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.
