I add about 2 inches of water when I open the pool, then another inch or two twice more during the season for a total of 5-6 inches total (2000 - 2500 gal). Pool is 18' x 36' rectangle. Since I have an autocover, rain does not contribute to my water level, but neither does evaporation subtract much. We use the pool about 20-30 times in a season. Does this sound out-of range for water loss?
Where is my water going?
- Thread starter outbacktommy
- Start date
I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility. My pool is uncovered and easily loses an inch a day to evaporation in the summer. At 1/24th of an inch per hour, if you opened your pool 25 times for 4 hours I would expect those kinds of losses just from evaporation.
Is your autocover still original from 2007? When it doesn't rain does the cover stay dry or are you getting wet spots (small leaks). I understand 9 years is a pretty long life for an autocover that is used as a winter cover as well, which I'm guessing you are doing if you are only adding 2 inches when opening. We have a separate winter cover but our autocover from 2005 has been leaking the last couple of years and we will have to replace it in the spring (pool company told me to replace it this spring but I never got around to doing it). I do walk around on it once in a while to test it and make sure it is still safe for the kids, and we are very strict to keep them off of it (they don't know you can walk on it). I'm surprised how much water we lose this year. When we first moved in I only added water in the spring and was done for the year. This year it seems like I lose at least an inch a month, I'm sure it is all leaking through pin holes in the cover and evaporating as we get several wet spots on the cover, which has also caused a mold/algae problem on top of the cover when we went through our dry spell without rain that makes keeping the water crystal clear a bit more work.
I know we don't have California rates of evaporation in Iowa but it is probably a bit colder and dryer up north than here. Sometimes the air is so dense with humidity here it seems like opening the pool should add water, but overnight with a warm pool open can cause noticeable evaporation if you do any night swims or swims when the air is colder than the water. Typically when we have our pool open it is hot and humid out and there is very little evaporation in those conditions.
I know we don't have California rates of evaporation in Iowa but it is probably a bit colder and dryer up north than here. Sometimes the air is so dense with humidity here it seems like opening the pool should add water, but overnight with a warm pool open can cause noticeable evaporation if you do any night swims or swims when the air is colder than the water. Typically when we have our pool open it is hot and humid out and there is very little evaporation in those conditions.
I just read yesterday that a swim suit can bring out around 10 ounces of water with it. Add that in to your loss.
This time of year in the south I lose the most water as days tend to be drier. The air just sucks it up.
Maddie
This time of year in the south I lose the most water as days tend to be drier. The air just sucks it up.
Maddie
It is reassuring that I my water losses aren't extraordinary. Underground plumbing leaks are expensive. This post is actually related to another of my posts regarding annual addition of salt. It would seem that since salt can't evaporate, I shouldn't have to add more each year, and in the absence of a leak, water loss through evaporation would result in a higher salt concentration in the remaining water, which it doesn't.
No leaks in our autocover, always dry (knock on wood), although it does have a worn out thin spot about 9 feet by 1 foot along one edge under the basketball hoop- not sure why in just this one area. Fortunately, its all above the water where it drapes from the top edge so it doesn't leak- just don't step there or it will definitely rip. I patched it this year, but there wasn't enough vinyl laminate left in the weave to do a very secure job. And yes, it is also our winter cover- no additional protection. My kids already know they can walk on it, but they don't abuse the privilege. Since they are so light, they are the only ones I let onto the cover to retrieve foreign objects and wayward sports equipment (supervised). Guess I should count my blessings. I've also been told that I'm up against the life expectancy of both the liner and the autocover.
It looks a little tacky, but if you don't have too many leaks, I would suggest patching your cover if it's not too far gone. It's neither hard nor expensive, especially if you can get another couple of years of life out of it.
It looks a little tacky, but if you don't have too many leaks, I would suggest patching your cover if it's not too far gone. It's neither hard nor expensive, especially if you can get another couple of years of life out of it.
That's because you've added more fresh re-fill water which is low to absent of salt.
Maddie
The salt doesn't evaporate when evaporating directly from the pool, but any water splashed out or carried out by swimsuits, etc takes the salt with it. Probably some of our extra water loss this year has to do with the kids getting older as well, they do get in and out a lot. That reminds me the way I first noticed the leaks in our autocover was via the weird white spots on the cover. While investigating what those were I found if pushed down near those eventually they would get wet, it was the salt getting left behind as the water went through the pin hole and evaporated on surface of the hot cover. We don't have a SWG so just the salt added from the bleach. It probably would have been possible to patch back when I discovered those but I think I'd have to patch the bottom layer which would require taking the whole cover off to patch it, and that doesn't sound trivial. Our cover is made of multiple layers and as I understand it the middle layers are not chlorine safe thus once chlorinated water gets in there for any length of time they break down, which is probably why we are now getting so many small leaks.
I'm not convinced by people that talk about such a short life for the liner. The builder that built our pool didn't see any reason a liner shouldn't last 20 years, they told me they haven't had to replace any for age reasons alone yet. They added that they do get replaced due to accidents with glass or other sharp objects, bad chemistry, or just owners tired of the looks, so on average the liner life isn't as long due to those reasons. Ours is 14 years and still looks OK to me, it is starting to get a small wrinkle or two in a couple of spots but I am hoping to get quite a few more years from it yet.
I'm not convinced by people that talk about such a short life for the liner. The builder that built our pool didn't see any reason a liner shouldn't last 20 years, they told me they haven't had to replace any for age reasons alone yet. They added that they do get replaced due to accidents with glass or other sharp objects, bad chemistry, or just owners tired of the looks, so on average the liner life isn't as long due to those reasons. Ours is 14 years and still looks OK to me, it is starting to get a small wrinkle or two in a couple of spots but I am hoping to get quite a few more years from it yet.