Giving the gift of swimming with natural water

State-of-the-art pool filtration system gives the gift of swimming this summer.

There’s no denying that soaring temperatures in summer means millions of Queenslanders are currently looking to cool off in their pool, but for many Australians suffering from allergies and skin conditions, swimming in a pool isn’t the pleasant pastime it was designed to be, until now.

Queensland’s coastal regions top the charts, across the country, when it comes to owning a pool[1], and Australian-based company, Naked Pools has developed a state-of-the-art pool filtration system – NKD-R Fresh Water System – which means itchy eyes and irritated skin are a thing of the past as the pool water is purified without the need for adding chlorine, high salt or certain minerals.

“The freshwater system uses copper and silver instead of harmful chemicals to filter and sanitise pool water while preventing algae growth,” Naked Pools owner Justin Ahern said.

The award-winning technology[2] is a game-changer for Sunshine Coast mother Regina Heffernan, whose son suffers from a rare disease called Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

“Joshua is hypersensitive to smell, chemicals, dust mites, mould, has poor sleep, overheats easily and has a very restricted diet due to a range of severe food sensitivities and allergies,” Ms Heffernan said.

“Every aspect of Joshua’s life has to be closely managed from the cleanliness of his environment, to temperature, to exercise and activity levels and chemical and smell exposure.”

In the past, it would take Joshua around three days to recover, after having swam in a pool.

“He’d usually develop an immediate chlorine reaction including red painful eyes, blurred vision, runny nose and long lasting congestion, nausea and fatigue that would further impact his sleep and ability to breathe at night,” Ms Heffernan said.

The family had the freshwater filtration system installed just in time for summer, after Ms Heffernan and her husband Peter joined forces with their pool cleaner to find a solution for Joshua.

“Since then, Joshua has had a fantastic time in the pool, he’s been able to swim as regularly as he likes with no side-effects,” Ms Heffernan said.

“It’s been such a relief to us as his parents that we’ve not had to limit his time in the pool or the frequency of his swims and it’s made a huge difference to Joshua and helping him to feel ‘normal’ like other kids.”

Justin Ahern said their research showed almost one third of the country’s population suffers from some kind of allergy or skin condition, making swimming in chlorinated or saltwater pools a painful experience.

“We’re passionate about innovation and wanted to create something which would ultimately change the lives of millions of Aussies,” Mr Ahern said.

Watch the video to learn more about Josh and his condition.

[1] http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7811-australian-swimming-pool-ownership-september-2018-201811230555

[2] Naked Pools’ NKD-R Fresh Water System was awarded six gold at this year’s SPASA awards including ‘Product of Year’, ’Sustainable Product of the Year’, ’New Product of the Year’ and also outside of industry “Good Design Award”.