TO LISTEN, CLICK PLAY

Pool Leak Vs Water Evaporation

Pool Leak Detection In West Hills,CA

As a pool owner, if you notice that you are losing say a quarter-inch of water in one day in a humid environment and maybe half an inch during the dry season, then chances are that your pool is leaking. Thing is, many pool owners are often confused as they are unable to tell the difference between evaporation and pool leaking. Truthfully, you can understand where the confusion is coming in. We are here to clarify a few things about the two though, so, keep reading. 

Let’s start off by saying that evaporation in a pool depends on the speed of wind over it, pool surface area, humidity, and of course, water air temperature variance. In windy regions, swimming pools lose water to evaporation a lot. What’s more, pools tend to lose more water in dry environments as opposed to humid ones. Also, if a pool has more or a large surface area, that pool tends to lose a lot of water to evaporation.

So, don’t be surprised when you find the water level in your pool dropping with each passing day. The other thing is, if you heat your pool in the winter, you are bound to lose more water as compared to non-heated pools. This is due to the variance of the surrounding temperature. 
If you think you have a pool leak, you should;

  1. Turn your auto-fill device off – that is if you have one.
  2. Turn off your pool breakers to stop it from kicking.
  3. Fill the pool to its normal level, which is mostly halfway the skimmer
  4. Ensure that you mark the level of the water in the skimmer.
  5. Fill up a bucket with water, leaving a space of one inch at the top, and then place it on the pool step (top step). And just like you marked the skimmer, ensure that you mark the bucket as well.
  6. Note that, for the experiment to be perfect, the entire pool has to experience the same level of wind. This is to say that if there is a deep end swim out in more wind, then you need to fill up a bucket with water and place it on the swim out receiving the same level of the wind.  
  7. Wait for 24 hours and check the two marked lines (on the bucket and on the skimmer)
  8. Note the results and then refill both the bucket and the pool to the lines. 
  9. Repeat the process, this time with the system running for the next 24 hours or so.
  10. Record your results. 
Now, if you find that the water level went on the bucket and on the pool went down to a similar level, then the water loss was due to evaporation. But if it reduced more on the skimmer than on the bucket, chances are that your pool is leaking. What’s more, if the water dropped to a much lower level with the system off as compared to it on, then that’s an indication that there is a hole in the suction side plumbing or a structure leak. And if there was water loss when the pool is running, then that’s also an indication of a leak on the pressure side. 

So, you need to record all this information somewhere and present it to a pool pro. He or she will be able to understand it and will come up with sensible solutions that would address the challenge at hand. 

You need to remember that, just because you found a leak, it doesn’t mean that everything is solved. No! no! it couldn’t be any further from the truth! So you need to get in touch with a pool professional. They will be able to address any kind of problem that you may have.   

                Helpful Resources For Your Swimming Pool
​