The Complete Guide to Natural Pool Maintenance

Natural swimming pools are a stunning, chemical-free alternative to conventional pools, offering a serene, wildlife-friendly space that enhances any garden. While they require far less upkeep than traditional pools, regular maintenance is still essential to keep the water crystal-clear and the ecosystem thriving. At Ellicar, we design our pools with easy maintenance in mind, provide clients with the best tools, and offer professional servicing to ensure pools remain in peak condition. Here’s everything you need to know about maintaining a natural pool.

Designed for Easy Maintenance

At Ellicar, we thoughtfully design every natural pool to make upkeep as effortless as possible. Our pools feature high-quality, easy-to-clean liners and copings, ensuring that surfaces stay pristine with minimal effort. The swim zone is typically around 4 meters wide—ideal for easy vacuuming and netting.

To minimize debris build up, we design pools so that the prevailing wind naturally pushes leaves and dust toward the skimmer, making surface cleaning simple. Our pools also include a 50mm water level buffer, meaning they rarely need topping up. For even greater convenience, we can install an automatic top-up system, eliminating the need for manual refilling.

Essential Tools for Pool Maintenance

To help our clients maintain their pools with ease, we offer a comprehensive maintenance kit, which includes:

• A specialised scythe – Perfect for cutting back aquatic plants and keeping the regeneration zone tidy.
• A brush – Designed to clean in-pool features like steps and walls without damaging the liner.
• A skimmer net – Essential for removing leaves and debris from the water’s surface.
• A pool robot – A hassle-free way to clean the pool floor and walls weekly, keeping sediment at bay.
• A vacuum – Ideal for spot-cleaning areas that a pool robot can’t reach, such as a shallow beach zone.

When we hand over a completed pool, we provide a full demonstration on how to use each tool effectively, and clients can purchase all maintenance equipment directly from us.

Professional Pool Maintenance Services

For clients who prefer expert servicing, Ellicar offers two key maintenance services:

Annual Winter Service

Once a year, our team conducts a full deep-clean, ensuring the pool remains in optimal condition. This service includes:

• Thoroughly cleaning the pool using specialist equipment.
• Testing the hydraulics to ensure smooth operation.
• Cutting back aquatic and marginal plants.
• Checking pumps, cleaning biological filtration mats, and testing water quality.

A winter service typically takes a two-person team a full day to complete.

Deep Clean (Every 5 Years)

Every five years, a natural pool requires a more intensive deep clean. This involves draining the pool to:

• Remove accumulated sediment from the regeneration zone, preventing anaerobic     conditions that promote algae growth.
• Clean the liner and in-pool features to remove biofilm and calcification.
• Replace the Phostek medium to ensure proper filtration of refill water.

A deep clean typically takes 2-3 days, depending on the pool’s size and condition.

Month-by-Month Maintenance Guide

Maintaining a natural pool is simple when done little and often. Here’s a seasonal breakdown of key tasks:

Year-Round:

• Empty the skimmer basket daily (especially in autumn when leaves are abundant). If away on holiday, turn off the skimmer unit to prevent clogging.
• Check flanges regularly to ensure debris doesn’t obstruct filtration.

Spring:

• Cut back any standing marginal plants left for wildlife over winter.
• Remove debris from the pool and restart the skimmer and carbonators.

Summer:

• Fertilise the pool monthly to maintain plant health.
• Check the water level and top up if necessary (only using filtered water!).
• Brush down pool walls once a month and use the pool robot weekly to clear sediment.

Autumn:

• Regularly net out leaves to prevent them from decomposing and releasing nutrients that fuel algae growth.
• Stop fertilising plants and turn off the carbonator.

Winter:

• Schedule an annual winter service to ensure the pool’s systems are functioning optimally.

Natural Pool Maintenance: Easier Than You Think

Many clients worry that maintaining a natural pool will be difficult, but in reality, it’s quite simple with a little regular attention. Most of our clients handle the upkeep themselves and even find it enjoyable. If a gardener maintains your outdoor space, they can easily incorporate pool maintenance into their routine.

A few key things to remember:

• Never top up your pool with unfiltered hose water—UK mains water contains high phosphorus levels, which can lead to algae blooms.
• Always use the maintenance tools we provide—they’re designed specifically for natural pools and won’t damage the liner.

At Ellicar, we’re always on hand to answer maintenance questions via email, phone, or video call, and we send annual reminders for key tasks like fertilising. With the right approach, your natural pool will remain a pristine, inviting space all year round.

Interested in installing a low-maintenance natural pool in your garden? Get in touch today to start your journey to a stunning, self-sustaining swimming pond!