Last year, the liner had 1 or 2 large wrinkles. Over the winter, I replaced the pool pump which slid into the middle of the solid pool cover where the opening is and it slowly pumped out the pool water lowering it a few feet from the bottom of the skimmer. Now, there are numerous wrinkles all over the shallow end including some that are 6-10' long and 3-4" high. You can literally trap over then and it collects major debris. The company that opens my pool said a high water table so unclear if it's related to the shallow water. I tried the 'toiler plunger hack' but the wrinkle won't move at all. The liner is 12-14 years old and is in good shape minus some weathering. I also noticed the water drop .5" today so I am concerned I have a leak somewhere? Or, I am just paranoid. If I have to drain the pool, it makes sense to just replace the liner but unclear what my options are.
Large wrinkles inground pool liner
- Thread starter sagosto
- Start date
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,368
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
If you have a high water table/ground water issue you need to address that with well points or it will happen to your new liner too.
14 years is a good run for a liner.
Got any pictures of the situation?
14 years is a good run for a liner.
Got any pictures of the situation?
Sometimes you can get a pool company to reset a liner for you, but since this liner is pretty old they probably won't want to mess with it. Do a bucket test to see if you have a leak.
Fill a bucket about 1/2 full with pool water and place it on a pool step so it is partially submerged. Mark the bucket water level on the inside of the bucket and mark the pool water level on the outside of the bucket.
Let the bucket sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
Mark the water levels on the bucket again and compare. If the difference on the out side of the bucket is greater than on the inside of the bucket you have a leak somewhere in the pool.
Fill a bucket about 1/2 full with pool water and place it on a pool step so it is partially submerged. Mark the bucket water level on the inside of the bucket and mark the pool water level on the outside of the bucket.
Let the bucket sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
Mark the water levels on the bucket again and compare. If the difference on the out side of the bucket is greater than on the inside of the bucket you have a leak somewhere in the pool.
I'll do that tomorrow. I am literally losing 1"+ overnight so something is sketchy. Even after the 'leak' is resolved, I still got the wrinkles so I might have to bite the bullet. My wife wants to deal with it in the fall thinking it wont get fixed for a month or so. To be continued...
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,368
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
That divot/crevice area is suspect number one for a leak.
Do you recall the exact level of the water when you first opened the pool?
I would inspect all around that elevation where the waterline was- especially any areas like lights, jets or seams.
Here’s the leak guide, scroll down past the bucket test & go from there since you are obviously losing a bit of water.
www.troublefreepool.com
If you can find it, You may be able to patch it/repair until you can get the liner replaced.
Do you recall the exact level of the water when you first opened the pool?
I would inspect all around that elevation where the waterline was- especially any areas like lights, jets or seams.
Here’s the leak guide, scroll down past the bucket test & go from there since you are obviously losing a bit of water.
Leak Detection
A number of things can cause leaks in your pool. You can learn tricks for leak detection and how to pinpoint where your pool is losing water.
www.troublefreepool.com
If you can find it, You may be able to patch it/repair until you can get the liner replaced.
The two photos in the original post is a 16 hour period. To me, that’s a large loss. I can have a diver patch (assuming it’s not pipe) but do I don’t think I can get someone to reseat the liner. Given the price of water here if they have to drain it to reseat it then it’s just pointless for the labor for patching and reseating
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,368
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Not sure of your abilities but I was thinking more of a diy thing to get you through until the liner can be replaced being as the crevice looks to be in the shallow end so a temporary patch shouldn’t be hard to do if that’s where the leak is.
You should go through the steps in the article to rule out a plumbing leak as replacing the liner won’t fix that.
Going through all the steps listed will eliminate the possible variables one at a time so you know where you stand/what your options are.
You should go through the steps in the article to rule out a plumbing leak as replacing the liner won’t fix that.
Going through all the steps listed will eliminate the possible variables one at a time so you know where you stand/what your options are.
I am going to have the liner replaced as there is 100% a leak somewhere/somehow and paying $300 or so for a diver to patch is just a bandaid on a wrinkled 12–14-year-old liner. After 6 hours, I see at least a .5" drop in water level in a 28K gallon pool so it's not trivial.