Leaks are a continual problem with swimming pools, but during the winter months, water loss becomes more evident. This is because we get less rain in the winter and there is more evaporation due to the lower humidity. Therefore, a customer may have had a leak all year, but only noticed it recently. Your pool’s water levels are critical to proper filter and pump activity.
A standard, non-heated pool can lose up to 1 or 1 ½ inches per week. Heated pools can easily lose up to 2 inches per week. When a customer calls in regarding a leak, you need to tell him this so that he can monitor his pool and confirm that there is in fact a leak.
There is a simple “bucket test” that the customer can do that will confirm 100% if he has a leak. Take a plastic bucket, add a rock or some other weight and put it on the top step of the pool. Add water to the bucket level with the water in the pool. Then mark the level of the pool water on the outside of the bucket. Wait 2 to 3 days and then check the two levels. If the drop inside the bucket is the same as the drop outside the bucket, there is no pool leak. (Since the bucket is in the water, the water inside the bucket and the pool water are at the same temperature and receive the same amount of rain and evaporation.) Any equal drop in the level is just evaporation. On the other hand, if the level outside the bucket dropped more than the level inside, the difference is the actual amount of leakage in the pool.
If the customer does have a leak, we can perform most of the required leak research and do the necessary repairs. If it is determined that the leak is in the underground plumbing, we usually call in an outside firm that specializes in pinpointing plumbing leaks. This is done through air injection and ultrasonic testing. Once the exact location of the leak is determined, we can do all the necessary repairs, even if it requires cutting the deck and excavating to find the pipe leak.
Your knowledge about pool leaks and detection will help you to satisfy our customers’ needs and make you the pool expert we expect you to be. For more information on finding leaks, click here.
