaves are dried, cut into different sizes and placed into mesh bags that resemble giant tea bags. Simply place the mesh bag in your pool, and the moss will begin cleaning up your water. You’ll need to replace the bag every 30 days, and because the moss is an organic material, you can compost the spent bag.

In addition to the environmental benefits of cutting down your use of chemicals, the moss-based products can also make pool maintenance less expensive: You’ll buy fewer pool chemicals and require fewer repairs to your pool’s pipes, heaters, pumps and liners from chemical damage, according to Clean Water Solutions. You’ll also enjoy your pool more, the company says: Moss-treated water is softer and silkier than water sterilized with harsh chemicals, and you’ll avoid the irritating side effects of chlorine like burning eyes and dry skin.