Friends, it seems I have a leak in my pool.
Before I get into the nitty gritty I will give you some background: The pool dates back over 35 yrs and I inherited it a year ago. The pool has a fiberglass lining, added who knows when. When I purchased the house with the pool, the lining was warped and buckled on one side. My pool “repair†guy ended up bolting the fiberglass in about 10 spots to the foundation, patched up a few tears and painted over. I added new pump, filter, cleaner, etc.
Now, I knew to expect the possibility of a leak given the circumstances, and my “repair†guy was certainly not the most reputable, I would be happy if I made it through the summer. My pool was equipped with popups, long since unusable, so “repair†guy ripped the guts out of the thingy that controls them aboveground and plumbed it so that popups were just a way to return water. Turns out he was not such a great plumber and the thingy aboveground leaked like crazy. I shut the valve to it off and did not have any problems from there (I will be posting pictures eventually). Besides the regular return water I also have 2 “jets†at far end of pool that return water (which are active once popups are turned off).
At the end of the summer it seemed I was loosing more than a normal amount of water, especially when I ran the pump. I researched here and beyond and decided it was just evaporation. Now the loss is without a doubt a leak. I started a little backwards but have now come full circle and would like some input from you all.
Dec 2nd : Tired of adding water to pool every day I let the water level fall to about 7†below skimmer level in hopes of finding an easy solution. That is the mark where the aforementioned bolts begin. I tried a simple dye test (using food coloring) in about 5 spots including light housing, bolts, patches. Nothing obvious. Filled pool to skimmer line, vacuumed pool of most sand and grit. In the course of doing this I primed the pump 3x. After about 1 hour I noted pool level dropped 1/2â€. Did not note any leaks from pump, platform not wet. Need to follow up on ground surrounding pool, but because of all my priming and filling ground is already pretty wet, no hot sun to dry it up fast.
Dec 3rd : Pool level dropped another 1-1/2†more within 12 hours. Dye checked remaining bolts ( which are all between 7†and 15†deep), and the 2 return “jetsâ€, also the skimmer itself but not really confident I did this correctly. Over the next 9 hours pool level dropped another 1†for a total of 2.5†in one day. Refilled pool again, initiated bucket test.
Dec 4th: Pool level dropped another 2â€. Bucket test seems to confirm pool is leaking.
Dec 7th: Pool level is now 8†below skimmer level. I was hoping it was a leak from the 2 “jets†but I can see that is unlikely. There are more obvious areas where I can do dye checks, just not easy to get to without a wetsuit or lots of whiskey. Ground is still too wet to determine if there are plumbing leaks. There is one small hole-like area of concern in bottom of pool that I suspect because it appears to have brown sediment or oxidation around it, and also the main drain seems to have a circle of sediment collecting around it. What does this mean?
Should I continue to let it drain?
Do I continue to try to balance my pool chemistry during this period?
My filter is due for backflushing, should I do it or wait?
I would like to learn and do this myself, but is it worth calling in an expert? I won't be using my pool for another5 or 6 months, can I let water level remain low in colder weather (remember Phoenix: we're talking 32 degrees max cold and normal 60's and 70's), or should I keep refilling (water very expensive, I'm currently spending $200/mo on water, at least half of that for pool).
There have been no obvious traumas to my pool that would cause any underground plumbing issues, but that appears to be the problem. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thank You!
Before I get into the nitty gritty I will give you some background: The pool dates back over 35 yrs and I inherited it a year ago. The pool has a fiberglass lining, added who knows when. When I purchased the house with the pool, the lining was warped and buckled on one side. My pool “repair†guy ended up bolting the fiberglass in about 10 spots to the foundation, patched up a few tears and painted over. I added new pump, filter, cleaner, etc.
Now, I knew to expect the possibility of a leak given the circumstances, and my “repair†guy was certainly not the most reputable, I would be happy if I made it through the summer. My pool was equipped with popups, long since unusable, so “repair†guy ripped the guts out of the thingy that controls them aboveground and plumbed it so that popups were just a way to return water. Turns out he was not such a great plumber and the thingy aboveground leaked like crazy. I shut the valve to it off and did not have any problems from there (I will be posting pictures eventually). Besides the regular return water I also have 2 “jets†at far end of pool that return water (which are active once popups are turned off).
At the end of the summer it seemed I was loosing more than a normal amount of water, especially when I ran the pump. I researched here and beyond and decided it was just evaporation. Now the loss is without a doubt a leak. I started a little backwards but have now come full circle and would like some input from you all.
Dec 2nd : Tired of adding water to pool every day I let the water level fall to about 7†below skimmer level in hopes of finding an easy solution. That is the mark where the aforementioned bolts begin. I tried a simple dye test (using food coloring) in about 5 spots including light housing, bolts, patches. Nothing obvious. Filled pool to skimmer line, vacuumed pool of most sand and grit. In the course of doing this I primed the pump 3x. After about 1 hour I noted pool level dropped 1/2â€. Did not note any leaks from pump, platform not wet. Need to follow up on ground surrounding pool, but because of all my priming and filling ground is already pretty wet, no hot sun to dry it up fast.
Dec 3rd : Pool level dropped another 1-1/2†more within 12 hours. Dye checked remaining bolts ( which are all between 7†and 15†deep), and the 2 return “jetsâ€, also the skimmer itself but not really confident I did this correctly. Over the next 9 hours pool level dropped another 1†for a total of 2.5†in one day. Refilled pool again, initiated bucket test.
Dec 4th: Pool level dropped another 2â€. Bucket test seems to confirm pool is leaking.
Dec 7th: Pool level is now 8†below skimmer level. I was hoping it was a leak from the 2 “jets†but I can see that is unlikely. There are more obvious areas where I can do dye checks, just not easy to get to without a wetsuit or lots of whiskey. Ground is still too wet to determine if there are plumbing leaks. There is one small hole-like area of concern in bottom of pool that I suspect because it appears to have brown sediment or oxidation around it, and also the main drain seems to have a circle of sediment collecting around it. What does this mean?
Should I continue to let it drain?
Do I continue to try to balance my pool chemistry during this period?
My filter is due for backflushing, should I do it or wait?
I would like to learn and do this myself, but is it worth calling in an expert? I won't be using my pool for another5 or 6 months, can I let water level remain low in colder weather (remember Phoenix: we're talking 32 degrees max cold and normal 60's and 70's), or should I keep refilling (water very expensive, I'm currently spending $200/mo on water, at least half of that for pool).
There have been no obvious traumas to my pool that would cause any underground plumbing issues, but that appears to be the problem. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thank You!
