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Where Is My Pool Water Going?
http://www.poolwarehouseuk.com/
Pool water is always lost through evaporation, but if the amount that you are topping up seems to be increasing, then it is possible you have a leak. The more water loss you have from a leak in your pool, the higher your expenditure on costly swimming pool chemicals and water replenishment.
The best way to establish whether or not you have a leak is to measure the difference in the drop in height of the water in the pool and the water in a bucket that is placed on the steps of the pool. Make sure that at the start the water is the same height in the bucket as the pool. After several days, if there is any difference at all, then you do unfortunately have a leak.
To find the leak, fill the pool to its normal level and mark that level with a piece of waterproof tape. With your filter system running, wait 12 to 24 hours and then measure the loss of water. Refill the pool back to the same level and with the filter system off, wait the same amount of time at the same part of the day and measure the water loss again. If there is a greater loss with the filter system on, the leak must be on pressure side of your pipe work, somewhere past the pump. If you are losing less water with the filter system off, then leak is on the suction side of your pipe work, in other words somewhere before the pump.
If the leak is in the pipe work, there are two ways to find the leak. First, simply dig to expose the pipework until you can identify the problem. We would recommend the use of professional leak detectors, who will use detection equipment and dig only if necessary.
If there is no difference in the water loss with the circulation off compared to on then the leak is likely to be in the main structure. If it is concrete the first thing to do is test any cracks underwater. Apply a safe dye such as food colouring around the crack. If the dye disappears into the crack, that is an indication that the water is escaping at this point. In the absence of any visible cracks, squeeze some dye around any items that pierce the shell such as main drain, returns, vacuum points, lights, etc. Check the mouth of the skimmer where it meets the concrete. This is a common area for leaks.
If you have a leak in a liner structure then it can be a little harder to find and fix because the liner hides the structure. Firstly, as above, check around all the items that pierce the liner such as the skimmer, main drain, etc first. Next, look at the fabric of the liner for holes and tears.
Francis Lowe is a leading expert in swimming pool maintenance with a huge wealth of experience developed from 40 years in the industry.
To see a full range of swimming pool equipment, and swimming pool chemicals please see the website of specialist supplier poolwarehouseuk.com
Article submitted Monday, November 28, 2011 & read 7 times.
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