Pool is leaking - help!

[Wheelie]

Hello,

So our pool saga continues. In the last week the pool has been dropping a lot overnight. I thought it might be the sealant around the skimmer so we let the water drop below the skimmer but unfortunately it's still dropping. We did the bucket trick last night at about 4pm and when I checked this morning at about 11am the pool had dropped by just under 3 cm (1.1 inches) and the bucket water has barely changed.

What's the best thing to try next? I have no idea how to block the drain - I don't even know if it's in use.

We put a light back last week (it doesn't work but it was better than having a wire hanging out of the pool) and wonder if we might have torn the liner. I did a quick dye test near the light and return jets and it doesn't seem to be sucking in water.

We have a vinyl pool so I'm aware that we can't let the water drop too low. How low can we go?

Thanks for any advice.
Keelie

 

[RedBluePool]

Is it leaking while pool is on or is it leaking when the pool is off? If it's leaking while the pool is off then let it drain as far as it goes til it stops. If it's a tear at the liner it's should stop at the hole.

If it's leaking while pool is on then it could be your spider gasket at your multiport. Do you see water constantly coming out of your back was line? Pop the sight glass off while the pool is running and see if water doesn't stop coming out.

It could be different things. Make sure your equipment pad is bone dry there shouldn't be any water there on a hot sunny day. If there is then you got a leak on your equipment. Also If you have a ladder that goes into your pool, make sure you have the

rubber bumpers on the bottom rails of the ladder. Cause if you don't that metal later will cut holes into your liner and this is common when pool owners take care of there own pool. If there is a leak at your underground pvc lines then your

should get a water pressure test on your lines to find which line it is. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! More details about the problem would help me out.

 

[Wheelie]

The pool is turned off and has been for a few days since the water is too low to run the pump. We have rubber bumpers on the ladder. I just let it keep going then?

 

[RedBluePool]

Yup just let it keep going and it'll lead ya to the leak, if it drops below the skimmer and returns and ya have the main drain plugged then you know its the liner. (Given you don't have an in floor cleaning system) You can let the water go far down as having

a foot in the shallow end as long you don't have Bad ground water issues

 

[gwegan]

Go exhaust this list in Pool School: Pool School - Leak Detection

 

[Wheelie]

The drain in the bottom of the pool is not plugged as we don't have the equipment to do it. We're just letting the water drop for now to see if stops at any point. If it doesn't stop we may get to the point where we can plug the drain ourselves or we'll need to call a leak specialist to help us. It's just dropped below the return jets so that will eliminate them. Just the light to go, then the drain.

 

[kimkats]

Do NOT let it drain all of the way. Like redbluepool said leave at least a foot of water in the shallow end. You do not want to float your liner.

Kim

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OH if you are worried about your pool going green you can use a sump pump to move the water around and add some bleach to keep it clear until you get things worked out.

Kim