Moss-based filter system means less chlorine in swimming pools

By Don Gordon

Don Gordon is professor emeritus of botany at Minnesota State University-Mankato. To view all of Dr. Gordon's articles on Vox Verax go here. NOTE: This article was originally published in 2008.

I taught botany for nearly 40 years, and I learned early on that if you wanted to keep the student’s interest it was essential to point out the useful properties of each plant. For example, I could drone on and on about the life cycle of mosses and student enthusiasm could best be described at ho-hum, but when I told them that a handful of sphagnum moss could save their lives, they suddenly perked up. Today, I am going to devote an entire column to sphagnum moss. It is a plant with multiple uses and new research suggests it may save homeowners with pools or ponds both money and health problems; plus, it is also good for the environment.

Sphagnum moss has been used for centuries as a wound dressing in Scotland and Ireland. During World War I, it was used extensively by the British. It has remarkable antiseptic properties. It is still used today and is often combined with garlic water to prevent infection. Other uses include Sphagnol, a distillate of sphagnum peat tar, that is used to treat various skin diseases. Gardeners use this moss for starting seeds and amending soil; it is also a major ingredient in orchid potting mixes. Because of its water absorbent qualities, it is also used as a bedding material for livestock.

Recently, Dr. David Knighton, founder and Chairman of the Board of Creative Water Solutions discovered that sphagnum moss could serve as an alternative to chlorine in swimming pools. Knighton is a vascular surgeon and was familiar with the use of the moss as a wound dressing, and he came up with the idea of using it to treat water after reading a magazine article. The push to conduct additional research occurred after an August plane ride to northern Minnesota. On the plane he noticed some lakes in the south were green and covered with algae. As the flight progressed northward the lakes became clearer and devoid of the algae. A call to a biologist confirmed his suspicion that the lakes were clear because they contained sphagnum moss.

In the lab, Knighton confirmed two species of the moss inhibited the growth of algae, bacteria and fungi. One of these species is found in Northern Minnesota and the other is from New Zealand. Creative Water Solutions obtains moss for their products from New Zealand because the harvesting industry there is more active than in Minnesota. The company now markets their product nationwide. Because the EPA mandates that some chemicals be used in pools, their product cannot be used alone, but it does replace 70-80 percent of the chemicals. Pool users give rave reviews of the moss based filters because there are no burning eyes, deteriorating clothing or the smell associated with too much chlorine use.

The company claims use of these moss filters not only reduces chemical use and maintenance time, but they also reduce chemical corrosion of equipment, and they help to stabilize pH. Another good feature is that used filters may be recycled in the garden. My only concern is that if these filters really catch on there may not be enough sphagnum moss to keep up with demand.

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