Long Island's Vinyl Liner Pool Leaks

Should you replace or repair your pool's vinyl Liner

Many people will decide to replace their liner at 10+ yrs. With age eventually liners lose the elasticity. This can have the effect on a liner, to develop holes easier or even crack a ft. or two, even at a time when trying to repair the old liner. Sometimes the hole you try to repair will actually get larger as you are trying to fix it (especially in corners or near stairs). Generally almost all liners are repairable, but sometimes it is a question of how much longer it will last.

We don't replace liners we only repair them

We dive pools (as compared to an electronic inspection). We feel there is no better way to patch a liner than to be within a few inches (in the pool) of the hole to perform a repair. Additionally, in many cases we run across pools that have 10 or more holes. Not only do we not charge more for more holes, we know we do a lot better job of repairing holes by a diver than some person trying to patch holes with a pole.

For Liner Repair - Should you get a scuba diver or a company that does the Leak Detecting Electronically

There are advantages to both:

Assuming the electronics are functioning they are sometimes better at finding pinholes then a diver (but if we miss something, we will be back at no extra charge)

However: There are advantages of using a diver:

A Diver can also detect leaks at lights, stairs & main drain gaskets and repair them and can dye test main drain pipes & plug them (if necessary) when Leaking.

Gunite Pool Leaks

The most common areas for gunite pool Leaks are at the skimmer throats (where the skimmer connects to the pool) or leaks develop in the pool piping.

Before giving an estimate it helps if we get as much info (in the form of testing) from you as possible,

A test for the skimmer throat Leak would be to see if the water still drops when it hits the bottom of the skimmer: At this point you can shut off (by valve) the skimmer line & just run off the bottom drain to see if the water level drops.

Leak signs

Losing more than 1/4 " +per day, then you probably have a leak and mainly not evaporation

• 1. Settlement of the earth, concrete patio, brick pavers or pool deck.
• 2. Diluted water (lack of salt or other chemicals) due to filling your pool constantly.
• 3. Priming the pump problems or air bubbles in the pool plumbing system - being brought in from a suction line.
• 4. Wet areas around the Pool or even at the Equipment. - Obvious leaks at the filter area can be repaired by your pool Co.
• 5. Not properly winterizing the plumbing lines when closing the pool.
• 6. Freeze damage leading to ground settlement of pipe or skimmer damage.
• 7. Insects eating thru flex PVC plumbing or Vinyl pool liners
• 8. Liner damage due to overly aggressive brushing, robot damage, or improper chemical usage.
• 9. Cracking problems in Gunite Pools as can be seen even with small cracks that can Leak.
• 10. Bad gaskets or O-rings at the equipment pad at pipe unions

Whats so good about Pool Pro?

• 1. We will not charge if we can't find it - no matter how hrs. we spend on a leak detection.
• 2. We charge flat rates quoted ahead of time - no matter how long we spend looking for the Leak.
• 3. Owner has 25+ years Leak Detecting experience with Long Island Pools.
• 4. We don't claim to be experts at all Pool related services - we only do Leaks!
• 5. We do underwater repairs & pinpoint underground pipe Leaks.

Sometimes Leak Detection requires an expert.

WHAT LEAK DETECTION TESTS CAN POOL OWNERS DO FOR THEIR POOLS - POOL PUMP RUNNING & NOT RUNNING:

Do you lose more water with the pool pump off or on? If you lose more water running the pool pump, that typically means the leak is in the return or Polaris lines. If you lose more water with the pool pump off that generally means the leak is in a suction line - the skimmer or main drain line. If you lose at the same rate it is generally in the interior of the pool - light leak, hole in liner or crack in gunite pool.

WHAT MORE CAN A POOL OWNER DO?

Plug the Pool lines (the returns, skimmer, Polaris) shut off your pool pump, and shut off the main drain valve or take pump lid cover off (we will explain later).

Now monitor the water level to see where it goes over the next several days. See if it goes below the skimmers.

Did you lose water last year or over the winter? Did the water loss stop at a certain level in the pool?