Pool Filters and Accesories

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   Home » Pool maintenance » Pool leak detection

Pool leak detection

swimmingpoolOnce you have opened your pool for summer season, you will of course easily spot a leak by the water gushing out. Where the leak is coming from though, can be a completely different story. At times this pool leak detection could be easy to conclude, although on other occasions it will be quiet a bit more complicated.

As soon as you suspect a pool leak, among the first things you need to do is to make sure that the water you notice missing (or at least suspect is missing) is in reality a pool leak. Even though you may believe it’s a leak, it could actually be something else.

Basically, there are three causes of water loss:

  • plumbing leaks
  • shell leaks
  • evaporation

You should assure that you locate the cause of the leak before you advance any further. At times, what you suppose is a leakage could just be water lost from splashing – which could without doubt happen in the case that you have lots of guests diving in your pool.

Evaporation is a frequent and completely normal source of water loss. Fortunately there is a simple technique you can use to determine if your loss of water is indeed evaporation. To find out, take a large container full of water and place it on the first pool step. Then, remove some water from the container placed on the first step so that the water in the pool and the container have exactly the same level. Now, let the container sit there for a couple of days with no one making use of the pool during this simple but efficient evaporation test.

When you check back in a few days, the levels should supposedly be the same. If they have gone down any, then you know that water has evaporated due to normal factors like sun and hot weather, and not because of leaks. On the other hand, if the water that you have in the pool has decreased a significant deal more than what’s left in the container, you’ll know that you have a water outflow somewhere.

So, if you feel that the water leak is going down to a pool leakage, you’ll first need to locate where this leaking water is coming from. It’s a good idea to start looking near the pump and the pool filter, since in more than a few cases, the leak will turn out to be a defective water pipe connection. In the event that you happen to observe any wet or damp areas, you should track the water backwards and see if you that way could conclude your pool leak detection.

If it shouldn’t be the pipes or plumbing, then you could unfortunately have a problem with the shell. If you possess an above ground pool, it will be relatively easy to locate the hole where the water is coming out of and repair it. On the other hand, in the case that you have an in-ground pool, the pool leak detection manouver could be quiet a bit more problematic. You can try to examine the shell in the pool, or checking adjacent areas.

At times, no matter how hard you try, it could be just about hopeless to find where the leakage is situated. Do keep in mind that in the event that you have a problem with the shell, you should at all times hand over the problem to a qualified professional. Shells for in-ground pools can be rather tough to fix, and even more challenging in cases where the poolowners know very little about pools.

In the majority of cases, finding and repairing a leak with your swimming pool is more or less just about eliminating causes until you discover the right one. Once you have located the problem and know what is causing it, you can opt to do the repair yourself, or you could call qualified professionals and have them do the repair for you.