Blog

Leave It Better Than You Found It

My grandfather has a few rules that go unquestioned and are universally obeyed. One of them is "leave it better than you found it." It could mean the bedroom I'm staying in at their home...or the kitchen after I eat lunch. It also applies to borrowing tools, the car, the tractor, or anything else that does not belong to me. Leave (or return) it better than you found it. A profoundly simple rule to remind us to respect others and their property.

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Nitrates, Nitrites, and Urea in Swimming Pools

Nitrates, Nitrites and other Ammonia-based compounds can be confusing. We'll try to simplify it and why these things matter in swimming pools. We encourage you to read more into these subjects if you want to learn more.1 

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CYA overstabilization-2

Over-stabilization Explained

Over-stabilization, Explained

Simply put, over-stabilization occurs when too much cyanuric acid is added to pool water.  Over-stabilization is a problem because cyanuric acid (CYA) can slow down chlorine’s ability to kill pathogens and algae.  To explain this, you need to know that hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is the active form of chlorine in pools.  The concentration of HOCl is affected by both the pH and the CYA concentration.  Figure 1 shows the well-known relationship between pH and HOCl.

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How to install a feed pump on a swimming pool

Automating chemical feeds in swimming pools is almost always a good idea. Orenda products are no different. This is a step-by-step guide with a video to walk you through how to install a feed pump on a swimming pool.

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How to Open a Pool with Crystals in it

What are you going to do if you remove a winter pool cover and find calcium crystals in the pool? If you have encountered winter crystals in the past--and you may have thought it was 'scale'--what did you do in the past? Did it work? This article will outline four things Orenda recommends if you are trying to open a pool with crystals in it.

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LSI first, range chemistry second

What if range chemistry is the wrong thing to focus on when managing water? What if the ranges do not always apply, like in the winter? Theoretically, the textbook ranges for chemistry are ideal. But in reality, that's not always the case. In this article we will explain why we prioritize the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) first, and range chemistry after that.

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Honesty in Water Chemistry Testing

Water chemistry readings are only as accurate as your test kit. And the history of that pool's water chemistry is only as accurate as your honesty (and diligence) when recording test results. In this article, we'll outline five rules for testing water chemistry.

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Pool Chemistry During the Winter

This article aims to shed light on what really goes in a pool that is winterized. When the temperature drops, chemistry changes. Pools must be treated differently in the winter than they are in the summer, You can read our primary article about Proactive Pool Winterization here.

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What is Alkalinity?

Total Alkalinity (TA) often gets confused with pH and words like alkali and alkaline. This topic is widely misunderstood in the pool industry. Most of us know how to test for TA, but may not know what it actually is, what it does, and why it's important.

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