Swimming Pool Leak or Normal Water Loss?

With 100 degree temperatures water loss in a swimming pool is inevitable. However, are you loosing water due to evaporation or a leak?

A typical pool will loose about a 1/4 inch of water a day due to evaporation. Other factors that can play a role in the loss of swimming pool water is splash out, waterfalls and fountains. If you are loosing more water than you believe you should be, here are some tips on what to look for.

• Algae or other persistent water quality problems indicating imbalances in the chemistry can occur when a leak prevents the water level from staying constant;
• Loose tiles or cracks in the pool deck;
• Cracks inside of skimmers;
• Cracks and gaps in the Plaster (sometimes followed with rust spots coming from the cracks); or
• Water-saturated soils in the area around the pool, pool pumps or plumbing.

One of the most common ways to identify if you have a leak is the bucket test.

The bucket test: Place a bucket filled with pool water on a pool step (weight it with a rock or brick). Mark the water level on both the inside and the outside of the bucket. The starting point levels should be about the same. Keep all fountains and waterfalls off and pool unused for 24 hours. Check the mark 24 hours later. If there's a greater drop in the line on the outside of the bucket, a leak in the pool is indicated.

Follow our post for steps on determining the location of your swimming pool leak.

These posts brought to you from Swim Clear Pool Supply and Swim Clear Pool Service