What to do if you think your pool is leaking.

Sometimes the problem is simple, sometimes it is not so simple. In this article we discuss the steps you can take if you think that your pool is losing water.

STEP ONE: VERIFY THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY LOSING WATER

High Water Bill?

Before you assume that you have a leak, make sure that your pool is not just overfilling and then dumping out the overflow.

Your autofill may be set to fill the pool slightly higher than your overflow.
Your spa may be draining down into the pool overnight and this extra water could be going out the overflow.
Your pool may be really low because it is summer and nobody bothered to add water to the pool. Seriously, it happens, so before you get too worried, make a note of your water level and then look at your water level 24 hours later and see how much water you are actually losing.

• 1/4 inch per day – about normal for most pools
• 1/4 -1/2 inch per day – a little more than normal, but not a major concern
• Over 1/2 inch per day – its time to look for a leak

Once your water loss per day exceeds 1/2 inch per day, you have a measurable water loss that we should be able to locate through leak detection if needed.

STEP TWO – LOOK FOR OBVIOUS PROBLEMS ABOVE GROUND

Money Saving Tip If you don’t want to have to pay a $95 service call to check for leaks at the equipment, we have a great idea for you . . . Combine it with a filter clean. Pay the $95 for a filter clean and we would be happy to check for above ground leaks at the same time at no extra charge.
Many times, the problem is not underground, it is above ground, and fairly inexpensive to repair.

• Look at your equipment pad – is your equipment or piping leaking?
• Check your backwash valve – is it leaking water to the backwash line even when it is in filter mode (this is quite common)

Many times, it is a good idea to pay for a service call to look for obvious signs of water loss, so you don’t pay hundreds of dollars for a leak detection, only to discover that it is something that could have been resolved with a $95 service call.

STEP THREE – IF NEEDED, CALL FOR A LEAK DETECTION

If you are indeed losing over 1/2 inch of water per day and you cannot find the issue above ground, then it is time to call for a leak detection.

There are actually three components to the leak detection

• Pressure Test – we will pressure up all the lines and see if any of them lose pressure. If there is a leak, the pressure loss will be evident within just a few minutes.
• Leak Location – if a leak is found on a line, we will then use listening equipment to find the location of the leak as precisely as possible.
• Dye Test – we will also use dye to check the entire structure of the pool for leaks. This includes any cracks in the plaster, every fitting in the pool (returns, drains), the skimmers, lights and anything else in the pool that might leak.

Once the pool is completely tested, we will give you a report and an estimate for repairs.

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