Chasing a leak

[Bille]

I rented a house a month ago with an inground pool that has had issues but the owners don’t seem willing to help me. So I’m attempting to fix it myself and I’m hoping you guys can help me.

I noticed lately I have had to add the hose to top it off daily. I did a google search and learned about the bucket test to see if it’s evaporated or if there is a leak. I put water in the bucket and marked it and in 48 hours I’ve lost almost no water inside the bucket.

On the outside (pool water) I’ve lost lots.



In the picture the top line was 48 hours ago and the bottom line was 24 hours ago. So right now it looks like the loss of water has slowed down.

I should have mentioned I turned off the pump/filter at the start of this test and I put the plugs in both skimmers and both returns. The only thing not plugged is the two (I’m guessing they are vac holes) at the bottom of the pool floor.

At this point do i assume my leak is a crack that is either at the current water level or above it?

Here is a picture of the entire pool as of now.

If you can tell in picture the water level is low at the skimmer on the shallow end but on the skimmer on the deep end it is barely high enough to enter the skimmer. Looking around the rest of the pool walls I can see cracks but only paying attention to the ones that are now above the water line, this seems like the only one that stands out to me:

 

[zea3]

Allow the pool to continue to leak down until it appears to stop or has leaked below the returns and skimmer. Is there a light in the pool? Do the two openings in the pool floor have covers on them? Are they in the deep end?

 

[Bille]

Allow the pool to continue to leak down until it appears to stop or has leaked below the returns and skimmer. Is there a light in the pool? Do the two openings in the pool floor have covers on them? Are they in the deep end?

Thank you so much for the reply, I feel helpless being brand new to the pool lifestyle. I will continue to mark it and see when it stops completely. There is not a light in the pool. The two openings on the floor do not have covers. When the pump/filter is on I can see a small water vortex from them. I asked the owner about covers and she said it’s never had them and doesn’t need them. The two floor openings are on either end, one in deep end and one in shallow. The water is a bit cloudy now but I try to get picture of one of them:


Its in center of photo

- - - Updated - - -

Just for the record this is the current level on Monday at 11:29am my time:

 

[zea3]

Your landlord is dead wrong. If you are seeing a vortex in those places where there are holes in the bottom of the pool, they are main drains and they must be covered with a VGB compliant drain cover, or plugged. Without a cover they are entrapment hazards and the pool is unsafe. Do not allow anyone into that pool until the required covers are installed. If someone where to get stuck on one of those drains they could drown before they are freed. I'm sure the landlord is thinking since there are two opening that you cannot become entrapped, but she is wrong. Without covers anything that falls into the pool could be sucked into one of the drains and block it, the other drain would continue to work, but now that the safety of the second drain is gone there is nothing to prevent entrapment. Plus from a maintenance standpoint you don't want stuff to clog up the drains. It would be a pain to clean them out.

My opinion, and I'm no lawyer, is that if the landlord refuses to make repairs that make the property safe, she has broken the lease and you should be able to move if you wish without penalty. If she was living on the property and she didn't want to put vgb covers on her drain that would be her business, but she is renting her property and she has a basic obligation to make it safe. Does the lease have a clause in it that the renter is obligated to maintain the pool? If so does that include repairs?

If you continue to live in this house I advise you to start a binder and keep every receipt and photos of every repair you make on this property. You may need it to prove you took adequate care of the property. Also keep written documentation of all property related conversations. For example: Called Ms xxx on __/__/__ at xxx about __________. I stated there is a problem with ____. Ms xxx replied ____. Add if the landlord states they are going to call a repair person and how the bill will be paid, (you pay and they reimburse, they pay, you pay). If landlord refuses to make repair, or puts you off document that as well. If you make a follow up call document that it is the 2nd, 3rd, ect time calling about the same issue. Do some research on tenants rights in your state, so you can have a good foundation whenever you need to contact the landlord.

VGB drain covers are not expensive, and plugs are even cheaper. The pool needs the SLAM Process procedure to clear it, once you decide how to handle the leak and drain cover situation.

 

[Bille]

Thanks for the advice but I can’t move my kids love it here. I’m trying to make the best of it. So my current steps are:

1. Get covers for those drains. If they are drains should the covers be slotted or solid? Am I losing water from those drains or do they drain to the pump?

2. Continue to wait till the water level stops dropping.

 

[zea3]

They are part of the suction system, like the skimmers. There is a possibility that they are the source of your leak, but probably not. You can check the drains for leaks by turning off the pump and diving down to the drains with a bottle of food coloring. Squirt some food coloring carefully around the opening and watch to see if it is drawn into the drain. If it is drawn in there is a leak and you should put a plug in both openings. Test both openings. If the returns are still under water you can test them the same way.

 

[Bille]

I did some thinking and I don’t think they are the cause of the leak. The leak has seemed to slow down and if the drains were the leak it would be steady.

Im going to get covers for them before I let anyone in the pool. But for now, I have to find and fix this leak so I can top it off and slam it so I can see the drains.

 

[Bille]

I just want to note that there doesn’t seem to be any water loss in the last two hours. That is much slower then when I started monitoring it. We do have some rain coming which is gonna mess up my test. But if it’s still leaking it’s doing it much slower

 

[zea3]

Look at what is right around the same level as the pool water, that's where I would test first for a leak. Take a picture now, and then after it rains and hopefully bumps up the water level a little you can check for leaks with food coloring.

 

[Bille]

So looking at the water level now, which didn’t go down in the last 30 mins still, the first thing that pops out to me is that the level is now at the very bottom of the deep end skimmer opening.

 

[Bille]

Should I get some of that jb-weld water stuff and try and put it around that skimmer?

 

[Bille]

Just wanted to note that the pool hasn’t lost any water since yesterday morning

 

[zea3]

I would add about 2 inches of water so you can pinpoint exactly where to patch the leak. It kind of looks like it was repaired before. Pull off any loose material and and use the water weld epoxy. How does the other skimmer look? Are there any cracks inside the skimmer under the baskets?