Swimming Pool Leak Detection & Repair
Being able to hop inside of your swimming pool whenever you want to cool off and relax in the welcoming water is one of the biggest perks to owning one. However, along the way into the future there will definitely be some upkeep issues, one of which is preventing the pool from leaking. You may have noticed that the level of pool water seems to go down over time, slowly decreasing the amount of water in the pool, as well as the depth involved with the structure. This can actually become dangerous in the future as there are certain depth requirements for people to be able to jump into pool water safely. This risk is greatly increased with certain jumping methods such as the front dive, which can result in very serious injuries if the water depth is not maintained at a deep enough level. The depth of the water decreasing over time can be caused by leaky plumbing, cracks in the pool shell itself, or normal evaporation from the sun or water being thrown out of the pool from splashing.
Before you decide fully on whether or not you’re in need of swimming pool leak repair, it is important to rule out the possibility that your water is simply evaporating naturally due to the weather conditions. This is an incredibly common scenario to come up and as such it is important to deduce whether or not it is an active role in your potentially leaking pool before making a drastic and expensive decision to fix the situation.
One effective method for determining this is as follows: first, you should take a big bucket or special type of container and fill it about halfway or so with pool water. Then, leave it on the first step of the pool, and check that the water levels in the bucket match the level of the pool water. After three or four days of the pool not being used, you can then check back and evaluate the situation to see where the water stands currently. If the water in the container has gone down a similar amount as the level of the pool water, then it is simply the natural process of evaporation at work and you shouldn’t bother worrying about. If, however, you find that the pool level is significantly lower than the water in the container, then you can safely rule out the natural evaporation process as it is certain that your pool has unfortunately sprung a leak. Being able to narrow down the causes through your process of swimming pool leak detection is incredibly important.
Once you’re certain of a leak, you must determine the official cause of it in order to fix it properly. A common cause is a problem in the plumbing or pump system of the pool. Check the filter and pump first, and see if there is any excess water or leakage, a sure sign of the problem. After fiddling around and checking out these objects, it is possible that you may find that one of the pipe connections is coming loose. It is important to understand that you may have to turn the pump on and observe it to see if there are noticeable leaks while it is working, as sometimes the leak can be disguised and go unnoticed if the pump isn’t active. If you find a leak in the pipes, it may be possible to perform a do-it-yourself repair with the right tools and instructions, but it is advisable to contact your local professional pool plumber to get the job done right and in order to avoid your untrained hands to accentuate the damage and cause more problems. It is important to understand that detecting a swimming pool leak is much easier than actually repairing one properly.
If there are no plumbing leaks, then it is likely that there is a leak or crack in the pool shell itself. In this case, especially if it is an inground swimming pool, it is necessary to call a professional as they will have the proper experience and swimming pool leak detection equipment to get the job done properly. They will have the tools and expertise to figure out the issue and repair it properly and are unlikely to cause any more problems to the pool. Such a problem is too big and complicated for the nonprofessional and you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice to attempt to fix it yourself.
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