Pool Chemistry 101:

Tired of the winter weather? The warmer weather is right around the corner and that means the 2025 pool season will finally be here. For pool owners, this means it’s time to schedule your official pool opening! Before you do that, there are a few steps to take to get that crystal blue water you’ve been dreaming about. Follow along as the staff of Ted’s Pools breaks down your pool’s water chemistry and explains why it’s so important to follow the right steps. 

Good water chemistry is essential for a healthy pool. A well-balanced pool helps keep you and your family safe while swimming all summer long. What exactly are all the chemicals that go into your pool? Let’s look at the main ones: 

Sanitizers

Sanitizers are some of the most important chemicals in your pool. They act as the main ingredient that keeps your pool water clean and safe. Sanitizers keep health risks such as bacteria, viruses, algae, and other unwanted pollutants from having free rein over your pool's water. They're critical in keeping your pool water looking good as well! 

The most common type of pool sanitizer is chlorine. As an oxidizer, chlorine enters the water contaminants molecules and destroys them from the inside. Chlorine is an excellent choice for removing bacteria, viruses, and algae. It can even prevent algae from having the chance to appear. It is important to keep your choline level even all season long for a healthy pool! 

A popular chlorine alternative for pool sanitization is bromine. It sanitizes through ionization, breaking apart the molecular bonds of pool water contaminants. 

The Importance of pH 

The measure of acidity in your pool is called your pH. Measuring your pool water's pH level is necessary to make your pool care easier over time. 

Alkalinity refers to your pool water's ability to resist sudden spikes or dips in its pH level. In other words, alkalinity acts as a buffer for your pool water. It keeps it stable and balanced throughout the pool season regardless of what the summer throws at it.

Calcium hardness is the measure of how soft or hard your pool water is. Where you live and where you get your water from greatly impacts your pool's calcium hardness. For instance, well water is often hard, which means it has a high concentration of minerals, including calcium. If you use that same well water to fill your pool, you will have pool water with a high level of calcium hardness that you will have to even out throughout the summer. 

Factors That Can Disrupt Pool Chemistry

It would be great if you could balance your pool water's chemistry and forget about it for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, this is impossible as your pool is going to encounter many factors that will disrupt its chemistry and threaten its well-being throughout the season. Here are some of these factors you may encounter: 

Regular Use

When people use your pool, they do a lot to affect the water's chemistry without even realizing it. Sweat, body oils, and hygiene products like soap and shampoo all affect the pool water's pH levels. 

Debris

The natural world is unpredictable and can take a toll on your pool chemistry. Sticks, leaves, grass, and dirt will find their way into your pool water and impact the balance of your pool's water. 

Animals 

Every once in a while, a critter may find its way into your pool or skimmer. From larger animals like rodents to small insects, these creatures can unfortunately disrupt your pool's chemistry. It’s important to remove them immediately and check your water chemistry to see where you might need to adjust. 

Rain

Rainwater has a pH of its own. After it rains, especially if the rainfall is heavy, your pool water's chemistry could become unbalanced. It’s important to keep extra chemicals in stock if you live in an area prone to rainy weather. 

How to Check the Chemicals in a Pool

To get the chemistry in your pool right, you will need to check the water's chemical levels regularly. This is often done by the homeowners with a pool chemistry testing kit. These kits include water testing strips and other chemicals that provide readings on pool water samples. This method can be tedious and if you accidentally balance your chemicals the wrong way, it can take weeks to get your pool water back to normal. Thankfully Ted’s Pools offers weekly and bi-weekly maintenance packages to help you keep your pool crystal blue all season long. Leave your pool chemistry to the professionals at Ted’s Pools and you will have the easiest summer of pool care yet! 

Contact Ted’s Pools today to set up your pool opening and service options. 

Winter is the Time to Plan Ahead for Spring Pool Construction

January is a snowy month in our area, which makes it a great time to plan for your summer pool. This month, homeowners should be reaching out for engineering and local permit approvals. Not sure about the appropriate steps to take? The team at Ted’s Pools - the leader in pool construction in the West Chester area - will help you every step of the way to successfully navigate the pool construction process so you can be swimming by the summer! 

The process can be a lengthy one, which is why Ted’s Pools wants their owners to be working through the winter to finalize the pre-construction steps such as permits and engineering preparation. The team at Ted’s Pools is well-established in the West Chester area and knows who to contact in your local municipalities. This not only takes the guessing work away from you but also helps you know what steps to take to make the permit process an easy one. 

Not sure what type of permits you might need? In Pennsylvania, any construction regarding a pool, whether new or a planned renovation, requires building permits and electrical permits. Depending on your municipality, additional permits, such as zoning permits, might be needed. State law also requires that a fence or barrier surrounds the pool to prevent access by unauthorized individuals. All of these requirements must be met and approved with permits before construction. The paperwork for a permit can seem daunting, but with the help of a solid team of professionals leading the way, you can be certain that you won’t file a permit incorrectly, which would set you back on your construction timeline. 

Don’t wait until it’s too late to file the permits! Waiting will only delay your pool timeline. 

To make sure that you’re splashing and having fun in May, it is important to reach out to Ted’s Pools today to get on their schedule. 

Still thinking about a pool, but not sure of the finances involved? Ted’s Pools now partners with Lyon Financial to offer financial solutions for their customers. That dream of one day owning a pool in your backyard can be a reality. Reach out to Ted’s Pools today to start the process so you can be floating and relaxing in your backyard pool in May! 

Preparing for Your Pool’s Design Process

As we discussed last month, now is the perfect time to begin the design process for your new pool or pool renovation project. The entire process from initial concept to first dig does take quite a bit of time to navigate. At Ted’s Pools, we equip our homeowners with the materials and information they need from the very start. No homeowner is left wondering what step is next and that includes the finite details of the design process. 

Let’s dig deeper into what a homeowner can expect with Ted’s Pools at the helm of your new pool project. 

The Design Phase 

Putting in a pool or renovating an existing pool is not an easy job. At Ted’s Pools, each new project is treated individually. There is no cookie-cutter process that digs a hole in your backyard and plops a fabricated pool in place. The Ted’s Pools professional team takes their time getting to know exactly what the client wants. This is considered the design phase. After the initial consultation meeting, a proposal is drawn up. Once the proposal is accepted by the clients and under contract, the next phase includes hand-drawn sketches showing what the pool will look like in the backyard with landscaping needs as well. After the sketches are approved, 2-dimensional conceptual plans are put into place, followed by 3-dimensional renderings of the pool and surrounding area. The design phase takes time, but it is this special approach taken by Ted’s Pools that is so successful in creating exactly what each client wants. 

Construction is Multi-Faceted

Homeowners need to remember during the construction process that it’s not just one dig and everything is done. It takes a lot of moving parts (some quite literally) to bring a plain backyard into a summer oasis. From the initial dig to laying the electrical lines, landscaping the yard, laying the pool’s foundation, and much more, there are so many moving parts that it might seem like an actual city construction site for weeks. During this process, the township and engineering team will still have to survey the property and ensure that the proper county building permits are in place. These permits are an important step in the process and we help our clients to obtain the permits correctly, so they do not have to try multiple times for the permits. We have worked with all townships in the area and know what is needed and expected for this process. It is important to remember that while this construction takes time, the result is your own pool to cool off in during the hot summer months. 

Beyond the Pool 

Putting in the pool isn’t the only part of the project homeowners need to consider. A big hole was dug up in your yard and now landscaping awaits! At Ted’s Pools, we know who to contact to help you get your yard back into useable condition again. We also understand that often people want to increase their landscaping while doing such a big project already. It’s important that you

discuss what you want your landscaping to look like and have it completed promptly after the pool is installed. This will help keep your pool clean and free from landscaping debris. 

It is also important to know what fence is needed for your yard. Many townships require that a fence of a certain height be installed around the pool for safety measures. Each township has different rules and regulations. You must consult with a reputable fencing company while in the design phase for the pool. The fence must be installed before you can take your first plunge of the season. It is also important to be aware of landscaping and fencing companies that offer pool-building services. These are not reputable companies and will cause many issues for homeowners that could easily delay their pool’s opening. 

Time to Start Planning 

Ready for a new pool in 2025? It’s not too late to start planning. In fact, while we are in the holiday season, a new pool makes for a great holiday gift! It’s a gift that can be shared by everyone in the family! Reach out to the team at Ted’s Pools today and you could be swimming in the summer! 

Fall is the perfect time for next year’s pool construction:

Are you thinking of swimming in your own backyard pool next summer? Already have a pool but ready for a renovation?  The team at Ted’s Pools knows that now is the time to start planning. In fact, November is the best time to start reaching out for engineering and local permit approvals. 

 Putting in a pool is so much more than just having a hole dug in your backyard. It is a lengthy process, so it is important to have a good team helping you through the steps. When you have Ted’s Pools install or renovate your backyard oasis, they are already well-connected to the local municipalities and engineering teams in the area. They know who to contact, when to contact them, and what you need to do. Ted’s Pools will help you through the entire process. 

In Pennsylvania, any construction regarding a pool, whether new or a planned renovation, requires building permits and electrical permits. Depending on your municipality, additional permits, such as zoning permits, might be needed. State law also requires that a fence or barrier surrounds the pool to prevent access by unauthorized individuals. All of these requirements must be met and approved with permits prior to construction. The paperwork for a permit can seem daunting, but with the help of a solid team of professionals leading the way, you can be certain that you won’t file a permit incorrectly, which would set you back on your construction timeline. 

 Waiting to do the engineering and permits until the spring will definitely set a homeowner back on their finished pool timeline. No one wants to wait until the end of summer to finally get in their pool; they want to swim as soon as Memorial Day arrives. To make sure that you’re splashing and having fun in May, it is important to reach out to Ted’s Pools today to get on their schedule. 

 Still thinking about a pool, but not sure of the finances involved? Ted’s Pools now partners with Lyon Financial to offer financial solutions for their customers. That dream of one day owning a pool in your backyard can be a reality. Reach out to Ted’s Pools today to start the process so you can be floating and relaxing in your backyard pool in May! 

Winter Watch - Why winter maintenance is important to the life of your pool!

Once you close your pool for the winter, it is easy to forget about it until you pull the cover off in the spring. Pool owners know that the first glimpse of pool water on opening day is definitely not crystal blue. It takes a few weeks to get everything set again before you can start cannonballing back into the water. However, the folks at Ted’s Pools say that leaving it alone throughout the winter can lead to some big problems, so it is important to practice good pool care year-round.

 Winter Watch, as it's referred to by Ted’s Pools, will help maintain a well-balanced pool throughout the winter. This winter maintenance helps to prevent winter scaling, which happens when the pH becomes too high during the winter. It is the equivalent of a freezer burn on your pool, which can ruin the finish if left untreated. This is especially important for newer pools. By taking the extra steps through the winter, it will increase the longevity of your pool.

 Monitoring your pool's water chemistry in the winter with regular chemical readings is an important step in pool ownership. The experts at Ted’s Pools can help you catch if there is a chemical imbalance in the water. Leaving an imbalance until the spring can lead to many problems. To do these readings, the team will open the pool, check the water chemistry, help mitigate the levels back to normal ranges and then close it again. They also inspect the equipment over the winter to ensure that it is still in proper condition, which helps to alleviate any spring surprises at opening. 

 Purchasing a Winter Watch package helps the outcome of the pool when it is opened again in the spring. Not only are you increasing the lifespan of your pool, but winterizing your pool will help speed up the process of opening in the spring. By leaving the winter maintenance to the professionals, you can rest easy knowing that in a few short months, you (or your children) will be yelling, "Cannonball" again while attempting to soak those around you! 

 Thinking of starting pool renovations or putting in a new pool for next year, Ted's Pools has partnered with Lyon Financial to offer financial solutions for their clients. Give the folks at Ted’s Pools a call to see how you can take advantage of this special finance offer.

Time to Plan for Next Year’s Swim Season

While summer has come and gone, many think about closing up their pools and focusing on the fall and winter to come. However, fall is the perfect time to start thinking about your vision for next summer and the team at Ted’s Pools is ready to assist! 

Repairs and Renovations

 Perhaps you have a pool that needs a little TLC after this past summer. Planning for renovations and repairs now will ensure that you get on the schedule early before your pool opens for next year. Does your pool tile need to be replaced? Does your pool need to be replastered? Do you want to upgrade your pool deck or your spa? Does your pool filter need an overhaul? All of these repairs and renovations are important to your pool’s overall health and getting on the schedule now will ensure that you will be swimming and relaxing as soon as summer comes next year! You don’t want to worry about pool renovations while trying to cool off in that hot summer sun! Planning now is essential! 

 New Construction

 If you have been dreaming of building a pool, the fall is the time to start planning! There is a lot that happens before the first dig. New pool construction involves proposals and contracts, design and engineering, township reviews, and permit approvals. All of this has to happen before dig day and it can take months for everything to fall into place. The team at Ted’s Pools are experts in pool construction and they know the local township ordinances that are required for your pool. They will be there every step of the way. Now is the time to start to plan so you can be swimming next summer! 

 Service and Maintenance 

 Pools take a lot of maintenance to keep that crystal blue color throughout the summer. From pool openings to closings and everything in between, Ted’s Pools expert team is ready to assist! In our local climate, the heat and rain can turn your blue pool into a green mess in a matter of days if you don’t stay on top of the required maintenance. Ted’s Pools can set you up on a weekly or biweekly service plan to have their knowledgeable team come to your backyard throughout the summer. They will also open and close your pool. This is a great way to remove the stress of balancing chemicals and searching for answers. Next year, let the experts handle it, so you can relax and float all summer long! 

When is the Right Time to Close Your Pool?

August has arrived and so has the heat wave that we are used to year after year. Homeowners know August is the perfect time of year to cool off in their pool. They also know that it’s the time of year to schedule their pool closing if they haven’t already. The fall calendars fill up fast for our local pool companies and it’s important to get on their schedule early. Thankfully, the folks at Ted’s Pools can work with you to accommodate your closing and provide multiple services to get you through the winter and ready to reopen in the spring. The earlier you schedule your closing, the more flexibility you will have in getting a time that works for you and your family. 

 Deciding on the perfect time to close your pool depends on a few factors that are specific to your pool and your family. Let’s highlight a few. 

 1. Is your pool heated? 

 With the cooler nights upon us in September, the temperature of your pool begins to drop. Those summer temps of the 80s soon start to dip into the mid-70s and lower. If you don’t have a pool heater, the water quickly becomes the backyard equivalent of a polar plunge. It’s important to factor this into your closing date calculations. Look at the local weather patterns and see when those temps typically begin staying consistently in the low 60s. That will be a good indication that it’s a good time to close the pool. 

 2. How many trees are around your pool?

 Soon the first leaves of fall will begin to drop and like most pool owners, all of those leaves aim directly for your pool, which leads to clogged filters and headaches. Cleaning pools in early fall can become burdensome. One big gust of wind can send hundreds of leaves into your pool, which is frustrating if you just spent the morning cleaning it. The weather pattern is another great indication to predict when the leaves might begin to fall. Look back at historical data to see when temperatures usually start to dip for longer periods. Usually, these patterns are the same each year, give or take a week. Closing your pool before the leaves fall can be a huge asset to a family with lots of trees on their property. 

 3. How busy is your fall? 

 With the kids back in school and after-school activities back in full swing, it’s important to consider how much time you will be able to spend in your pool. Your weekends go from lazy days in the backyard soaking up the sun to Saturdays filled with football and soccer games. Those mid-afternoon swims are replaced with homework, music lessons, dance classes, and sports practice. Think about how much time you will truly have to spend in your pool. If it’s not going to be utilized after Labor Day because you are too busy, then it might be a good idea to schedule your closing for early September. 

 When you’re ready to schedule, make sure to give the team at Ted’s Pools a call. The fall dates book up fast, so consider our three questions and plan ahead!