Fall Pool Leaks

“Arghhhhh! My pool is leaking again!”

“Better get the pool guys on the phone…quick!”

Ever felt this way?

Some pool owners have, and historically these claims happen right around this time of year. Coincidence, or is there another explanation for this phenomenon? The answer is “YES”.

In the fall, the water temperatures in the swimming pool are often warmer than the air temperatures at night after the sun goes down. When this occurs the water in the pool evaporates at a high rate and the pool water level in the morning can be noticeably lower than when you went to bed the previous night. Depending on the size and gallonage of the pool you could surrender an inch or more to the atmosphere while you sleep, which could translate into hundreds, if not thousands, of gallons of evaporation! Wow! When we appear to lose that amount of water in such a short period of time we scurry around the pool area looking for evidence of water on the ground – when (in actuality) we should be looking up into the sky!

We’ve all seen photos of an eery mist rising from a lake in the dusk of the day…same thing. Water in the lake is warmer than the air that surrounds it…so, we see evaporation on a larger scale.

Most incidences of this type of water loss in an abreviated time frame require cooler heads to prevail…use the “bucket test”. The next night, if conditions are the same, fill a bucket with water from the pool and mark the depth level with a “sharpie”. Then go to sleep – inside of course! In the morning, if you notice that the water level in the pool has dropped – check the bucket too. If it, too, has dropped, you’ve proven that there is evaporation, not leaking.

There are many reasons in our world today for all of us to go into panic-mode, but losing water in your pool overnight – especially in the fall – is not one of them.

So, if you find yourself gasping for breath after noticing a drop in the water level one morning…put down the phone and pick up a bucket.