It’s inevitable for almost all pool owners. At some point in your pool-owning days, you’re going to get a leak. But how do you KNOW when you have a leak? When you’re in full-swing of pool season, you don’t necessarily want to have to stop and drain the whole thing to figure out what’s going on, so here are a couple of less invasive ways for finding pool leaks before you take those next steps.
Sometimes determining the culprit of a suspected leak is as simple as checking the most obvious places it may be coming from. Check the equipment pad – look closely at the filter, pump, heater, and pipe valves. Next, check for any wet areas around the perimeter of the pool. If there are sunken or eroding areas around a particular area, you may have found the spot. If this preliminary check yields no results, move on to the next few options and see if those can help uncover an answer for you.
Suspecting you have a leak can be a tricky thing to prove sometimes. If you’re pretty sure you have a leak but you want to confirm before you go any further, the bucket method is a popular way of finding out. Place a 5-gallon bucket on the second stair of your pool entrance and weight it so it stays put. Then, fill the bucket with water until it is exactly level with your pool’s water level. Make a mark using tape or a grease pencil so you can compare in 24 hours. If, when you check the next day, the levels are both a little lower, but still even with each other (in and outside of the bucket), it’s pretty safe to say you’re witnessing evaporation at work and your pool is likely leak-free. But if you notice the water level in the bucket is higher than the pool water level outside the bucket, you’ve got a solid indication there may be a leak somewhere.
A little easier but not quite as foolproof, the tape method is a simple way to gut-check your suspicion. Place a piece of tape at the water level on the side of your pool. Wait 24 hours. Over the course of a full day, your pool should not lose more than 1/4 inch due to natural evaporation of water. If the distance between your tape marker and the water is more than 1/4 inch the following day, you might be dealing with a leak.
There are a couple of ways you can go about finding out where the leak is coming from on your own. First, you can turn off the filtration system and see where the water starts dropping fastest. If the water stops at the bottom on the skimmer, the leak is probably located in that area. If the water stops at the light, the leak is likely in the light housing. The other option is to use a drop or two of dye test solution near where you suspect the leak may be located. If the dye gets sucked into the area you suspect, you have likely found your culprit.
At the end of the day, all of these methods may not let you find the leak that you know is there. If you’re struggling to find the location but you’re fairly certain your pool has a leak, it’s time to call in a professional. Give us a call and we can locate the leak and help you find the best solution for your pool and your home.
Leaks are no fun, but figuring out you’re dealing with one is the first step to getting it fixed and moving on to enjoying your pool to the fullest once again. Contact us for pool repair and let’s get your pool back to its pique condition fast!
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