How to Identify and Fix a Leak in Your Pool

It’s normal for pools to lose some water naturally through evaporation, splashing, and backwashing. But is your pool losing too much water? A leak in your pool can do more than simply drive up your water bills. If neglected for too long, it can cause damage to other elements like your liner, piping, and surrounding landscaping.

Check out these four tips for finding and fixing the leak in your pool:

1.     Check Obvious Problems First

Common issues can include:

• Leaks at or near your equipment. Make sure you take a close look at the pump, filter, pipe valves, and heater.
• Areas around your pool wetter than they should be. Be on the lookout for ground moisture, eroding areas, wet soil, or unusually healthy grass (compared to areas around it).
• A damaged vinyl liner. Inspect for separations and tears around corners, steps, fittings, returns, skimmers, lines, and lights.

2.     Confirm There’s a Leak in Your Pool

If you suspect you’re dealing with a leak, do the bucket test to find out for certain:

• Fill your pool to its normal level.
• Fill a bucket 3/4 full with water.
• Place the bucket in the pool (either on the stairs or tied to the ladder).
• Mark the water level of the pool and the bucket.
• Check the levels 24 hours later. If the pool has dropped more than the bucket, you have water loss (and potentially a leak) on your hands.

To measure the difference in losses between the pool and the bucket, use this formula:

• Amount of water lost in inches × .62 × pool surface in square feet = loss in gallons (1 gallon = 3.785 litres)

Make sure you keep track of all the information you’ve just gathered: how much water you should expect your pool to lose over a 24 hour period (the amount of water lost in the bucket), how much the water level actually dropped, and the difference between those two numbers. This is important data to communicate with a pool service technician, and you’ll need some of it during the next step of the leak detection process.

3.     Find out Where the Leak Is Located

After you know there is a leak, you need to find out where it’s coming from – whether the “shell” (liner, stairs, etc.) or piping:

• Fill your pool to its normal operating level and mark that using a piece of tape.
• Turn off the system and remove your jets.
• Install winterizing plugs in the skimmer and jets.
• Check the water level after 24 hours. If it hasn’t dropped at all (except for the expected evaporation you determined during your bucket test), the leak is in the piping. If the water has continued to go down, the problem is in the shell.

At this stage, it’s time for you to call a pool service professional to discuss your options.

4.     Work with a Pool Services Company to Fix the Leak

After you’ve confirmed your pool has a leak and identified a likely location, contact a pool service company to properly isolate it and perform any necessary repairs.

Techniques they might use to locate the leak precisely include:

• Pressure Testing
• Electronic Leak Detection
• Diving

Keep in mind that the costs of repair will vary depending on a range of factors including ease of access to the leak, the nature of it, and the age of your vinyl liner. A pool service technician will discuss these factors with you, ensuring you find a solution that helps your pool look and perform its best for seasons to come.

At Total Tech, our technicians are experts at finding and fixing leaks wherever they may be in your pool. Contact us today to learn more about our leak detection and repair services!

Check out:

• 5 Tips for Choosing the Right Pool Installer
• 5 Signs It’s Time to Renovate Your Pool
• 4 Tips for Maintaining Your Pool’s Liner