A contractor recently had a difficult time locating a leak in a swimming pool, so they called for technical support from the job site. This was a pool that is located in South Texas along the Gulf of Mexico and was about a month ago now. The swimming pool has a raised spa and a raised wall with sheer descent water features. The homeowner was concerned when the pool showed a loss of approximately 1/8 inch daily. Three small puddles also appeared around the pool and spa.
Chasing A Leak That Doesn’t Exist
The contractor dropped the Pool Scope in the pool and listened to the main drain, return lines, cleaner line, skimmer, pool lights, and the spa drains, returns, skimmer and lights. He did not hear any leaks. Next, the contractor listened to the supply line for the water feature. He pressure-tested the lines and observed no pressure drop. He also dove into the pool to conduct a dye test and there was no positive pull anywhere. We asked the contractor if the pool was isolated from the spa, and again his answer was that it was. Both the pool and spa showed the same water level in a 24-hour period with all of the equipment off. He also tested the ponding water for salt content as there is a saltwater system instead of chlorine. The test showed that there was salt in the water. Still, he could not hear any leaks at all.
Troubleshooting Continues Over The Phone
We asked the contractor if the water feature ran a lot to which the answer was yes. We asked if the pool was in full sun, and again the answer was yes. Then, we asked if he checked the chemical content from the ponding water surrounding the pool to see if the chemical levels were the same as in the pool. The contractor said he did NOT check the chemical content in both and that he only tested for salt content. With all of this in mind, the contractor tested the ponding water and found that the chemical content of the ponding water did NOT match the chemical content of the pool. The pool chemicals were all in balance. However, the alkalinity levels of the ponding water were high and the cyanuric acid was at zero.
Was The Pool Leaking?
When all was said and done, the conclusion is that the pool and/or spa are not leaking. The ponding water was more than likely from the Gulf of Mexico and the small amount of water loss was due to blow out from the wind and full exposure to the sun. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call to figure it out instead of chasing a leak that doesn’t exist. At LeakTronics, we are happy to help our contractors get the tough ones figured out. Call us for technical support when you need it most, at the job site.
Check out our YouTube channel where we frequently publish demonstration videos of many leak detection and pool repair jobs that we take on.
