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Why Does My Inground Pool Keep Losing Water

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Low Water Levels Will Cause Your Swimming Pool Pump To Lose Pressure

Swimming pool losing water out of filter drain line. Troubleshoot and fix.

Many are under the impression that gravity is what moves the water from the swimming pool to the pump. This is only accurate if the pump is lower in elevation than the surface of the swimming pools water. Then there will be some movement from gravity. Gravity does not work as fast as a swimming pool pump when its on. When a swimming pool pump turns on, the water inside the pump pot is pulled into the impeller and forced up and out of the pump housing. The rapid movement of water creates a siphoning effect that pulls the water from the swimming pool into the pump to replace the water being pushed out, also known as equilibrium.

If you logically follow the path of the water back to the source, you will see the first point of entry for the plumbing is either a main drain at the bottom of the deep end or a skimmer at the waterline, or more commonly a combination of the two.

If you hear a gurgling sound coming from the skimmer at the waterline its a pretty sure bet that your water level is too low. Quite often when this is the case the gurgling sound will be followed closely by the pump pot becoming empty and then losing pressure.

Leaks In The Pools Plumbing

Some of the pools plumbing will be underground, so less easy to check for leaks, but much of it is above ground . So first of all check all of this above ground plumbing for leaks. This includes:

  • the pipework from the skimmer/s to the pump
  • the pipework from the main drain to the pump
  • the pump itself
  • the multiport valve
  • the filter
  • if you have solar pool heating then check all of this. I had a small leak in one of my solar heating sheets on my roof last year.
  • as much of the pipework that returns to the pool as you can see

If there are any major leaks that are likely to significantly lower your pool water level then they should be easy to see. If there are then you are lucky as they will also be relatively easy to fix.

If everything is dry and leak free then, sadly, things are not looking good for you.

To check to see if you have a leak in the plumbing underground then you can try to plug the skimmer, main drain and the pool returns so no water can get in to them from the pool. If the pool level no longer drops at the same rate then it would indicate that the problem is probably in the underground plumbing system.

Why Do Pools Leak

Pools are constructed so that they are watertight and even though pools seem pretty basic, there are a lot of parts and pieces involved in keeping it that way. Seals deteriorate, pools may shift over time, or the ground its dug into settles. Pools often leak through plumbing fittings, accessories like light fixtures, and even through the shell or liner. Its critical to find and fix leaks to not only save monetarily on things like water, heat, and chemicals, but to keep from the undermining pool structure from gaining water and washing away fill dirt.

Read Also: How To Vacuum Intex Pool Without Skimmer

Best Times Of The Year To Replace Pool Liner

Pool contractors need between two and six weeks to make a simple liner and between five and eight weeks for an extremely difficult job, such as converting a concrete pool into a liner pool.Choosing a time of year when business for pool companies is traditionally slower can save you money. Plus, the company will have more time and energy to devote to your project. Consider these three best times for replacing your pool liner:

1. Late Winter

Pool contractors have time on their hands before mid to late March when pool installation season ramps up. The opportunity to take advantage of this pre-season time makes this a good time to order your pool liner.

2. Mid-Summer

Mid-summer, July and August, is another slow time for pool companies. Most pool liners are already installed and up and running.

3. Post-Season

The third, but in my book, the best time to replace your swimming pool’s liner is after the season is over and most pools are ready to be winterized. September – November in most areas. Replacing your pool liner in the fall will also help you avoid next season’s price increases. It is also drier and less likely to have ground water issues. Look for blog on ‘Ground water issues’.Pool liners, though durable, need to be replaced every 13 – 15 years, depending on wear and weather conditions. Replacing pool liners keeps your pool looking fresh and new and helps to prevent costly repairs.

Leaks In The Tile Line

Why Does My Pool Pump Lose Prime?

For concrete pools with the traditional perimeter tile band at the waterline, leaking is most often found inside the skimmer. In rare cases where the pool bond beam cracks behind the tile, and also cracks the tile, pools can leak water through a crack in the top of the pool wall. Cracks in pool tile can be cleaned, dried and filled with EZ Patch 22.

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Is The Pool Leaking Only With The Equipment On

This may indicate a pressure-side return leak. With the filter pump on, the plumbing on the pressure side is under pressure. This can open up small drips into spraying gushers. Check the waste or backwash line for water consistently running. One inch of your pool water can equal 500 gallons. Check downhill from a pool, looking for weepers where underground leakage is surfacing. Check for soft or wet spots in the yard, on the side of the pool where the plumbing returns water to the pool.

Why Am I Losing Water In My Inground Pool

poolpoollosewaterwater losswaterpool

Normally pools see ¼½ inch loss of water per day due to evaporation. This is roughly 2 4 inches per week. For a normal sized pool you will loose 25,000 to 50,000 gallons of water per year due to evaporation.

Also Know, how much does it cost to fix a pool leak? The cost of a pool leak in a fiberglass shell can run about $300 for a spider crack that spreads. Fixing a crack in the plaster coating of a gunite pool can start at $65 for a small leak. This is about the same cost for a spa leak. Resurfacing a gunite pool can cost over $1,000.

Similarly, it is asked, how much does pool leak detection cost?

Alternatively, a regular leak detection service can cost between $300 and $400, depending on the company. Plumbing and Pipe Leaks can only be detected by a pressure test on each line or a meter test, and obviously the line which does not hold pressure is causing the leak.

Why is my pool losing water when the pump is on?

When the filter pump runs, the plumbing on the pressure side is under pressure. This can turn what would start as small drips into significant amount of spray that can make your pool lose water rapidly. If the pool is leaking without your equipment running, you could have a suction-side leak.

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A Clogged Filter Will Cause A Pool Pump To Lose Pressure

One type of clog that is probably the first thing you should check into, is the filter. Many of troubleshooting journeys would be saved if I just started with cleaning the filter. Try as I might, you can never out-chlorinate a full filter.

Usually a clogged filter doesnt cause pump issues, but if it has been a long time, its a good place to start. If you need a little assistance on cleaning your filter, check out this article I did on filter teardowns.

How To Fix A Pool Leak

Why Is My Pool Losing Water?

Once you figure out where the leak is, you will have to take steps to repair it. This can be a simple process or quite complicated, depending on the location of the leak. If it is in the suction line, pressure testing can be used to confirm the problem and then any defective components or pipes are replaced.

There are times that the leak is within the pool itself. This situation requires greater effort. A diver will examine the inside of your pool systematically, looking for cracks and checking drains, fittings, seams, and lighting fixtures. If anything appears to be damaged, the diver uses dye to target the right spot. The colored dye will get sucked through the leak if it exists. Once the location of the leak is identified, a pool maintenance company that are professionals to help when your pool is losing water will use a special glue gun to patch the leak. It is a special type of glue that is adhesive, even under water.

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How To Prevent Overnight Pool Water Loss

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to curtail overnight evaporation and keep your pool water where it belongs. One is to put a solar cover in place every night. While this is effective, it does require some manual labor at the end of each day.

Another is to use a liquid pool cover. This is a chemical you add to your water that forms an invisible barrier on the surface that cuts down on evaporation. You wont notice this substance while you are swimming, but as soon youve left the pool and the water settles, the barrier reforms. Again, this approach can be effective, but the chemical is slowly broken down and must be replaced monthly.

Perhaps the best solution is to install an automatic safety cover. Not only can you deploy it each night with the flip of a switch and prevent costly water and heat loss, it also keeps your family safe by preventing children and pets from entering the pool without supervision.

Help My Pool Is Leaking Or Is It

As summer starts to give way to fall and nighttime temperatures begin to drop, swimming pool companies begin to see an uptick in phone calls and emails from customers who think their pool may have a leak. They observe their water level dropping noticeably from one day to the next, and are convinced that a crack or hole must be letting water escape. While that may be true in some cases, more often there is a different mechanism at work: evaporation.

Read Also: Cost To Convert Pool From Chlorine To Saltwater

My Pool Is Losing Water: When To Call For Repair

Does it seem like the water level of your pool is decreasing rapidly? Some water loss is normal because of evaporation, water that splashes out, and wastewater backwash. So, how do you know when the lower level of water in your pool is normal. You might ask, why is my inground pool losing water? As a rule, it is said if you have to add 2 inches or more of pool water back in each week, then you might have a leak.

The Pump System Can Leak

My Pool Is Only Losing Water When My Pump Is Running ...

The pump system that circulates the water should be on for eight hours every day to keep the pool and spa tub in working condition. The water will pass through a chlorinator in some pool filter systems. Water on the pump room floor is an indication of a leak if the pool loses water in the winter while the motor is on.

Florida may have cold weather during part of the winter, but the temperatures warm up quickly when the days get longer in the spring. This is the attraction of the Sunshine State. Your outdoor pool wont go for long without use, so don’t ignore it during the colder months.

Contact Aquaman Leak Detection at any time if your pool loses water in the winter. The earlier you catch a leak, the less damage, it will cause.

Read Also: Can Lice Live In Chlorine Pools

More About Pool And Spa Combination Pools

A pool/spa combination pool uses the same water for both the spa and pool. Most use the same pump some may have an added spa pump. Valve position is the main factor in determining where the water is flowing. The most common position for valves is to direct water to both the pool and spa in order to create a spa “overflow” or fountain effect when the spa is not in use. This is referred to as “spa spillover”

Many systems are now using automatic valves called “actuators” that are motorized and controlled by the touch of a button via an installed reception panel near the pump equipment and utilized by either an in-home remote or smartphone app to direct the valves into different modes. Lighting, heat, and many other pool features can be activated using an automated system.

These valves are positioned for pool mode only. If the return valve was turned toward spa, this will create an overflow

Rob Hampton

This article is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Pool Losing 1 Of Water A Day

Another common sign of a leak is if the pool is losing 1 of water a day. A qualified professional can use advanced equipment and tools to look for leaks that arent visible. Once the source of the leak is discovered, it can allow you to have the required repairs performed to resolve the problem and avoid wasting more water. In addition, you can immediately replenish your water supply and restore the water level.

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Why Is My Inground Pool Losing Water

Its important to remember that, no matter which season youre in, your swimming pool can lose inches of water per week. Natural causes such as heat, humidity, and wind can all contribute to pool water loss.

Learning about these and other factors that affect the water levels in your pool will keep you from thinking you have a leak when you dont and help you maintain healthy water and chemical levels in your pool at all times.

Here are the top 3 reasons why your pool is losing water:

Areas To Check For Leaks When Your Pool Loses Water In The Winter:

How Do I Find an In-Ground Pool Leak? : Pool Maintenance
  • Skimmer assembly
  • All ladders and metal fittings
  • Pump room floor

These are areas that are easy to inspect during the winter when you have closed the pool for the season. You may have to uncover the pool to check the fittings and skimmer basket and confirm they have not come loose. This can happen at any time, even when the pool has stayed covered.

Water on the deck of a tightly covered pool is an indication of a plumbing line leak. The under deck line could be loose, or it may have a break. Your pool may also have a crack in the wall surface or the vinyl lining. Ignoring a small pinhole tear in a vinyl pool increases water loss.

Small tears can develop into a significant problem with a vinyl pool above the ground. Remove the cover if a heavy rain is predicted. The weight of the water on the pool cover may cause additional stress on a torn lining causing it to collapse. Check the vinyl pool’s surface for small holes and tears before you close it for the winter.

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How Full Should You Fill Your Swimming Pool

The fix for this problem is not rocket science. Keep the pool water level up. But the follow-up question is how high do you fill the swimming pool water? Good question, Im glad you asked. For the most part about an inch above the center of the skimmer opening is about right. If the skimmer still gurgles, add more water until it stops. The idea with the skimmer is that it will pull leaves and grass and other floating debris off the top of the water when the pump is on. If the water level is too high there wont be any skimming action.

So naturally there is a balancing act of keeping enough water in the pool so you dont lose pressure, and not overfilling the pool so you dont lose skimming. Heres your pro-tip for this section: many newer pools built in the last decade or so have built-in fill valve that are set on either a timer or a float valve that ensure water levels are maintained. If you dont have such a luxury, you can purchase an over deck fill valve. It will keep your pool pump from ever losing prime again by keeping your pool water level at the exact right level all the time.

High Cya Levels Causing Chlorine Lock

So we were just mentioning how great CYA is for protecting your pools chlorine from UV rays.

But now, were going to have to turn around and tell you that too much of it is actually bad for your pool.

Heres why:

While CYA protects chlorine from UV damage, it also reduces its sanitizing ability. Chlorines ability to sanitize your water is known as its oxidation-reduction potential . And its scientifically proven that CYA reduces chlorines ORP in proportion to concentration.

So the higher your CYA levels are, the less effective your chlorine acts. And when CYA gets too high, your chlorine levels can lock up completely.

To avoid high CYA levels that drain chlorine, read this post:Understanding CYA & How It Affects Chlorine

Did you have a pool party recently? Or maybe you let a lot of people swim in your pool?

If so, it could be the cause of your chlorine loss.

While you may be used to your pools normal rate of chlorine loss when its just you and your family, things get different when more swimmers are involved.

Think about it:

Imagine if suddenly, your family was twice as big. Yet you were all still swimming in the same pool and made no changes to your maintenance habits.

With twice the amount of contaminants in the water, your chlorine would get used up much faster.

So to play it safe and keep your chlorine levels in check, always shock your pool after any major swimming event or party.

  • Total Alkalinity
  • Ideal range: 80 120 ppm
  • pH
  • Recommended Reading: Pool Heater Btu Load

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