Look closely at the filter, pump, heater, and pipe valves, which is where leaks often tend to occur. If you have a vinyl pool liner, look for tears or separations around the fittings, lights, steps, and corners.
A pool leak isn't typically an easy-to-find issue but they most commonly occur in corners, at the tile line, near pipe openings, around lighting or at the throat of the skimmer.
Leaks can happen anywhere in your pool and at any time. You'll want to catch and repair leaks as quickly as possible. Leaks waste your money and worsen over time, causing increasing damage and compromising the structural integrity of your pool.
Pool Losing Water After Heavy Rain
Due to a heavy rainstorm, water loss is more common with vinyl liner pools that can be damaged, come loose, or float to the top. With other types of inground pools, it is vital to get the water level down. If not drained, the water balance will change, causing cloudy water and more.
This will vary depending upon several factors including: weather, if the pool is covered or not, bather load, and if it is heated or not. With pools that are covered, a good rule of thumb is that they should not have to be refilled more often than once every 2 weeks.
If the water went down a similar amount in the pool as well as the bucket, then you lost water due to evaporation. If it went down more in the skimmer and not much at all in the bucket then you have a pool leaking.
If your pool lost water overnight and it is more than the quarter-inch due to evaporation, you probably have a leak. Evaporation accounts for a minor amount of water lost each day. Losing a half-inch or more overnight indicates a problem.
Typically, pools lose water for one of two reasons: Evaporation or a leak. Evaporation naturally occurs in any body of water, but it may increase under certain conditions, such as hot, humid weather. Leaks, however, indicate a bigger problem that a professional may need to address.
Most pools experience between 3mm - 7mm of water loss each day, depending on where you live.
On average, swimming pools lose about a quarter of an inch of water each day, yet variations in wind intensity, humidity and sunlight can drastically change water loss rates. Some of the strongest and most intense wind in the country can be found in mountainous regions.
Another reason for a pool to lose water over the winter is due to the harsh elements. Ice, snow, and water can accumulate on top of the pool cover. When too much weight forces the pool cover into the surface of the pool, water may rise up and over the pool sides. This is called displacement.
An uncovered pool will lose water in the winter to evaporation in the same way it does during the summer. But the water loss is only about a quarter-inch on average during a 24-hour period when the pool is not in use.
Use swimming pool covers to reduce evaporation!
Save your pool water from evaporation by using swimming pool covers! They can dramatically slow down evaporation, particularly on hot days and cold nights. Studies confirm that covering a pool can reduce evaporation by up to 95%! That's big water savings!
The differential that occurs between the pool water temperature and the air temperature on late summer nights causes water to evaporate at an accelerated rate. In some cases you might see a water level difference of 1-3 inches overnight. Depending on the size of your pool, that can be over 500 gallons of water loss!
Evaporation occurs whenever you expose wind or air to the surface of your pool. So in short, this applies to every pool, all the time. Water molecules rise to the surface, form into a vapor and eventually get released into the air. Heated pools on cool nights experience evaporation more rapidly.
The average pool can take 12-24 hours to fill and that is only if you have a few hoses chugging away. When your family is chomping at the bit to dive in, that may as well be an eternity.
The average pool water evaporation rate is about a quarter of an inch of water per day or more than two inches in a week, which on a 33′ x 18′ swimming pool (an average pool size) is more than 2500 liters or approximately 600 gallons a week; this may vary depending on your climate and the factors listed above.
The level at which pool skimmers function properly is between one third and about half way up the opening of the pool skimmer. If the water level is too high the debris floating next to the opening may pass by without being pulled into the skimmer.
How Often Should I Shock My Pool? Shocking your pool regularly will help to keep the water clean and free of contaminants. You should aim to shock your pool about once a week, with the additional shock after heavy use. Some tell-tale signs that your pool needs to be shocked are cloudy, foamy, green, or odourous water.
It is designed to be filled with water at all times. If the pump is operated dry, it will burn out the motor and cause you to have to replace an expensive piece of pool equipment. If a pump is allowed to operate dry, it will build up heat that will melt the pump and possibly surrounding plumbing fixtures.