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pool chemistry

swimming pool chemistry, reduce combined chlorine, reduce calcium hardness, reduce TDS, reduce cyanuric acid

What raises and lowers individual pool chemistry factors?

When troubleshooting a swimming pool, it helps to know what can cause individual chemistry factors to increase and decrease. This article is an overview of the most common chemistries we measure in swimming pools, and what causes their levels to change up or down.

We have also included a Rule Your Pool Podcast episode for each factor we talk about in this article. 

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Understanding Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is a metric used in water treatment that measures all dissolved minerals, salts, chlorides, metals, organics, and many other contaminants in water. TDS impacts water conductivity and is related to corrosion, chemical efficiency, water clarity, and is an often-forgotten factor in the LSI.

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The Four Pillars of Proactive Pool Care

Are you proactive in your approach to pool management and water chemistry, or are you reactive? Based on the types (and amounts) of products sold in the pool business, it is clear that plenty of pool people are reactive. According to Dr. Charles Bens, less than 10% of healthcare costs go toward proactive measures...which means over 90% is spent reacting to diseases and illness. In other words, over 90% of the medical industry is treating symptoms and consequences, not preventing them. Amazingly, the same argument could be made in the swimming pool industry.

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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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ORP and LSI: The Future of Water Chemistry

Way back in 1984 I founded my service and repair company, The Pool Surgeon. I had no idea what ORP and LSI abbreviations meant, let alone their definitions. To be completely honest with you, I am not certain I was any better informed in the first 25 years of my pool career. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I'm admitting it because it's the truth.

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Understanding Breakpoint Chlorination

Breakpoint chlorination is an important concept in pool chemistry. Let's explore what it means and the difference between breakpoint chlorination and superchlorination (shocking).

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What is Carbonate Alkalinity?

The LSI calls for the carbonate alkalinity of pool water...but this is a confusing term. Pool chemistry test kits only measure Total Alkalinity (TA). So what is Carbonate Alkalinity? And how is it different from TA?

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How to Use the Orenda App

The Orenda App and Orenda Calculator™ are some of the most widely-used tools in the pool industry. Here's an overview on how to use them.

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