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Pool Service 101: Looking for Pool Leaks and How to Repair It

man repairing leaking pool

Suppose you notice that your water level is rapidly decreasing than usual. You check the weather and don’t notice anything unusual. In that case, your pool may probably leak. In this article, we will be discussing the basic things you need to know about: looking for signs of a leaking pool, how to locate it, and how to do basic pool repair for leaks.

The cause of leaks, no matter how small, isn’t as straightforward as it looks. Even if you detect it, you can’t guarantee that it is the only source of a leak. In most cases, professionals should take up leaking pool repair in Chandler and further checks.

If you want pool repair in Gilbert for your swimming pool maintenance needs, then Flamingo Pools are your go-to guys! We offer swimming pool services that can address pool leaks, pool heaters, swimming pool repair, pool pumps, your pool heater, the pool deck, and many more. Even if you are not a regular customer, we can repair your Glendale pool anytime you need us. Our weekly pool cleaning services also cover watching out for any indication of leaks.

Common Signs of a Leaking Pool

A common sign of leaks is when you notice a drop in the water level. Weather and climate in Glendale Arizona could play a part in this, as mentioned. However, if factoring in the weather doesn’t add up in contributing to the water loss, then you should be looking into the following factors:

Cracked Pool tiles: You may notice a few pool tiles are cracked when you do tile cleaning. It may look small, but if it has been broken for a long time, the water may have seeped further and already affected the surrounding ground.

Check your water bills: The pump compensates for the changes in level and may hide indications of more substantial water loss. If the weather doesn’t indicate contributing to evaporation, then the increase in your water bills means your pump is compensating for more water to maintain your pool level than usual.

Wet spots in your yard: The water that leaks will cause substantial soil erosion, causing unequal levels in your garden.

Water under your pool equipment: The leaks could come from your pipes due to erosion or a busted o-ring.

Presence of algae: Algae growth will happen when the chemical balance in your pool is off. The presence of algae could be caused by untreated water seeping into your pool.

Air or dirt goes into the pool through the pool pump: If you hear a gurgling noise in the underwater air release, this is a sure sign of a leak.

What causes Pool Leaks

Doing weekly pool service can catch these common problems in your pool. The most common sources of leaks are these three areas where weekly pool service regularly checks:

Fitting leaks: Concrete swimming pools are not water-tight. Pool lights, skimmers, and jets are sealed by plaster which is susceptible to leaks.

Plumbing leaks: The plumbing work for swimming pools are complicated and fragile. Any movement or sealing problems could lead to a leak in the pool shell or the piping itself.

Structural leaks: This means leaks in the pool shell itself. Aside from wear, leaks can result from ground movement, the pressure from groundwater, freezing, and thawing of the water, or if the shell was not appropriately made in the first place.

How to Locate the Leak

These are two of the simplest ways to detect where the pool is leaking. These methods can confirm or rule out evaporation, or if you want to ensure exactly where in the pool the leak is coming from through cracks. Note that it can’t detect the leak for the entire pool system. For that, you may need the services of a pool maintenance company.

Food Coloring: If you suspect the leak is coming through a cracked seal around pool lights, return, or the mouth of the skimmer, then you can use a solution with food coloring. Just place it right by the suspected leaking areas. You can confirm the presence of leaks if the food coloring gets sucked into the cracks.

Bucket Method: The bucket method confirms if the loss of water level is because of evaporation. Fill a 5 or 10-gallon bucket with the same water as the pool. Submerge the bucket such that the water level will be the same as the pool. Leave it for 24 hours after turning off the pool pump. If the pool’s water level is lower than that of the bucket, then you have a leak somewhere.

Swimming Pool Maintenance for Leaks

If you are a pool owner who seeks to address the leak immediately, here are some actions that you may consider once you confirm the presence of a leak. However, these are just stop-gap measures. Pool repairs of this nature should still be left to professionals in most cases.

Pipe repairs: If you confirm the leak is coming from a pipe, then a 100% silicone sealant and wrapping it tightly with Teflon tape can help.

Leaking pool skimmers: If the food coloring detection method confirms the leak is coming from your skimmer, you may repair the leak with a putty that usually comes with a repair kit.

Pool liner leaks: This is applicable if your own pool is above-ground. If the crack isn’t too large, you can seal it with a vinyl patch kit.

Conclusion: Best Option, leave it to the professionals

A pool leak is just one of the many problems that might come up when a pool owner. Through proper pool maintenance and practicing proper pool care, you can prevent most of the causes of a leaking pool. Flamingo Pools offer weekly pool maintenance, including checks on your entire pool system which can help you detect pool problems early. We can also offer services such as green pool cleanup where our pool cleaner can detect leaks in some cases.

Our family-owned pool service specialists provide excellent service that has worked for our satisfied customers in Sun City, Glendale, Gilbert, Litchfield Park, and the East Valley, Arizona, all year round. To learn more about our services, please call us at 480-422-6013. You can contact us through this link: contact@azflamingopools.com to get a free quote.

Pool Repair Chandler AZ: How Much does it cost to repair a pool?

It is the start of summer, and you are excited to take a splash in your pool. However, some things are not going right. Is it a malfunctioning pool pump? Is your swimming pool draining too quickly? Did you neglect your weekly pool cleaning? Are considering calling for prompt pool service companies or should you DIY it? For a simple swimming pool repair work, you may likely be able to do it yourself. However, there are many things that can go wrong and any swimming pool repairs should be left to experienced professional pool service companies. Flamingo Pools have decades of experience providing Chandler pool service, ensuring our customers can enjoy the blue crystal-clear waters for as much as they can. We do pool repair in Gilbert, repair in Glendale, and the rest of the East Valley Arizona area.

stone carved pool

How Much Is the Average for Pool Repairs in 2022?

The average cost you could pay Chandler Pool Maintenance providers could hover around $1100. However, that is an average. Swimming pool repair requirements could cover a wide range of problems.

Don’t worry about spending this much for your swimming pool repairs when you avail of our pool services. We won’t surprise you with hidden costs. We make a thorough and honest assessment of your pool repair requirements, so our average is much lower than this. However, there are serious cases which may contain a combination of the following causes that can drive the pool repair cost higher:

Swimming Pool Repair Items That We Need to Look Into

Swimming pools have many parts that can break or require replacement over time. That is why weekly pool cleaning, weekly pool service, and proper pool care are necessary to ensure your swimming pool will always be in tip-top shape. Note that we have many cases where swimming pools without weekly service wind up being a serious case. Equipment replacement will cost you a lot more if you don’t have weekly pool maintenance. Flamingo pools look at the following items in our checklist in our weekly services to ensure that they don’t get worse, thereby saving you a lot of trouble:

The pool pump motor is failing: If your pump is making a lot of noise, or if it is getting low filter readings, then your pump is already showing signs of failing.

You may need to replace your filter or filter system: You may need filter replacement if the pressure keeps increasing. We also check for cracked end caps, meaning your filter may need replacement as well. At times, there are crushed materials inside the filter system which means it’s time for the filter to go.

You may need to get a new pool liner: Leaks isn’t the only cause why your pool is losing water. If your current liner has stretching, cracks, wrinkles, or is fading, then you will need to replace it.

We detect a pool leak: We have detection methods to determine if it is evaporation or a pool leak that is causing rapid water loss.

Replacement of pool heaters: If it doesn’t heat your pool quickly enough or it doesn’t heat at all, then its time to replace your pool heater.

Common Swimming Pool Repair Costs

The cost of pool repair may mean replacement of certain parts. However, Flamingo pools make it a point to thoroughly check these items so that you don’t wind up spending too much.

Pool Heaters: Solar-powered pool heates may cost as low as $80. However, for wider area pools, and you prefer more heavy-duty heaters, the most expensive natural gas-heated pool heates cost around $4,000.

Pool Filters: Simple filter replacement cost around $150. However, serious filtration system issues may cost you $1,000 to replace all the required filters. Regular pool maintenance can save you more for this item.

Pool Pump: A new pool pump may between $140 and $250.

Vinyl Pool Liner: A new pool liner costs between $300 and $900, depending on the size of the pool.

Pool Skimmer: Smaller samples cost around $50. However, some can cost as much as $300 for bigger-sized ones.

Concrete Patches and Repair Kits: We use these when we are doing regular pool maintenance service. These help us to prevent bigger problems later.

Labor Costs: On average, the labor costs for professionals repairing swimming pools are at $85 per hour. However, Our regular services are what other Chandler Pool Service providers consider as premium services. That means you get much more value from us per hour than you can get from our competitors.Common Swimming Pool Repair Costs

Green Pool Cleanup and Other Issues

Green pool cleanup costs is around $300 to $500 for initial cleaning. However, this can go lower if you have proper pool maintenance. Our regular customers never experience these.

Acid Washes: The typical cost is around $200m, or between $175 to $250 for a swimming pool measuring 500 square feet.

Ground pool Service Costs: On a monthly basis, our customers could save more on pool service in Chandler. A single service call may cost a lot more. The average cost is less than $150 a month for the pool service done monthly, but that could save you a lot of money in costly repair costs if you don’t do this. If your pool experience pop ups, then that would be serious costs.

Tile cleaning: The usual cost of tile cleaning for a 500 square foot pool is less than $190. However, with regular pool maintenance, this can be included in some of our services. Contact us to know more.

Salt water system: The average upfront cost of a salt-chlorine generator alone is between $1700 and $2500.

Conclusion: Why Flamingo Pools for your Pool Repairs in Chandler AZ?

When choosing among pool services in Chandler AZ, we would recommend that you compare quotes provided by each possible candidate. You will note that for the same price, we include services in Chandler Arizona, than our competitors. We have a long list of regular satisfied customers that never had any problems with the swimming pools we maintain for them. However, if you want to make pool service and repairs a home project, then you may need to watch out because a plumbing issue, or your filtration system might be lurking. Flamingo pools have highly trained professionals that knows the needs of our customers. We will always give 110% of our effort and provide you with premium services in Chandler Arizona at the regular prices.

To learn more about our services, please call us at 480-422-6013. You can contact us through this link: contact@azflamingopools.com. We provide top-quality swimming pool service for the East Valley Arizona all year round.

WHY YOU SHOULD GET YOUR POOL TILE BLASTED?

5 BENFITS OF HIRING POOL TILE CLEANING SERVICES

“Pool blasting can be done at least once every two months based on the number of people the pool serves. A high-traffic pool should be cleaned more than once.”

Pool tiles may be the simplest part of the pool to clean. Proper pool tile cleaning and blasting is mandated from all pool owners; it is not an option. If you’ve ever thought about why pools have tiles, the right answer is, to make cleaning quicker and easier. Pool tiles are not often cleaned, but after a certain period of activity, they should be cleaned in order to remove the accumulated dirt. A pool tile can harbor dirt, and pool cleaning done by professionals is the only way you can have a clean pool tile surface to ensure you can enjoy your pool for a long time.

The tile surfaces are soft so that the dirt can be easily removed when cleaning. Cleaning is very crucial in maintaining a properly functioning swimming pool that will last for a long time. If this is not done at specific intervals, the swimming pool would be adversely affected.

If you are a pool owner who wishes to learn more about having a salt cell, or the ABCs of acid cleaning and other items about keeping your pool clean, you can learn more from the most trusted pool maintenance Az company by checking out our articles.

Benefits of Regular Pool Blasting and Tile Cleaning

  • Remove the calcium deposits

Calcium found in hard water cannot be decomposed even when treated. So, it remains in the pool and gets on the tiles. There really is no other way to eliminate calcium efficiently from the tiles than to drain the pool before cleaning to extract the calcium deposits. When accumulated in massive quantities, they may have a negative impact on the chemical level of the pool, likely to result in imbalance. One way this can be doom is by glass bead blasting, or by salt blasting. When done properly, each glass bead blast can remove calcium deposits by cleaning pool tile without damaging the surface. These are eco-friendly solutions where recycled glass can still be used up to 30 times to clean tile. Moreover, these are ph neutral which can remove stubborn stains aside from calcium removal. Pumice stone blastic is also an alternative.

  • Organic Matter Deposits Are Removed

Regular tile cleaning and pool blasting could even remove organic matter from the tiles. Organic matter such as leaves, droplets, and dirt, which sinks into the swimming pool, finally settles down on the tiles. They can tamper with the pool filter and end up making it ineffective. Muriatic acid washing may do some of the work, but glass bead blasting is a non-toxic and environmentally friendly alternative.

  • It Removes Algae Thorough Vacuuming

No one likes the algae-dominated pool, that often appears green. Algae can grow so it must have developed over the course when the pool tiles were left untouched. Baking soda may be added to weaken the root of the algae, but it cannot be removed without professional tile cleaning. Cleaning pool tile by professional pool tile cleaning involving glass bead blasting or can remove the roots of the algae, preventing these from growing back after a long time. Once the glass beads do their job, thorough vacuuming comes in to finish the job.

  • STAIN REMOVALS

Almost everything that sinks into the pool will stain the pool tiles. This is the case with leaves and other deposits, which, other than leaving the dirt, also cause scuff marks to the tiles. Such stains like oily scum deposited by the organic matter are normal in pool tiles that are not very well maintained. Pool tile cleaning by glass bead blasting or salt blasting can also remove stain marks without damaging the surface. Pool tile cleaning between tiles can also be dealt with either by glass bead blasting or salt blasting. Pool tile cleaning by blasting pool tile of pebble tec pools, or stone pools, won’t create surface damage while removing the stain entirely. These methods are better than pool cleaning using chemicals.

  • kill bacteria and germs

When proper tile cleaning is not done, dirt and germs will build up. Germs will hide under dirt and survive shockingly with disinfectants because the dirt will make the chemicals used less efficient. If you hire a professional cleaning service for your pool tiles, germs and bacteria will be removed effectively by disinfecting chemicals such as chlorine. Whether by glass bead blasting or chemicals, the pool tile cleaning process used by professionals takes into account the surface condition of the pool. We always keep in mind that you can enjoy using your swimming pool for a long time. If you have a pool surface with glass tile, sandstone, ceramic tile, or concrete, you will still need the help of professionals to complement the cleaning process, especially when done with acid washing. In some cases, sodium bicarbonate may be needed.

Pool blasting and tile cleaning with Flamingo Pools is much safer and more efficient than unprofessional treatments. Don’t just go to a local pool store and buy the harsh chemicals you are not qualified to handle. Especially if you don’t wear protective gear. Whether you have pebble tec pools, ceramic pools, or stone pools, among others, you can rely on us to provide an eco-friendly solution. Keeping the pool tile and deck area clean by blasting periodically not only helps maintain a pool, but also increases its longevity. Contact us for further details.

How Will Having a Salt Cell Benefit You?

Simplify your life

Do you ever feel like you are bending over backward trying to keep the chlorine level in your pool balanced? With the busy schedule that most of us have, it can be inconvenient to keep up with the chlorine level of a pool. With a salt cell, this will no longer be a problem for you.

Having a salt system will simplify your pool maintenance quite a bit. With a salt cell, there is no need to spend money on the regular usage of chemicals like chlorine tabs and shock. You won’t have to check your chlorine levels frequently through screen readers in order to make sure your water is at the correct level. For our customers in Arizona, this is especially helpful!

The salt cell will prevent your pool from turning green in the possible scenario that you forget to add chlorine, or a sudden storm or heat wave comes that requires an extra dose of chlorine. Throwing a pool party? No need to worry about the sweat, body oil, and urine turning the pool green. With a salt system set up properly, it’s easy to program it to create an extra dose of chlorine! It’s just one less thing you have to worry about.

Replacement salt cells can also work. A new or replacement salt cell has screen readers to help us react to chlorine levels quickly. Screen reader users can even control a salt cell through a remote device with a website’s form screen reader interface for some salt systems containing important items such as salinity level, chlorine levels, radio and checkbox elements.

For more items on how to keep enjoying your pool for a long time, you can check out more articles from the most dependable pool maintenance Az can provide. We have topics ranging from acid washing, to pool tile blasting as well as other informative topics.

Chlorine free?

Contrary to popular belief, salt pools or salt systems are not chlorine-free. To put it in the simplest of terms, you are using your salt cell to generate chlorine, rather than manually add it. With a salt system, the cell will detect the chlorine levels on its own and automatically generate more chlorine as needed. That is why it is also referred to as a salt-chlorine generator.

No more red eyes

Another benefit of salt pools or salt systems is that the lower chlorine levels will drastically reduce the amount of sting you feel in your eyes while swimming. The salt level maintained by salt cells in the pool should not burn your eyes, as there is around 3,000 ppm in the water (which is about 1/10 of the salt level in the ocean).

Maintaining your salt cell

While salt cells are convenient and don’t require a lot of maintenance, you will still need to do a few things in order to keep everything running smoothly. You are going to want to remember to clean the system at least once per season and make sure your calcium hardness and salt levels are intact.

When you have a salt cell, you will save a lot of money on chlorine, but you will have to use more acid to balance the pH level. You should also count on needing a salt cell replacement about every 5 years as screen readers may not be accurate by then. Long term, the cost of maintaining a salt water pool with a salt cell is relatively the same as the cost of maintaining a pool without one, but also consider the freedom you are given when you no longer have to worry about your chlorine levels being balanced.

You will also need to add salt to your pool. When buying salt for your pool, try to get high quality salt. Keep in mind that the additives in the salt will add up and you will end up with a lot of contaminants in your water. If you can taste the salt even the slightest bit, there is too much salt in your pool which can cause corrosion.

Salt Cell

We can install this salt cell for you! Enter your information below to schedule. Thank you for being part of the Flamingo Pools family!

Why Choose Flamingo Pools to Install Your Salt Cell

Flamingo Pools are experienced with installing and replacing salt cells for our clients. We can also orient you on the proper interpretation of screen readers, so you will maximize the benefits of your salt cells. Our services can help you maintain a consistent screen reader profile with as few limitations as possible on maintaining the chlorine level of your saltwater pool.