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1. Do I have a leak?
Rule number one... if you have a true water losing leak, you
will notice your pool's water level dropping. In other words,
if you're not adding water to your pool more often than normal,
then you do not have a leak. If you have a pool/spa combo,
always measure from your pool, not your spa since your spa
may experience "Water Transfer".
Our guarantee is based upon
a general rule that if you're losing more than 1/2" a
day, you very likely have a leak. If you are losing 1/2"
or less a day, then consider the following:
Evaporation
Seasons: Despite popular
belief, there is more evaporation in the Winter than in the
Summer. Here's why:
.: If you've lived in Florida for a while, you know about
our Summer afternoon showers. It's not uncommon to have several
hours of rain every afternoon for many days in a row throughout
most of our hot season. These heavy rains saturate the air
creating some of the country's highest humidity levels. These
high humidity levels drastically slow down evaporation in
your pool. On the other hand, our winter season is
significantly more dry and windy than the rest of the year.
This creates a perfect environment for evaporation in your
pool. It's comparable to a sponge... a sopping wet one cannot
absorb nearly as much water as a dry one.
Heaters:
If you're heating your pool or spa using a solar, electric
or gas heater, evaporation will increase greatly... especially
in the Winter.
.: If you happen to be running your heater and you're losing
water, try turning off your heater for a week or two to see
if your water loss decreases.
Water features: Waterfalls, fountains
and spillovers all put more of your pool or spa's water into
the air, which can also increase water loss through evaporation.
.: If you happen to be running one or more water feature and
you're losing water, try turning off all water features for
a week or two to see if your water loss decreases.
Exposure: The more your pool
is exposed to the sun and wind, the more evaporation you'll
see.(Less wind/sun exposure vs. more wind/sun exposure)
.: A screened pool will evaporate less than an unscreened
pool.
.: A pool surrounded by a fence, trees or a structure will
evaporate less than a pool not surrounded by a fence, trees
or a structure.
.: A pool that is not on a lake, golf course, or other large
piece of land will evaporate less than a pool that is.
If you are still unsure as to whether or not you are experiencing
a leak as opposed to evaporation, try our simple Bucket
Test.
2.
When my pump turns off, my spa water level drops and
stops at my pool water level. Is this a leak?
Most likely it is not a leak. A spa with a water level higher
than your pool may back flow into your pool through the equipment
when your pump is off. This is known as "Water
Transfer" and is not a true water losing
leak. A check valve is usually in the plumbing line to prevent
this, but they often go bad, allowing Water Transfer. There
are two ways to tell if you truly have a leak if your spa
drops when your pump has been off:
a) Your adding water several times a week to the pool or
b) Your spa drops lower than the level of your pool. If either
of these are happening, please contact us to schedule a leak
detection on your pool and spa.
3. There are bubbles coming out
of my jets. Is this a leak?
In short, no. If there are bubbles coming out of your jets,
but you do not notice an unusual amount of water loss, then
you do not have a true water losing leak. Additionally, bubbles
coming out of your jets is usually only a cosmetic frustration
and not a genuine problem for your equipment. If there is
so much air in your system that your pump cannot prime itself,
turn it off immediately and contact your local pool store
for service.
4. Where is the water going?
Straight down. Florida's soil is naturally very sandy, which
means your pool's water is going straight down through the
sand and eventually into our aquifer systems. Customers are
often concerned that there is a "washout" or "sinkhole"
being created below their deck. In our experience with literally
hundreds of leaking pools, we have not yet seen any kind of
dangerous washout or sinkhole below a deck from a pool leak.
We have, though, seen various degrees of cracks in decks,
not from a washout, but from the natural shifting that often
occurs between a pool and a deck.
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