Introduction
Leaks in pools are almost inevitable at some point and are usually easily repaired, but very costly if left to continue leaking.
Because this has been our specialty since 1986, the professionals at Dave’s Pool Repair Service are experts at locating and repairing pool leaks. We perform year-round leak location and repair of all pools using the most modern State of the Art, electronic leak-locating devices along with visual underwater video/photo verification via scuba diving.
Your pool does not need to be drained in order for us to repair it, and because we are a locally owned family business, we are less expensive and can get the job done faster than large franchise companies. In fact, we are often hired by customers that unfortunately have paid to have those companies try to find and fix their leaks without success!
So, be cautious! If you decide to use any of the other companies that offer this type of work, we strongly recommend that you confirm they will find and fix the leak. And that they will stand behind their work. Because we do!!
More Information
Any way you look at it, pool leaks are very costly and a big headache! When a pool is leaking, the water chemicals are always out of balance making it very difficult to keep your water clear. Then, extra pool chemicals are needed more often just to get it balanced again. It also makes it hard to stay heated due to having to constantly add cold water. Both of these are costing you money! For a liner pool, maintaining your water level is absolutely critical because this is what is holding your liner in place. When the water starts to get low, the liner begins to shrink, shift, and become brittle. This causes permanent damage from wrinkles and stress points in the corners, edges, and around plumbing openings. This could also lead to a catastrophic liner failure.
Never allow your liner pool to drain empty or you most likely will need to have the liner replaced.
Maintaining the water level in your concrete pool is equally critical for many of the same reasons we mentioned above. Additionally, if the water level in a concrete pool gets low, it is possible that structural problems may start to occur, especially in the winter! As the ground freezes, the water in the pool gives the walls their structural support thus reducing the threat of cracking. The water weight also keeps the pool from lifting out of the ground due to ground water pressure beneath it. The water will also protect the painted surface from freezing, becoming brittle and cracking.
Is it a Leak or Evaporation?
It is fairly obvious when your pool is leaking because of noticeable daily water loss. But, sometimes this may be so slight that it is hard to tell if it is a leak or just normal evaporation. As a general rule, most pools without a solar cover will average about 1” of evaporation per week. Keep in mind, however, that the evaporation rate will be greater when the water and air temperatures are farther apart. On a cool fall night when your pool water temperature is still quite warm, you might see your pool “steaming”. You are watching evaporation in progress! On nights like this, the evaporation loss could be as great as 1/4 an inch in a single night!
Self-Testing for Leaks
If you suspect your pool has a leak, we suggest you try a couple of simple tests yourself to help determine if it is a leak that you are dealing with or just evaporation.
The Pail Test
Take a plastic pail and dip some water from your pool. Set the pail on the pool steps
in the water. Be sure that the water level in the pail is about the same as the water in the pool so that the water in the pail will stay the same temperature as the water in the pool. Use a marker or piece of tape to carefully mark the water levels on the inside and the outside of the pail. Run this test for 24 hours with the pump off and without any pool swimming activity. After 24 hours, check the marks on both the inside and the outside of the pail. If they both lost the same amount, then you are noticing evaporation. If the water is lower in the pool than it is in the pail, you have confirmed there is a leak in your pool.
The On/Off Test
This is another simple test that will help you determine if the leak is in the pool plumbing lines or in the pool itself. Again, start by marking the pool water level carefully. Let your pool pump run non-stop for 24 hours and record exactly how much the water level drops. Next, fill the pool water back up to the same mark, leave the pool pump off for 24 hours and record the water loss again. If the water loss is the same after both days of testing, this indicates that you likely have a leak somewhere in the pool structure, e.g., the pool liner, light, a crack in the concrete, or from a variety of other places. If the water loss amount was different when the pump was running than while it was off, this indicates a possible leak somewhere in the plumbing.
A Pool Leak After Winterizing
If you notice that your pool is leaking after it has been winterized and covered, it can and really should be repaired before the water freezes. This is very noticeable in pools that are covered with a tarp-style pool cover because you will notice it beginning to go down or “sag” after it has been closed for awhile. At this point, the best thing you can do is to get a hose going under the winter cover to try to bring the water level back up as soon as possible. Remember our explanation in the previous paragraphs about how severely damaging it can be if the water level gets too low in your pool. You also run the risk of ruining your winter cover as the water level drops due to the weight of the rain and snow on top of it. Or if it rips, all of the accumulated dirty water, leaves etc. will end up in your pool causing a huge mess! Once the pool is filled back up to your winterized level, we can then come out to do a repair to stop the leak.
The Bottom Line
Don’t let those pesky leaks continue to bother you and cost you a ton of money! Call or email us and we would be happy to talk to you further about scheduling an appointment to promptly get this annoying problem fixed! We look forward to hearing from you and will be happy to help!