The Two Main Types of an Invisible Pool Leak

Posted by Ken Holmes on

Pool LeakIf you live in North Texas and you have an inground swimming pool, there’s a good chance that at some point in the life of your pool, it will develop an “invisible” pool leak.  This means your pool is leaking in a way that’s not immediately apparent to you, the homeowner.

In North Texas, our soil is clay. This means the soil expands and contracts very easily with fluctuating moisture and temperatures. The soil expands with moisture and then shrinks during times of drought or extreme heat. This causes the soil to shift, which can ultimately cause your pool to crack and leak.

It’s important to have a pool leak fixed as quickly as possible to save money on water and chemicals and to keep leaking water from causing further damage to the ground around the pool.  If you think you have a pool leak, here are the two common areas you’ll most likely find a problem.

Underground Pipe Cracks
The failure of underground pipes is fairly common in North Texas and accounts for about 30-40% of pool leaks in the area.  Poor installation, poor-quality materials, tree roots and overzealous digging around the pool can all contribute to an underground pipe crack that will cause your pool to lose water. The shifting of North Texas’ infamous clay soil is another common cause of underground pipes to crack and cause a leak.

Structural Cracks
Though not unique to Texas, pool leaks caused by shifting ground are more common in areas where the weather stays hot and dry for long periods of time.  The hot, dry conditions in North Texas’ summers cause the clay soil to shrink, move around and pull away from pool decks. This shifting ground can cause structural cracks and damage to your pool, resulting in a leak.  If the hot and dry period of the summer is followed by a period of heavy rain, the clay will then expand and shift even more. This can cause further damage to the structure of your pool. In addition to the shifting soil of North Texas, tree roots and faulty construction practices and materials can be another cause of structural damage to your pool.

If you notice that your water bills have skyrocketed, you find drips, puddles or dampness around your pool that shouldn’t be there or the ground around your pool has visibly shifted, call Leak-Tech at (972) 516-4995.  We can find your pool leak and repair it quickly and professionally.  Visit us online at www.leak-tech.com to learn more about our leak detection and repair services.

Leak-Tech  |  Pool Leak  |  (972) 516-4995

pool remodeling, pool leak detection

The “Bucket Test” – Leak Detection

Posted by Ken Holmes on

Evaporation is dependent on a variety of environmental and pool related conditions, (wind, water temp, dew point, barometric pressure, etc). Because of this, the evaporation rate can vary greatly from day to day and even pool to pool. Before becoming too concerned about a leak you can do this simple swimming pool leak test to determine if water loss in your swimming pool is due to a leak or is just evaporation. This simple test is called the bucket test. Basically, the bucket test exposes water in a bucket to the same conditions as those affecting your swimming pool. By comparing the water loss in each, it is possible to determine if the pool is leaking or if supposed leaks are just the result of evaporation.

  • Bring the pool water to its normal level
  • Fill 5 gallon bucket with pool water to about one inch from the top of bucket. (By filling the bucket close to the top you are ensuring that air movement over the surface of the bucket will similar to that of the pool.)
  • Place the bucket on the first or second step of the pool. (By placing the bucket in the pool water you are ensuring that the water temperature of each will be similar).
  • Mark the water level inside the bucket.
  • Mark the water level of the pool on the outside of the bucket.
  • Allow the pool to run like normal.
  • After 24 hours, compare the two levels. The inside loss is evaporation. The outside loss is evaporation plus any leaking.
  • For even better results, run the bucket test with the pump off for 24 hours and see if that changes the results.
  • Contact us if you are leaking more than 1/4″ per day!