If your pool is leaking, finding the culprit of the leak is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. With such a large body of water and so many different pieces of equipment contributing to its daily functions, where is the leak most likely originating?

You should expect a certain amount of water loss in your pool due to natural evaporation and splash-out when the pool is in use, and you may even gain some water during heavy rainfall. But if you need to consistently add a few inches of water or more to your pool to maintain its depth, chances are you have a leak. The following procedures can help you narrow down its origin.

Equipment On and Off

The leak could be caused by your pool equipment itself, which means you need to experiment with equipment turned on and off. If the pool only leaks when the equipment is turned off, then you are probably dealing with a suction-side leak. But if the leak only occurs when the equipment is turned on, then it’s likely a pressure-side leak caused by the pressure of the filter pump turning small drips into large sprays.

Consistent Leaking

If your pool leaks regardless of the status of the equipment, then the culprit could be the shell of the pool itself. Vinyl tears and plaster cracks can occur easily and hide even easier. Even underwater lights can cause leaks. The good news is that small cracks and tears can be repaired with pool putty before a large-scale repair becomes necessary.

Using Pool Dye to Help Diagnose the Problem

Though the pool dye that alerts to urine in the pool is nothing more than a myth, dye does exist to help identify leaks. Squirt a small bit of dye within 5 mm of a suspected leak in the pool’s structure and watch to see if the dye is pulled out of the pool and into the crack. Just be sure to turn the pool’s circulatory system off at this point. If the dye escapes with other lost water, then you know for sure that your pool structure is compromised in some way to cause a leak.