With summer approaching like a freight train, one thing’s for sure, it’ s time to sit back, unwind and spend some quality time together in your garden while you splash around in the pool to beat the heat. What could be more relaxing than spending a trouble-free day in the pool? Well, some of you pool owners may not be so lucky (unfortunately).
Some of you might be wondering why your swimming pool is losing water! Well, that’s perfectly normal for your pool to lose some water due to evaporation, splashing or back-washing of your filter. However, if you consistently need to add more than two inches of water to your pool per week, your pool may be leaking. Uh-oh, right?
It’s no secret that owning a pool can be a substantial financial burden. Many pool owners live in fear of shadowy repair bills that can pop up out of nowhere, and be totally unavoidable and pricey enough for you to have to get a second mortgage on your home to cover the cost. Swimming pools are much more knotty than most people think – with multiple moving parts, components and interacting variables that can potentially break down and result in unexpectedly high repair bills.
It may seem like you’re at the mercy of your pool, and the cruel hand of fate as to when (or if) you’ll ever be stuck with a surprise repair bill. That’ s not necessarily the case. Just like a car needs regular maintenance, so does a swimming pool. Most of the time, when a vehicle breaks down or is about to break down, warning signs and symptoms will be displayed. It may start rattling, or flashing light may pop up on the dashboard to indicate a potential problem in your vehicle.
Unfortunately, pools don’t have an instrument cluster that monitors the health of your entire pool system. There is no “control motor” light for your pool. However, there are some early warning signs and indicators that your pool may give in case of a potential problem. As a pool owner, it’s essential to be alert and watch closely at all times for any of these symptoms…symptoms that could indicate any underlying problem. If you think there’ s a leak, here are four key points to focus on!
Swimming pools don’t tend to leak on their own. To make it easier to detect pool leaks, you can reduce the suspect areas by performing a couple of tests. If you think your pool is dripping, there are many ways to confirm it:
Mark the water level in your pool at the skimmer. Take a piece of tape or a pencil to make the mark. Check it out after one day. The pool should not lose more than one centimetre per day. If it doesn’t, there’ s probably a leak.
Fill a bucket with pool water and place it on the edge of the pool. It’ s best to weigh it with a stone or brick. Mark the water level on the bucket, inside and out. Make sure that the levels are exactly the same inside and outside. Observe the mark after a full day. If the drop in depth is higher outside of the bucket, a leak in the pool is confirmed. This test should be carried out with your pump running, and again when the pump is switched off.
#2. Does Your Pool Leak All The Time?
Frequent or constant pool leaks are usually due to plumbing, but a more likely cause would be the pool shell, where there may be cracks in the walls or tears in the vinyl. Detecting pool leaks in the tile line could also be the cause.
It can be easily repaired using pool sealant. If you notice something that looks like a crack, add some dye near it with the pump stopped and the water still moving (to see if it attracts the colourant into the fissure). Underwater lights can also be sources of leaks, especially the pipe from the light spot to the junction box. It can be repaired by using putty, butyl tape or a cord plug in the space between the niche and box.
#3. What Happens If You Ignore A Pool Leak?
An undiagnosed leak in the plumbing can cause significant problems in your yard too. This may even lead to sinkholes. Usually, these aren’t the giant type, but any sinkhole is bad news.
As water escapes your pool system, it can start to accumulate in areas where it should not be. Another more significant concern is the movement of water through the ground around the pool. Slow-moving water can carve right through solid rock (if given enough time). Water travelling through the terrain around your pool will strip the cement from concrete, leaving only sand and gravel behind.
#4. Should You Deal With Detecting A Leak Yourself?
Since pool leaks can be challenging to find and hard to check, you may need a service professional who may need to make more than one visit to get an accurate diagnosis and fix itfor you. Leakincis the solution to your leaking pool. Experts in pool leak detection and repair services, they handle both above and underground pools! They provide first-class services for residential as well as commercial clients including dye testing, underwater leak tests, hydrostatic valves and hydrostatic plates inspection, repair and replacement (just to name a few).
