If you build or service pools at the upper end of the market, you have probably heard the question more often lately: "Is there an alternative to chlorine?" Your best clients are already asking it, and the pool company with a good answer wins the project.
Chemical-free pools give a pool company three things: a higher-value project, a reason to be chosen on something other than price, and recurring income of £800 to £1,000 per site per year.
This guide covers how the system works, what it means for your projects, and the questions builders usually ask us privately.
Discerning homeowners research before they commit, and water treatment is now part of that research. Some have family members with very sensitive skin. Others simply want water that feels softer, smells of nothing and fits the rest of a wellness-led home.
Many start by asking about salt. When they learn that a salt water pool still makes chlorine, just on site from salt, the next question is what else exists.
None of this changes what chlorine does well. It is familiar, effective and cheaper to install, and it will stay the right choice for many pools. The question is who your client turns to when they want something different.
mineral+biome® is a living filtration system. Bacteria on the filter media remove phosphate, nitrogen and carbon, so algae and pathogens have nothing to feed on. A UV stage acts as a second barrier, and a mineraliser gives the water its soft, natural spring-quality feel.
There is no chlorine, no salt and no copper in the water. Our page on what we mean by chemical-free sets out exactly what is and is not used, so you can answer a client's question precisely.
The science is published. A partnership PhD between UWE Bristol and Origin Aqua appeared in npj Clean Water (Nature Portfolio) in 2022: up to 99.9% of test bacteria removed in 24 hours in lab trials. Our article on the science of natural pool filtration explains it in full.
It is also established. Origin Aqua has been running since 2010, and the system is in more than 200 UK pools.
mineral+biome® is a premium specification, and it sits naturally in high-end new builds and renovations.
The client's return is easy to explain: by our figures it uses 50 to 70% less energy and 50 to 70% less water than chlorine or salt, and an upgrade typically pays back in 3 to 7 years, depending on pool type and size.
When every quote specifies the same treatment, the cheapest usually wins. Offering a system your competitors do not changes the conversation from "how much" to "what do I get", which is where good builders do their best work.
Each mineral+biome® pool you look after is worth £800 to £1,000 a year to your business. That is service income that grows with every installation rather than ending at handover.
Your existing chlorine and salt clients are a ready market. A retrofit takes 1 to 2 days with no changes to the pool's plumbing, and the pool is swimmable the same day. It pairs well with a renovation, a new pump or a switch to a heat pump.
You are not asking anyone to take your word for it. You have peer-reviewed research, more than 200 UK pools, and owners such as Kate Winslet, who chose mineral+biome® for her own pool.
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Most builders' first worry is support: what happens when a client calls with a question you have not met before. The system is designed so you are never on your own.
It also sits alongside what you already do. Many clients will still choose chlorine or salt, and that is fine; mineral+biome® gives you an answer for the ones who want something else.
These are the questions builders usually ask us privately, answered straight.
It costs more to install than a chlorine or salt system, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Pricing is per pool, with a written price for each project. The client story is lower running costs, no chlorine or salt to buy and store, and a 3 to 7 year payback on an upgrade.
The main thing to manage is expectation. The pool is swimmable the same day, but the biology takes 6 to 8 weeks to reach full balance. Tell the client that at handover, and use the dashboard to keep an eye on the water while it settles.
New builds and existing pools, indoors and out. There are four standard sizes up to 170 m³, with larger pools on request. It is designed for water up to 30 °C, so it suits pools rather than hot tubs.
A plant-only swimming pond needs a planted zone of 30 to 50% of the surface; mineral+biome® sits in the plant room. UV is part of every mineral+biome® system, but the biology does the nutrient removal. A salt system still makes chlorine; ours makes none.
No. The system has been running in UK pools since 2010, it is in more than 200 of them, and the underlying science is peer-reviewed. You would be adding a proven option, not testing a new one.
Indoor pools are where clients notice the difference most. Without chlorine there are no chloramines, the cause of the familiar indoor pool smell, so the air in the pool hall stays fresh.
Starting is straightforward, and the first conversation commits you to nothing.
Help your clients swim in water with no chlorine, salt or copper. The pool companies who give their clients that choice now are the ones those clients will recommend.
Ready to offer chemical-free pools?
Send us a few lines about your business and the projects you take on. We'll arrange a call.
Have a client project in mind?
Tell us about the pool, new build or existing, and we'll tell you whether it's a fit.
A note on terminology: By chemical-free we mean no disinfection chemicals (no chlorine, bromine, salt chlorination or copper) and no chemical residuals in the swimming water. Trace phosphate management agents are used automatically during filtration: these bind to phosphates and are removed entirely during backwash, leaving no residual in the water. Mineral supplements are used in trace amounts in a food-grade carrier. Read our full definition.