Leaking pool

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TizMe

TizMe

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LifeTime Supporter
Aug 26, 2007
920
Covington, Georgia
The pool leak saga continues !! We have/had been watching our water drain out of our pool via a hole somewhere in the liner. We have been marking it daily and keeping track of how much water is leaking out. BUT we have since had rain and now my marks are all out of wack <sigh> I spoke to the people who put in our pool and he told me that ants could have put holes in the pool during our drought here in GA and we may have more than one leak :roll: . My first question is,

1) Has anyone ever heard of this before? ( I do remember my wife and neighbor complaining about all the ants in the water at one point this past summer. This is whats making me believe the pool guy

2) If this is true are we just better off replacing the liner and how do we prevent it from happening again in the future other than contracting a pest control person ?

3) Is replacing a liner a DIY project I can do our should I get the pool people to do it ?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated !
 
I can't say whether the "ants" claim has any validity or not, but I have never heard that one before and find it a little far fetched.

If it were my pool, I would try and locate the leak and fix it rather than just assume there are multiple leaks and replacing it based on the claim of the pool builder.

riles
 
Hey Hot Rod,

What had originally brought this to my attention back in the fall was an unusual amount of water loss over a few days after a pool "top off" . I had been noticing some wet areas under the deck on a block retaining wall I had placed there to help with erosion because the pool is sitting in a little slope but at the time I thought it was dripping from people getting in and out of the pool and toys and such sitting on the deck after use. Once it got cold and we werent using the pool as much the damp spot continued to be there and the water level was decreasing at a real fast rate. Did the bucket test and it failed .. so I marked the pool water level and went back a few days later and it had dropped considerably. I have not drained any water out of the pool by any other means and it is now less than 1/2 full. I was tracking the progress of the water level with marks and such and have since had rain a few times in the past few weeks so its messed up my marks for level tracking. As I said in the original post my wife was complaining about ants in the pool this past summer .... some I am trying to put 2 and 2 together ...

Sorry for a long post :)
 
Wow.... half full. That rules out skimmer and return lines. The only thing left is the bottom drain and then the liner. Only other question I have is do you have built in stairs that are liner covered? Just wondering if the problem could be at the stairs. I hope someone from your area jumps into this thread. I'm like you; wondering about what happens after you replace the liner.

Some of my thoughts are you have to watch out for how low you let the pool water go. The sides depend on pool water to fight against the pressure of the ground water; with spring rains coming. Replacing the liner is bad enought; you don't need the side walls to give you a problem. If the bottom drain is the problem, you have to pull the liner out anyhow. If you don't have a bottom drain.....well there isn't much left but the liner.

Like I said, I hope someone from your area will jump in and come up with some ideas.

Good luck....


Forget about the bottom drainand ground water remarks. I didn't realize I was in the AG threads.
 
Hope This Helps!

1) Has anyone ever heard of this before? ( I do remember my wife and neighbor complaining about all the ants in the water at one point this past summer).

- Yes, actually I've seen this happen 2-3 times each year (different people). The best way to figure out if its ants, is to use a pool leak repair kit (or dye) or if you see a bunch of really small (tiny almost) holes next to each other and at the bottom of your pool. This is hard to see of course with water in it, but if you drain your pool before the spring, I'd recommend trying it out and looking. If there are no holes, its most likely the drain, and can be a cheap/easy fix. Just an FYI though ~ If you do drain your pool, try to add support to your pool walls if it's going to be empty for a few days, or your walls will cave in, especially in high wind areas.

2) If this is true are we just better off replacing the liner and how do we prevent it from happening again in the future other than contracting a pest control person ?

- If it turns out the liner is the problem of course, the only resolution would be to replace the liner. You want to pull out the original liner, and clean and treat the inside walls with safe-use ant/termite repellant (sorry, I can't remember the correct term for the repellant, but a local pool store might have it).

3) Is replacing a liner a DIY project I can do our should I get the pool people to do it?

- You'd save hundred by doing it yourself. You would need atleast 2-3 people to install it though. Most retailers sell a DIY Kit with the Liner, cove molding, Pool Pad, & DVD (and even some with tools) that you can use.

For preventing this from happening again -

First make sure that you use the correct repellant. Also make a small barrier (maybe a foot or two?) around your pool so the ants won't pass that line. You would have to spray it each year - or of course you can speak with an exterminator who can give you a more long-term solution.

Gladon is coming out with this new pool pad called "The Perfect Pool Bottom" (found here : http://www.gladon.com/perfectpoolbottom.htm). It should be out in the next few weeks. You should definitly check it out. To my knowledge this is the most durable/thickest pool pad you can purchase. So even if ants make it to your pool, they're gonna have a hard time getting through it!
 
Often the multiple small leaks are from your pool cleaner and/or your brush, especially when they are at or close to the cove line or lines. Aggressive brushing and stuck cleaners at the cove have resulted in many leaks. They are often very minute and almost impossible to spot - Unless you have a large hole thats easy to spot somewhere, its entirely possible that its something like this. And, once you drain the pool, the liner is toast anyways - you would have to keep at least 6" of water inside to prevent shrinkage and you can't have water in it to look at the underside without some truly creative ways and a lot of help. Even if it is ants, the result is the same. I have heard of one case where ants did cause the damage but it was visible damage as they seemed to work on an area in groups. IMO, widespread damage thats not visible to easy sight is usually brush or cleaner related. Have you checked your steps/ladder contact areas? That is also a common culprit of mystery leaks.

You may want to invest in a new liner. Pool pads, ground cloths, landscaping fabric and other options are out there to prevent damage from rocks and critters. I'm putting my money on the cleaner or pool brush though.
 
Liner is in and pool is getting filled. Old liner is in a heap outside the pool. We are supposed to get rain over the next few days but once I have time to look at it real good I will pass on my findings. Tomorow I will call the pool guys and ask did they find anything (I asked them to look when they took it out)
 

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