Pool leak, vinyl liner

[Mollyj]

Hi, I've been happily swimming for the last few months. I've noticed that one area of the pool is a bit spongy. We had a lot of rain get under the liner when it was being installed and only filled up half way. I had noticed that one particular area looked kind of raised, like there was a stone or something sharp underneath it. Well, it is all spongy and obviously that's where the leak is.

Now, I do have a leak kit and a clear plastic vinyl.I also have a lot of the cut off vinyl liner and I'm wondering what the best thing to use is? Shold I use the cut off vinyl?

Also, is food dye a good thing to test out exactly where the leak is? And, if I get my goggle on - how the heck do you stay under water long enough without keep bobbing up to the surface - I kid you not, I must have so much excess ari in my body lol

Thanks in advance for you help

 

[JoeSelf]

Have somebody stand on you.

 

[pooldv]

LOL! Everybody floats up. My PB uses a weight belt and a 2oz bottle of PH reagent.

 

[JohnT]

A plastic dumbbell makes a great "handle" to stay on the bottom. Put it near the area you are working and you can hold on when you need to stay down and let go when you need to take a breath.

 

[Holydoc]

Have somebody stand on you.

LOL... this is exactly what we do. My wife puts her foot on me to hold me down while I scrub around the bottom of the stairs in the pool.

 

[Mollyj]

lol, my other half hates the pool and doesn't like swimming, I reckon he'd be okay at using a pole to hold me down though. I need to fill up a couple of bottles with sand to help stop the stairs moving.

Is the reagent to check where the hole is? I'm pretty sure it's where I think it is but it wold be nice to have it confirmed.

 

[pooldv]

Yes, red dye to verify the leak. It can be tricky to use dye to check for a leak. You need to be very still and release the dye close to where you think the leak is to see if it draws the dye toward the hole. Sometimes you can see the hole.

 

[Mollyj]

Thank you pooldv, I'll go outside later and see if I can confirm that the is where I think it is. I so hope I'm right, I can sqush the sand around in that area if I press hard so it's not leaking a lot but better safe than sorry.