Pools, spas, and water features with leaks can be a huge pain! Not only are there significant costs from water loss over time, but you might experience damage from the water, loss of use of your pool/spa/water feature, and increased cost of chemicals. Typically in the summer we experience a mixture of calls regarding water loss, and they can be typically tied to 3 things…
1. Splash Out
Water loss caused by dispersal of water from swimmers (human and canine).
2. Evaporation
Evaporation of water occurs when the surface of the liquid is exposed, allowing molecules to escape and form water vapor; this vapor can then rise up and form clouds. This is completely normal, and can be reduced by a pool cover, or reducing surface disruptions (i.e., fountains, jets, etc.). It is normal pools see ¼ – ½ inch loss of water per day due to evaporation. This is roughly 2 – 4 inches per week. For a normal sized pool you will lose 25,000 to 50,000 gallons of water per year due to evaporation.
3. Leaks in the System or Structure of the Pool
With ground shifting, and wear and tear of the equipment, plumbing and structure of the pool, leaks can begin to develop. This process of detecting and locating the leaks can be tedious, and takes specialty equipment. Dye tests, and auditory tests will usually lead to one or several specific leak locations. Our leak detection team will do a thorough job of pressure testing all lines, and checking the structure of the pool/spa/ water feature for any leaks.
How Do I Know If it’s Splash, Evap, or Leaks?
As a starting point, we recommend doing a “Bucket Test”, which uses a controlled environment (the bucket) to track average evaporation when the system is off for 24 hours, and when the system is on for 24 hours. These results can be tracked by measuring the water loss in the pool, and in the bucket and comparing the two. To get the best results, try to keep people and animals out of the pool for the duration of these tests. Here is a video of a friend of ours showing how to set up a simple bucket test:
The Bucket Test is Indicating I Have A Leak…
Contact us today to get on our schedule to have our team take a look! Further services and pricing information coming soon!
-Austin, Owner/CEO