- Okay, so you head out into the backyard,
all set to take a nice cool swim.
But just as you're about to dive in,
you notice the water level is just a couple of inches lower
than it should be.
Well, okay, it's been hot out there
so it's probably just evaporation.
Or is it?
There's a chance that your pool has sprung a leak.
Can we add like dun dun da music?
Like, really dramatic stuff.
That'd be cool.
Well crap, now what?
You need to keep calm
and you need a patch that leak.
And I'm gonna explain how, right after this.
(upbeat music)
All right, quick disclaimer,
everyone has their own way to maintain a pool,
but in the end we all just wanna make sure
that your pool is clean and clear.
And the information in this video is based
on my personal experience in the pool industry
and the research that we've done here at swimuniversity.com.
If I miss anything or if you've discovered
a more efficient way to patch your pool liner,
please leave a comment to let me know
and to help your fellow pool owners.
If your pool is losing water
it is most likely due to evaporation,
especially if temperatures have been high.
And more especially, if it's hot out
and you don't cover your pool when you're swimming.
I mean who covers their pool while they're swimming?
A loss of about a quarter of an inch
to a half of an inch of water every single day is fine,
but more than an inch of water a day,
well (groaning) oh boy.
So before you start lining your pool with duct tape,
and I actually don't recommend that you ever do that,
you need to confirm that you actually have
a leak in your pool and to do this
you need to use the bucket test.
And by the way, everything I'm about to tell you
applies to both in-ground and above-ground pools,
but if you have an Intex pool
I'll get to that a little bit later in the video.
So, let's talk about the bucket test.
You're gonna need a 5 gallon plastic bucket
that you can find at your local hardware store.
And either, a king size black marker
or a roll of duct tape.
And don't worry, like I said before,
we're not gonna use duct tape to patch your pool liner.
You wanna place a five-gallon bucket in the water
on the second step of your pool
and if you don't have steps,
you just wanna make sure that the bucket
isn't fully underwater.
At this point you wanna fill the bucket with water
until the water level inside the bucket
matches the pool water level.
And this is where you can use the marker or a duct tape
to mark the inside level and the outside level,
so you wanna to make sure that both the
inside of the bucket and the outside of the pool
are the same water level.
At this point turn off the pump, wait 24 hours
and then compare the pools water level
to the water in the bucket.
If both the pool and the bucket have gone down,
but remain even, well then, your pool is just losing water
due to evaporation and that's great.
However if the pool level is now lower
than the level inside the bucket,
(sighs) I'm sorry to say that you probably have a leak.
So to narrow down the possible source of the leak
you wanna repeat the test for another 24 hour period,
but this time with the pump on.
If the water level in the pool is even less
than the first test, then the leak is most likely
somewhere in your pools filter system or plumbing.
Now, if you found that your pool does have a leak,
the next step is to locate it so you can patch it.
Good news is fixing the leak and the filter system
is pretty easy, you just find the leak
and replace the parts if needed.
If it's not in your filter system inspect the area
around your pool.
If the ground is wet where it shouldn't be,
well then, your pool is likely leaking
somewhere near that area
and the water is seeping into the ground.
Once you know the general area of the leak
you can pinpoint it.
Now you'll either need a leak finder dye
or really dark food coloring.
And if you use food coloring instead of dye,
make sure that it's liquid food coloring and not that paste,
you wanna save the paste for making cakes.
I'm a rapper, you can find an old video of me rapping
about pool care.
Yes, that is a thing that exists.
Yes.
Also food coloring isn't going to be as accurate
as a leak finder dye
because it will dissipate in the water.
So leak finder dye is actually made
to stay together in the water.
So if you have time to get it
it's definitely the better option
and I highly recommend it.
Or you can just keep some on hand just in case.
Now, to find the leak the water needs to be
as still as possible.
So turn off anything that's moving the water around,
like your pump or any water features,
a slide, a fountain, anything.
Go to the edge of the pool, don't get in the pool,
just go to the edge of the pool
in the area where the ground was wet.
Holding the dye or the food coloring container,
whichever you decide to use,
as close to the water as possible without touching it.
Slowly begin to pour the dye into the pool.
Watch it closely.
If you've found the general area of the leak
from testing the outside of the pool you should see the dye
float right towards the hole that's causing the leak.
And you wanna mark that spot so you can come back
inside the pool to patch it.
Now before you actually fix the leak,
you need to stop the water from leaking outta your pool
and turning your yard into a marsh.
Stopping the leak will give you time
to gather the materials you need to patch the leak
and you can use waterproof tape
or a peel and stick vinyl patch,
both of these can be used underwater
so there's no need to drain your pool
any more water than you're already losing.
Speaking of which.
You wanna avoid draining a vinyl liner pool anyway,
even a little bit.
If the liner dries and it is exposed to the sun's UV rays,
it can wrinkle and become brittle
and you don't wanna have to fix that
because you may actually just need to
replace it at that point.
However, if the water has already leaked out
to the level of the leak then it's okay to patch it dry.
Now let's patch this sucker up!
You're gonna need a vinyl patch kit or vinyl adhesive,
a dauber applicator or a craft stick,
if you're using adhesive.
A pair of scissors, a non abrasive scouring pad,
like a Scotch-Brite pad will be fine.
A weight, you sand in an airtight zip lock bag,
that should work well.
Or a brick in an airtight zip lock bag.
You don't wanna just add brick to your vinyl liner,
just make sure it's wrapped in plastic.
You wanna use goggles if the leak is below the waterline
and patching vinyl if you're not using a patching kit.
Any algae, sunscreen or other stuff
that's stuck to the pool wall
will make it hard for the patch to adhere,
so use the non abrasive scouring pad
to gently clean around the leak.
Now, I need to stress this,
you need to be gentle if you're using that Scotch-Brite pad
because you don't wanna make the hole any bigger,
that would be bad.
If you're not using peel and stick patches,
cut the patching vinyl into a circle,
at least two inches larger in diameter, than the hole.
For example, if the rip is three inches long
the patch needs to be at least five inches in diameter.
And if you're using a peel and stick patch,
you wanna remove the paper backing
and place the adhesive side over the tear.
Otherwise make sure the patching vinyl is free of debris
and then use the dauber or the craft stick
to apply a generous amount of adhesive
to the entire surface so that it's completely covered
all the way out to the edges of the patch.
Now, this is very important,
here's how we're gonna patch the pool.
You're gonna take your patch, right?
You got the adhesive all on one side
and you're gonna fold it in half,
and I don't know if you can hear me,
you're gonna fold it in half like a taco
and then you're gonna submerge it under water
and then you're gonna hold the patch over the tear
and you're gonna slowly and gently open it up
while smoothing it on to the liner, right.
You wanna press out any air bubbles.
Then (sighs) get comfortable
because you're gonna need to hold that patch there
for at least two minutes to let that adhesive cure.
And don't pull on it to check to see if it is, you know,
actually stuck to the vinyl
because then you're gonna have to start all over again.
Okay, now this won't work if the patch is on the pool wall,
but if it's in a spot where you can place a weight on top,
you can leave it there for 24 hours
and that way you won't have to stand there.
Okay, hopefully that was helpful in patching your pool liner
but like I said earlier in the video,
what if you have an Intex or an other soft sided pool?
You can find special patch kits for these types of pools.
They include three types of patch material,
either clear vinyl for top ring repairs,
blue vinyl four the interior repairs
and laminated PVC for exterior repairs.
But Intex also makes peel and stick patches
which might be easier to use.
Patching a soft sided pool uses pretty much
the same procedure I've already explained,
but the one difference is patching the top ring
if you have one of those blowup pools.
And to do this you need to fully inflate that top ring
and you wanna mark the hole,
apply adhesive around the hole
and then use the clear vinyl patch
or just the peel and stick patch
and apply it right on there
and just make sure that you hold it there
for a few seconds to make sure that it actually sticks.
Then deflate the ring so that the adhesive
can cure just a little bit longer
without all of that pressure
and then you can reinflate the right after about 12 hours.
Okay, at this point you should feel pretty proud of yourself
after you patch your vinyl liner, but don't get too comfy
because patches are only a temporary fix.
Some of them will last for years, but only a few years
and if you get a decade out of a patch well then,
you are tempting fate.
You are tempting fate.
Plus the bigger the tear is the more likely
the edges of the patch will get snagged up and curled up
and just pull away eventually.
So when that happens you can get meta and repair the repair
by following the same procedures,
but the thing is you will eventually have to get a new liner
so start saving up for that
as soon as you start seeing the first signs of a leak.
Now you should also know that the bucket test
and the dye tests are, well,
not the most scientific methods to find a pool leak.
They may be perfectly fine,
but depending on where you live in how bad your leak is,
you may wanna find another alternative
and at this point I would recommend calling a pro.
I think it's better to call a pro
than to have your backyard declared a wetlands habitat.
So if you wanna learn more about taking care of your pool
with in-depth tutorials and guides, you should check out
the pool care handbook and video course.
You'll get over 31 video lessons,
plus a fully illustrated guide
covering everything you need to know
about taking care of a pool.
It's packed with money-saving tips,
so you don't have to break the bank on your swimming pool.
This is the ultimate manual for every type of pool
and it's always up to date, which is pretty awesome.
And because you watch this entire video you can get 10% off
by using the promo code VIDEO.
Just go to swimuniversity.com/pull-care-handbook
or click the link below.
If you missed anything or if you have any questions
please leave a comment.
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All right, that's it and as always, happy swimming.
(upbeat music)