When a pool is losing water, the first step is figuring out why. Sometimes the cause is obvious. Other times, finding the leak takes some detective work. The Swimming Pool Store provides pool leak detection and plumbing repair from our Burlington location. We serve nearby communities including Bristol and Farmington, with service available across much of northwest Connecticut.
Some leaks are easy to spot. You may see water around a pump, valve, or filter, or notice a liner tear right at the level where the water stops dropping. Other leaks are hidden in underground plumbing, where the only clue may be that the pool keeps needing more water.
We do not start by guessing where to dig. We start by asking questions about the pool and the history of the water loss, then work through the most likely causes. When the problem is not visible, pressure testing, specialty listening equipment, and a plumbing camera can help narrow the search. Each step gives us more information and brings us closer to the source of the leak.
Common Questions About Pool Leaks
How do I know if my pool has a leak or is just losing water to evaporation?
A pool can lose water without having a leak. Hot weather, wind, cooler nights, swimmer activity, and leaving the pool uncovered can all increase evaporation.
What matters is the pattern. If you are adding water much more often than usual, the level keeps dropping to the same point, or the pool continues to lose water in a way the weather does not explain, it is worth taking a closer look.
How do TSPS technicians figure out where a pool is leaking?
We start with what the homeowner has seen. How long has the water loss been happening? How much water are you adding? Did it start suddenly? Does the water stop at a certain level? Have you noticed water around the equipment pad?
Those answers tell us where to start. Depending on what we find, the work may involve visual inspection, pressure testing, dye testing, specialty listening equipment, a plumbing camera, or an underwater inspection.
Can you repair an underground pool plumbing leak?
Yes. TSPS repairs leaking skimmer lines, return lines, and other accessible underground pool plumbing. The repair is often easier than the search. Once we know where a buried line is leaking, exposing that section and repairing the pipe can be relatively straightforward.
Finding a very small leak somewhere along a long underground run is usually the harder part.
If excavation is needed, we look at where the line is, how much needs to be opened up, and the most practical way to reach the repair. Our team may handle the digging, or we may bring in a trusted mason or subcontractor when that makes more sense for the job. After more than 55 years in the pool business, we have built relationships with experienced vendors, subcontractors, and specialty service providers we trust. If the repair calls for work outside our normal scope, we know who to bring in or recommend so the homeowner has a clear next step.
Do you find leaks in both inground and above-ground pools?
Yes. Above-ground pool leaks are usually easier to narrow down because most of the plumbing and equipment are visible. The problem may be at the pump or filter, a fitting, the skimmer, visible plumbing, or the vinyl liner. A visual inspection or simple dye test can often help pinpoint the source.
Inground pools can be more involved because skimmer lines, return lines, and other plumbing may run underground. We start with what we can see, then use leak-location tools when needed to determine whether the problem is in the plumbing or elsewhere in the pool.
Either way, the goal is to narrow the problem and recommend the right repair.
Can pool leak detection take more than one visit?
Yes. Some leaks are found quickly. Others, especially very small underground leaks or pools with more than one possible source, may take additional testing.
We are upfront about that. The point of each visit is to narrow the possibilities and give us a clearer next step, not repeat the same work or make guesses.
What Our Pool Technicians Want to Know Before They Arrive
The homeowner often has the most useful information at the beginning of a leak investigation. You know whether you have been adding water for two weeks or two years. You may know that the problem started after opening, after equipment work, or after a stretch of unusually cold weather. You may have noticed that the water always stops dropping at the same point.
We want that history before we start testing. The more we know ahead of time, the less time we have to spend recreating the story at the pool.
Helpful details include:
- How long the water loss has been happening.
- How much water you are adding and how often.
- Whether the problem started suddenly or gradually.
- Whether the pool stops losing water at a certain level.
- Whether you see water around the pump, filter, valves, or other equipment.
- Whether the pump loses prime or seems to pull air.
- Whether anything changed before the problem started.
- Whether the pool is inground or above-ground, and vinyl or gunite.
Sometimes one observation changes the whole direction of the service call. If the water stops just below the skimmer, that gives us a clue. If it keeps dropping well below the returns, that tells us something different. If there is a puddle beside the pump every time the system runs, we are not starting with the underground lines.
A few details can give the technician a much better place to start.
How We Track Down an Inground Pool Leak
Inground pools can take more time to diagnose because much of the plumbing is out of sight. We start with the easiest possibilities to check and work deeper into the system only when we need to.
Start With What We Can See
Equipment-pad leaks are often the quickest to identify. Pumps, filters, valves, fittings, and seals can all leak, and the homeowner may already have noticed water collecting nearby.
We also look closely at the pool itself. Vinyl liners can tear. Skimmers can crack. Returns, lights, gaskets, and other fittings can become sources of water loss.
Sometimes that visual inspection gives us the answer. If it does not, we keep narrowing the possibilities.
Pressure Testing Helps Us Narrow the Plumbing
When underground plumbing is a possibility, pressure testing tells us whether a line can hold pressure.
If a line holds, we can usually focus somewhere else. If it does not, we know that run needs more investigation. That is a major step forward, but it still does not put an X on the ground where the pipe is leaking.
A return or skimmer line may run a long way between the pool and the equipment pad. The leak could be close to the pool, under decking, halfway across the yard, or near the equipment. That is when location work begins.
Listening Equipment and Cameras Help Us Narrow the Search
TSPS uses specialty listening equipment to help locate underground leaks. By listening for air and water in the line, we can pinpoint the area where the leak is most active.
We also use a small camera system that can travel through pool plumbing, giving us another way to inspect the inside of the line and look for damage.
No tool makes every leak easy to find, but these tools give us better evidence before anyone starts digging. Nobody wants a large section of the yard or deck disturbed because someone guessed.
Leaks We Can Often Find Without Excavation
Underground plumbing gets a lot of attention because those leaks can be difficult to locate, but plenty of pool leaks never get that far. Equipment, fittings, skimmers, and liners are all places we check before anyone starts talking about digging.
Above-Ground Pool Leak Detection
Above-ground pools usually give us more to work with because most of the equipment and plumbing are visible. We can inspect the pump and filter, exposed plumbing, skimmer, fittings, and vinyl liner without having to account for long runs of buried pipe.
Equipment leaks can often be seen while the system is running. If the liner or a fitting is the suspected source, dye testing can help us narrow down the location.
A liner tear also does not automatically mean the liner needs to be replaced. Some smaller, accessible tears can be patched successfully. If you already suspect the liner, see our guide to repairing a vinyl pool liner with a pool patch.
Equipment, Liners, Skimmers, and Fittings
Some of the leaks we see most often are right around the pool or equipment pad. Pump seals wear out. Valves and filter connections can leak. O-rings and gaskets age. Vinyl liners tear, and skimmers or return fittings can develop leaks around their connections.
The symptoms do not always tell us exactly which part has failed. A pump that loses prime gives us a clue, but we still have to find where air is entering the system. A dropping water level tells us there is a problem, but the source could be the liner, equipment, plumbing, skimmer, or another part of the pool.
That is why we keep working through the evidence until the problem makes sense.
What Happens Once We Know Where the Leak Is
Finding the source changes the conversation. At that point, we can talk about what actually needs to be repaired, how accessible it is, and whether anything else needs to be involved.
The 99-Cent O-Ring Philosophy
The 99-cent O-ring has become a simple way to describe how we have always approached pool service.
A homeowner sees the water level dropping and naturally starts thinking about underground plumbing, excavation, a new liner, or some other major repair. Sometimes the problem really is that involved. Sometimes it comes down to a seal, fitting, valve, or O-ring.
The size of the repair does not change the care we put into finding the problem.
The Swimming Pool Store has been family-owned since 1969, and honest work for honest money still describes how we approach service. If a small repair solves the problem, we will tell you. If the testing points to something larger, we will explain what we found and what the next step looks like.
That repair-first approach is also one reason homeowners and other pool professionals turn to the Connecticut pool experts other pool companies call when a problem is difficult to solve.
Sometimes Finding the Leak Is More of a Challenge Than Fixing It
A buried leak can be very small. There may be several plumbing lines running through the same area, and an older pool may have been repaired or replumbed more than once over the years.
Pressure testing can get us to the leaking line. Listening equipment and the plumbing camera can help narrow the location. Sometimes we find it quickly. Other times, it takes another test or another visit to get enough information.
Each step should tell us something useful. Does the line hold pressure? Is the skimmer involved? Does the water stop at a particular fitting? Can we hear the leak in one section of pipe? Does the camera show damage?
Once we are confident about the location, the actual repair may be fairly straightforward: expose the pipe, remove the damaged section, make the repair, and test the line again.
Getting to the right spot is often the harder part.
Pool Plumbing Repairs We Handle
TSPS handles many of the plumbing, equipment, and liner problems that cause residential pools to lose water, including:
- Equipment-pad plumbing
- Pump, filter, and valve leaks
- Unions, fittings, O-rings, and gaskets
- Skimmer plumbing
- Return plumbing
- Accessible underground suction and return lines
- Vinyl liner leaks and patches
- Certain skimmer cracks and fitting problems
There are limits to what makes sense to repair. A main-drain line running underneath the body of an inground pool is a good example. Tunneling underneath an entire pool to reach that line is generally not a practical repair. On a vinyl pool, the problem may need to be addressed when the liner is eventually replaced.
TSPS also does not perform structural gunite repairs or gunite resurfacing.
When a Repair Needs Another Specialty
A leak repair does not always end with a pool technician. Sometimes we need excavation to reach a buried line. A repair may involve masonry or decking. A body-of-pool issue may call for a diver or a company that specializes in gunite work.
We have been doing this since 1969, and over those years we have built relationships with masons, divers, excavation contractors, and other pool specialists whose work we trust. Depending on the job, our crew may handle the digging ourselves, or we may bring in a subcontractor when that is the better way to get to the repair.
The same applies when testing points to work outside our normal scope. We know who to call, and we can help the homeowner connect with the right specialist and understand what needs to happen next.
The goal is to get the problem solved the right way, even when part of the solution involves someone outside our own service team.
Before You Schedule Pool Leak Detection
A little observation before the service call can give our technicians useful information and sometimes narrow the search before we arrive.
Could the Water Loss Be Evaporation?
We get calls from homeowners who are sure the pool is leaking, and sometimes the water loss turns out to be evaporation.
Weather makes a difference. Hot days, wind, cooler nights, heating the pool, and leaving it uncovered can all affect how much water is lost. Swimming and splash-out add to it too. The EPA WaterSense guidance on pool water efficiency identifies evaporation, leaks, cleaning, and splashing as common sources of pool water loss and notes that pool covers can significantly reduce evaporation.
If you are unsure, start watching the water level. Mark it and check it at about the same time each day. Keep track of how much water you add. Notice whether the loss changes when the equipment is running or whether the water consistently stops at the same point.
A bucket test can also help compare the pool’s water loss with evaporation.
You do not need to diagnose the problem yourself. These observations simply give us better information to start with.
Connecticut Winters Can Leave Problems Behind
Some leaks start during the winter and do not become obvious until after the pool has been opened.
Freezing temperatures are the biggest concern, but frost movement, ice, groundwater conditions, and heavy snow or ice around equipment can also cause damage.
Sometimes the first clue is a pump that will not prime normally or a system that begins pulling air. Other times, the pool opens and appears fine until the homeowner notices the water level dropping later in the spring.
Proper winterization helps protect the system. TSPS pool closing services prepare pumps, filters, heaters, and circulation lines for Connecticut freezing conditions and help protect the plumbing through the off-season.
Local Experience Matters With a Difficult Pool Leak
The Swimming Pool Store is based in Burlington, and leak detection is a regular part of our service work. Bristol and Farmington are among the nearby communities we serve, along with pool owners across much of Hartford and Litchfield counties and northwest Connecticut.
A difficult leak usually takes more than one piece of equipment to solve. The technician has to understand how the pump, filter, valves, plumbing, liner, and water level work together and know which clue is worth following next.
We have worked on Connecticut pools since 1969. That includes newer pools as well as systems that have been repaired, replumbed, or upgraded several times over the years. On an older pool, what is underground today may not look anything like the original installation.
Our technicians bring that experience together with pressure testing, listening equipment, plumbing cameras, and a deep inventory of pool parts, including older and harder-to-find components.
Experience also helps us know when to keep looking, when we have enough information to make the repair, and when another specialist should be brought in.
If you are not sure whether your home falls within our service area, contact us with your address and tell us what the pool is doing. We can confirm whether we service your location and let you know what information will help before the technician arrives.
Schedule Pool Leak Detection & Plumbing Repair
A pool leak can be as simple as a worn seal or as difficult as a small break hidden somewhere underground. The right repair starts with understanding what the pool is doing, narrowing down the possible sources, and following the evidence until we have a clear answer.
The Swimming Pool Store has been helping Connecticut pool owners solve leaks, plumbing problems, liner issues, and equipment problems since 1969. Our Burlington team will explain what we find, recommend the right repair, and help connect you with a trusted specialist when the job calls for one. Contact The Swimming Pool Store to tell us what your pool is doing and schedule pool leak detection service.