Ecoskim

Ecoskim

Living on one of the driest continents on earth, most Australians have grown up knowing the importance of conserving our most precious resource; water. In particular, those who were one of two million south east Queensland residents subject to level five water restrictions in 2007 will know the impact declining water supply can have on everyday life.

These restrictions, which enforced use of a maximum 140 litres a day per person, were brought in after dam levels dropped below 20 per cent. During this dire time, pool owners were subject to claims they were contributing towards the water shortage with their ‘water-guzzling’ installation.

Introducing Waterco’s Ecoskim, invented during the drought to tackle misconceptions about the amount of water pools use by reducing the need for regular top ups.

“In the darkest part of the “hundred year drought” in south east Queensland there were some very dire predictions being made about having to empty pools or all topping up being completely banned,” says Ecoskim inventor Mark Davies. “This left pool owners in limbo for some years. Ecoskim was developed as a direct response to this situation and works extremely well as a standalone water saving device.”

How does it work?
The Ecoskim simply attaches to a flexible hose into the suction side of your pool’s filter, then floats across the surface skimming floating debris off the water. Its high velocity skimming action cleans your pool faster and more effectively than a standard skimmer, and it is able to operate even if the pool water levels are below or above the existing skimmer box levels due to its floating, self-adjusting mouth. This will save you both money and time by reducing the number of times you need to top up your pool.

Mark says that although you can use the device alongside other water saving gadgets, it is very effective even on its own.

“So much so that our first trial pool still has not needed town water six years later, three years of which was the last part of the Brisbane drought,” he says.

Aussie Aussie Aussie
The Ecoskim was made especially for Australian conditions, particularly the hottest, driest areas of the country. When looking at the way a traditional skimmer box works, Mark says it was time for something new to address the needs of people today.

“Skimmer boxes, in their current format, have been around for about 30-40 years and the overall concept of how they operate has remained unchanged,” says Mark. “Over the last decade or so our attitudes to water usage and sustainability have changed dramatically, however skimmer boxes have not evolved to much of a degree to cater for these changing needs.”

At the core of the Ecoskim is its environmentally friendly nature, which remains important despite there being no current water crisis; designed to reduce water wastage by cutting the number of top ups your pool needs, it also requires less power and chemicals to effectively clean your pool.

Convenient and easy
In addition to the water saving credentials, Mark says pool owners also appreciate the convenience and reduced workload the Ecoskim provides. “Having a much larger water level window and larger leaf basket means a pool can go months without requiring top ups and it no longer needs constant vigilance to keep the pump from running dry,” he says.

“Combined with the ability to effectively surface skim and run a floor cleaner concurrently means that the debris is removed quickly from the surface before it sinks and then needs to be removed by the pool cleaner. The result is a pool that stays cleaner and requires far less monitoring and input from the owner.”

The Ecoskim will also give you greater flexibility when it comes to continued maintenance; since the design self adjusts to the level of pool water, you are able to go on holiday without fearing your pump will run dry. This also helps when there is reduced rainfall in your region.