A pool losing more than about a quarter inch of water a day is probably leaking rather than evaporating. The bucket test tells you which one you are dealing with in 24 hours, and you can run it yourself this afternoon. From there, professional leak detection narrows the source using dye testing, pressure testing and electronic listening equipment before any repair begins. If the shell itself has failed, that becomes a resurfacing and replastering job rather than a patch.
H2O Leak Pros is the leak detection division of Alan Smith Pools, serving Orange County homeowners since 1981.
Is your pool leaking, or just evaporating?
Every pool loses water. In Southern California, a quarter inch a day is normal evaporation, and it climbs in hot, dry, windy weather or if you run water features. Below that, you are probably fine.
The signs that point to a real leak: the autofill runs constantly, you are adding water more than once a week, the water level drops faster than your neighbor’s pool, soggy or sinking ground near the pool, cracks appearing in the deck, or a sudden jump in your water bill with no change in use.
How do you run the bucket test?
Twenty minutes of setup, 24 hours of waiting, and it costs nothing.
- Fill a bucket about three quarters full and set it on the second step of the pool so it is partly submerged.
- Mark the water level inside the bucket and the pool level outside it, on the bucket wall.
- Turn off the autofill and leave the pump running as normal.
- Come back in 24 hours and compare the two marks.
If both dropped the same, that is evaporation. If the pool dropped more than the bucket, you have a leak. Run it again with the pump off: if the loss is worse with the pump running, the leak is likely in the pressure side plumbing.
Where do pool leaks usually start?
Most leaks are in a handful of predictable places.
The skimmer is the most common. The joint where the plastic skimmer meets the concrete shell separates over time, especially with ground movement. Light conduits are next, where the fitting behind the light passes through the wall. Return lines and main drains loosen at the fittings. Underground plumbing fails at joints or where a line was nicked during earlier work.
Then there is the shell. Hairline cracks in plaster are often cosmetic. Structural cracks in gunite are not, and they are the reason a leak should never be ignored for a season.
How does professional leak detection work?
Finding the leak is a process of elimination, not guesswork.
We start with a visual inspection of the shell, the fittings, the equipment pad and the ground around the pool. Dye testing comes next: with the pump off and the water still, dye released near a suspected point will draw into a crack you cannot see.
Pressure testing isolates each plumbing line and takes it to pressure independently, so we can tell you which line is failing rather than digging on a hunch. Electronic listening equipment and sonar pick up the sound of water escaping a pressurized line through concrete and soil. A Leakalyzer measures water loss precisely enough to confirm a fix worked.
You get a written report of where the leak is and what repairing it involves, before anyone picks up a tool.
What happens after the leak is found?
It depends entirely on the source.
A skimmer separation or a light conduit leak is usually a contained repair. A failed fitting may mean opening a small section of deck. A broken underground line can sometimes be rerouted rather than excavated along its full length, which is often the cheaper path. Shell cracks are evaluated structurally first, and the fix may fold into a resurfacing project if the finish is near the end of its life anyway.
Why waiting makes it worse
A pool leak does not stay a pool leak.
Water moving through soil undermines the deck, which is how you get the cracking and settling homeowners usually notice second. It can reach footings and hardscape. It washes out the base under the shell, which turns a plumbing repair into a structural one. Meanwhile the pool is losing treated, heated water continuously, and the chemical balance never holds because you are diluting it every time you top up.
The cost curve on a leak is steep, and it bends in the wrong direction the longer you leave it.
Who to call in Orange County
If the bucket test says you have a leak, do not start opening the deck. Get the source identified first.
Schedule a leak detection or call (714) 628-9494.
