Maintaining your Arizona backyard pool is no easy task. You have to consistently check water levels and clear the pool of debris to ensure it’s a clean, safe space for the entire family. Of course, all that maintenance is worth it—you get to enjoy a fun space with your family and friends that will last several decades.
As a responsible pool owner, the last thing you want to worry about is excess water loss, which could mean your pool is leaking. Pools tend to lose water naturally thanks to regular splashing and evaporation—it’s normal to sometimes need to adjust water levels, especially in extreme environments such as the desert. However, there are certain signs to watch out for that point to your pool losing more water than the average.
It sounds simple enough, but locating the source of a leak in a pool can be tricky. Check all your pool equipment first—is the filter leaking? What about the pump? Be sure to check the entire equipment pad, including the heater and the pipe valves.
Next, check for wet areas around your pool. These could be spots of moisture anywhere surrounding your backyard pool, including in the landscaped parts of your backyard. Check for moist soil, eroded areas or any patches of moisture anywhere around the pool. Also, if you have a vinyl liner in your pool, be sure to thoroughly inspect it for rips and tears.
There are many methods you can use to confirm that, indeed, your pool is leaking. For example, you can use a piece of tape or a grease pencil to mark the water line, then check back in 24 hours to see if the water has lowered. If the water’s surface has moved downwards more than ¼ of an inch, you almost certainly have a leak.
Now that you know for sure your pool is leaking, you need to determine where the leak is coming from in order to stop it. You can determine this by turning off the filtration system and noticing where the water stops dropping.
For example, if the water has stopped dropping at the bottom of the skimmer opening, it is likely that the leak is in your filtration system or skimmer. If it stops at the light, it is likely leaking through the light housing. If the water stops below the light, the drain at the bottom of the pool might be leaking.
Now that you’ve determined that your pool is leaking, and you know where the leak has originated, it’s time to call a specialist to fix the leak in your pool. We at Shasta Pools & Spas provide trusted pool maintenance service to those all over the greater Phoenix area—contact us today for any of your pool maintenance and repair needs.
