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This is a common type of leak in concrete pools. While it is a known weak spot, it can be difficult to detect. The leak typically occurs at the bond between the plastic skimmer mouth and the surrounding tile grout, plaster, or pebble tec. Spotting this leak can be tricky because water is constantly moving in the skimmer, and the leaf flap inside the skimmer mouth can obstruct a dye test.If you notice a gap between the skimmer plastic and the grout or plaster, it's a good idea to seal it. You can use epoxy putty, but pool tile grout or hydraulic cement often works even better. For an example of skimmer-to-pool bond leaks, check out the video below.
It may seem like an obvious leak, but you'd be surprised how often we get called to a pool where the only issue is a leaking backwash valve. Some pools have their backwash discharge pipes connected to the sewer or directed away from the backyard, so when the backwash valve starts leaking (failing to close and seal properly), the water often goes unnoticed.The fix is simple: replace the O-rings on the backwash valve pistons. Most sand filters use Pentair or Jandy pistons, and repair kits are readily available online. If your sand filter has a Zodiac or Pentair multiport valve on top, you will most likely need to replace the entire valve assembly.
Both fiberglass and concrete pools and spas are prone to cracking. Cracks in plaster pools are easier to detect, but cracks in pebble tec can be more challenging to spot. You'll need to dive in with a pool dye syringe and a diving mask to identify this type of leak. Using diving weights can also help by keeping you submerged.While it’s best to leave this inspection to a pool leak detection professional, if you're determined to do it yourself, proceed with caution—diving and working underwater can be dangerous. If you do find a crack, you'll need to contact a pool repair company to fix the leak.In the meantime, you can slow down the leak by using underwater epoxy putty. Be sure to follow the instructions carefully, and it could stop the leak for up to a year.You can see what a crack in pebble tec looks like in the following video:
Another very common leak in both concrete and vinyl pools is related to pool lights. There are typically two spots where pool lights may leak: at the conduit or at the bond to the outer ring of the light niche. Some light niches don’t have an outer ring, so in those cases, you only need to check the conduit.To detect light leaks, you’ll need to dive into the pool with some pool dye. Remove the pool light housing and apply the dye around the conduit inside the light niche. By design, water is meant to enter the light conduit, but if the conduit has a crack, water will leak out at that spot.To repair a conduit leak, you can use butyl tape. Roll a good amount of tape around the conduit wire and push it into the conduit opening in the light niche. This can be done underwater, but it’s not easy for someone without diving experience or dive weights. It’s safer to drain the pool before attempting this type of repair.All underwater repairs are best left to professionals who have the right equipment and experience.For examples of these types of leaks, visit the videos section of our website.
We see this type of leak on remodels or even newly builtpools. While drying, plaster or pebble tec doesn’t stick well to PVC exposing avoid which lets water get in contact with shotcrete behind that is also notoriousfor not bonding well to PVC. For some reason this happens more often aroundmain drain than side return outlets, but it is worth checking both areas. To check if your pool is leaking around pipe outlets, you’ll need to dive in and inspect it with leak dye.Here is a video example how this leak looks like:
Broken underground pipe is something that every pool owner isafraid off. To find whether or not you have a pool plumbing leak you will needto hire a professional who can pressure test pool pipes and has the equipmentto pinpoint and precisely locate the leak on pool plumbing. This is usually beyond the scope of work for most pool guys, so you will need to call a leak detection company.Good news is that most underground pipe breaks can beefficiently fixed and it actually doesn’t require ripping out entire pool deckor replacing an entire pipe like some pool owners think. Usually, a hole in the deck approximately 2ft by 2ft will be sufficient enough to reach the leak and do the necessary plumbing repair.
Even though skimmer boxes are madeout of durable ABS plastic, after years of wear and tear they can crack out andstart leaking. To inspect your skimmer box, take out the leaf basket, turn poolpump off and using a flashlight inspect the bottom of the skimmer verycarefully. You can also use some pool leak dye if you see a crack to see how bad it leaks.You can see an example of a cracked skimmer box in this video Cracks in auto-fill boxes are similar, but a little bit harder to spot in concrete autofill boxes. To spot the seleaks, you will have to shut the autofill off, and then clean out the bottom of the concrete box (cracks often hide in the dirt that accumulates at the bottom)and then visually inspect the bottom and walls of the autofill box.
