The Jackson family has enjoyed their pool/spa combination for the past twelve years. Ever since he had the system built, Mr. Jackson has taken care of the pool duties himself.  He takes pride in having a crystal clear pool, and every weekend will take a sample of it’s water across town to have analyzed.  Whatever chemicals it may need to keep the water clean and clear are brought home and added to the pool.  Mr. Jackson regularly backwashes the pool filter, and also makes sure that he keeps the walls brushed down, and the tile lines clean.  He also has an automatic pool cleaner running off a dedicated vacuum line to clean the pool bottom. It does a good job. Leaves are not a problem now, ever since he had the pool screened in.

Now Mr. Jackson has a pool leak, or at least he thought so.  He was fairly certain that it was either a skimmer leak or light leak.  It’s what he had heard, but couldn’t find it there or anywhere.  His pool had never leaked before and he really didn’t know what to do. He spotted our van at his neighbor’s house a few doors down.  He walked over and explained what he could about his pool.  His pool was just as he described and Mr. Jackson had already run an evaporation test and was sure there was a leak somewhere.  There was no visible leak at the pool equipment area or waste line.  He agreed to the terms and guarantee, then wanted us to “just find it”.  He also wanted the pool repair but was told we had to find it first before we could tell him anything

No structural leak was found in either the pool or the spa.  All the pool plumbing held pressure.  The spa jet line was tested but it failed, which indicated a leak somewhere on this line.  His spa had six jets spaced along its wall.  They were are all connected together by the spa jet line, which had a leak on it.  The leak was found and marked.

Mr. Jackson scheduled the spa repair for later the same week.  An access hole was cut through the deck to expose the leak.  The spa jet housing was cracked and had to be replaced and re-plumbed.  The entire spa jet line, including the repair, was re-pressurized to make certain there were no other leaks on it. The area around the new jet was waterproofed and  the surface refinished.  The deck was then restored.

Many of today’s pools are built combined with a spa.  The spa water level is at a slightly higher elevation in respect to the pool’s water level.  Pool water circulates when water is drawn from the pool towards the suction side of the pool pump.  This water travels through plumbing lines from the pool to the pump, due to negative pressure “vacuum” created by the suction side of the pump.  Next, the positive pressure side of the pump pushes this water through other plumbing lines which now returns it back to the pool.

In most pool spa combinations, branching off of the same plumbing line returning water back to the pool would be another line. This line is also returning water back, but to the spa instead. This water keeps the spa full, which then spills over into the pool when the spa is too full.  A waterfall is created due to the slight elevation difference between the two bodies of water.

Since the spa is slightly higher than the pool, and since both have this return line in common, the following may occur.  When the pool pump is off, the spa water can now back-siphon through the pump and back into the pool due to gravity.  The spa level will drop, but the pool level will rise, until both reach that equalized level and then the process will stop.  There is no water loss due to all of this, although it may seem like it. That is unless you do have an actual leak somewhere in your pool or spa.

To prevent back-siphoning when the pump is off, installing a one way valve on the spa spillover line eliminates the problem.  Another name for this valve is a check valve.  Water can be to be pumped to the spa, but when the pump is off, this valve stops or “checks” the water from flowing backwards to the pool due to gravity  The spa water level should now stay right at the base of the spillover when the pump is off.

Chances are you already have a check valve installed on the spa spillover line, but it may no longer work correctly and simply needs to be replaced.

When waterline tiles crack or keep falling off the wall of your pool, it can be a real hassle.  It could also be the sign of a real problem with your pool in the form of a leak. The Tampa Bay area has had more than it’s fair share of rainfall this summer.  Many pool owners have been constantly pumping down their overflowing pools, wondering just when they can take a break from it.  Unfortunately for some though, their pool never overflows no matter how much rainfall received.  This is not usually a good thing.  Unless the pool has an automatic overflow line plumbed in, chances are very good that a crack has formed somewhere behind the waterline tiles.

The area behind the tile is known as the bond beam, which is the uppermost portion of the pool’s shell where the waterline tiles are set into.  If the bond beam crack goes all the way through, this allows water to leak from the pool.  This crack could be at any level along the tile line.  It could be high above, right at, or down below the normal operating water level of the pool.  The higher the water level gets above this crack, the faster it leaks out due to the extra water weight pushing it out.   As water leaks through, it can erode the soil below the deck as well as that from around the pool plumbing.  The piping can sag, eventually snap, and now your pool has a plumbing leak also.  Many in-ground concrete pools have bond beam cracks that will leak, and luckily most are high above the normal operating water level.

If you are having your pool resurfaced and you are changing the tiles, try to have all the old waterline tiles removed first before the new ones are applied.  Now any cracks are clearly visible which otherwise would normally be hidden by the tiles.  If you can see any cracks, especially if they would be at or below the middle height of the skimmer mouth level, let us know.  The reason that the pool tiles keep popping off over and over again is probably due to constant moisture weeping out from the crack behind the tile.  The adhesive used to hold the tiles onto the wall breaks down as a result.

Spas unfortunately get bond beam cracks too.

Both the house and pool were built in the mid 1980’s.  The pool deck had just been remodeled with pavers and coping stones for less than six months when the leak appeared.  The pool area was beautiful, but now there was a plumbing leak directly below the skimmer.  A new skimmer would be required to repair the leak.

To replace the skimmer would involve the removal of several coping stones at the pool’s edge along with enough pavers around the skimmer lid to allow the repair. Since the coping stones are glued to the deck, it’s nearly impossible to remove one without breaking it.  Also impossible is re-setting the new skimmer to where it’s lid is exactly where the original lid was.  New coping stones must be set and pavers must now again be custom fitted to where the pieces fit exactly around the new lid.

For at least the past forty years, almost every in-ground pool skimmer that was installed has been made of plastic. Nearly everyone understands that over time, plastic will become brittle and subject to breaking and cracks.  Constant exposure to the chemicals that are used to treat the pool water, along with the added stress from vacuuming and pressure plates to name a few, accelerate the process which may shorten the skimmer’s life.

If you are thinking of having your pool deck remodeled, and your pool is twenty years or older and still has the original skimmer, really consider having the skimmer replaced. Also if your skimmer has been heavily puttied, especially in the bottom or on it’s sides, consider having it replaced as well.  To replace the skimmer will unfortunately mean an additional cost towards the deck remodel, but will provide insurance that your beautiful new pool deck can stay intact.

It’s time again to really suspect evaporation if you think your pool or spa leaks.  The air is hot, the water is rapidly warming up, yet the humidity in the air is still rather low. Windy days are also common this time of year, which tend to dry things out.  The hot days, warming water, slightly less humidity, and wind all combine to really increase the water evaporation rate.  Spring is actually the time of the year for Florida’s pool evaporation rate to be at it’s highest.

A free but also effective way to make sure that your leak is not just due to evaporation has been outlined.  Just click on the blue bucket in the side-bar and you will be taken to that page.  Go ahead and run the simple test for yourself to see if your pool actually does or doesn’t have a detectable leak.  If it does, give us a call and we can help find it for you.

Let’s talk about more reasons for pool return bubbles. Again with the pool pump primed and running, turn the garden hose on low.  Allow the water to run not only over and around the pump lid, but also around the adapter fitting on the suction side of the pump.  Also check all above ground PVC couplings, elbows, T’s, jandy and ball valves associated with any skimmer, main drain or vacuum plumbing line.  Check each line carefully from where they come up out of the ground, to where they all eventually connect before entering the suction side of the pool pump.  Don’t just splash the water, but slowly run it over each fitting and valve handle.

If nothing has improved the problem, there is a chance that you may have a suction line blocked.  Usually the blockage is from leaves or debris, but children’s toys have a way of somehow getting sucked down the skimmer or into a wall vacuum outlet.  It happens.  Now the pump may be starved for water to keep it running right.

Another possibility for the bubble creation may lie with the pump itself.  The pump impeller could be worn out or broken, or an actual crack in the pump pot or lid itself could be the culprit.  The drain plug in the pump pot could also be the reason.

Most customers are unequipped to remove blockages or repair pump problems.  Contact a good pool service for help with these issues.  For the underground leaks, Zeroed-In would be glad to help.

It’s such a common question we hear.  People automatically assume there is a leak in their pool.  They are usually right, but in a different way than they may think.  In most cases it’s due to an air leak somewhere on the suction/vacuum side of the pool plumbing system.  Air leaks usually don’t lead to any actual water loss in the pool, unless there is an underground plumbing leak on the suction side like on a skimmer or drain line.   These leaks tend to lose water when the pump is off. Once off, when there is no longer a vacuum created on that line which would pull air into it through a leak,  pool water is now allowed to escape back out of that line into the ground through the same leak.

Before looking for an air leak, first make sure your pool has an adequate water level.  The normal operating level is about mid-way up the skimmer mouth.  This level usually allows pool pump operation without the skimmer sucking air.  Make sure that if there is a weir gate on the skimmer mouth that it floats freely, and doesn’t stick and block water from entering the skimmer.  Next run water over and around the edges of the pump lid while the pump is primed and running.  Watch and see if the air bubbles visible in the pump now disappear, when water is now drawn into the pump in place of air.  Keep running the water over the pump and have someone watch the pool to see if the bubbles quit coming out of your pool returns, if so, you have likely solved the problem.

Usually the air leak can be found at or very near the pool pump.  At least 50% are due to an old dried out or stretched pump lid gasket.  When these get dried out and stiff, they can develop cracks which can allow air to enter when the pump runs.  When over-stretched, they just don’t seal.  Take the pump lid down to your favorite pool supply store and they can help you get the right gasket replacement.  While you are there, purchase a small tube of pool grade lubricant to help keep the new gasket soft and allow for a better seal when the pump lid is tightened.  Keep the areas under the pump lid and on top of the pump where the gasket rests clean.  Also keep the lid gasket well lubed, but don’t use petroleum jelly, it can break down the rubber gasket.

Keeping the right water level in your pool, with the pump lid clean and well sealed, are the easiest and most common ways to fix an air leak on your own.  There are several other places for you to look, too numerous to list now, which we will be discussing in future posts.

The fall season is upon us here in Florida, at least according to the calender.  The lower humidity is a welcome relief.  The pool and spa water temperature is still warm and comfortable to most people.  With these pleasant conditions, though the days can still be hot, comes drier air with steadier breezes.  All this results in more evaporation.  The drier air, breeze and warm water temperatures lead to greater water loss in your pool or spa.  More people now may think their pool leaks when it really does not.

This is an ideal time to simply check the water lost to evaporation, and compare it to the water loss in your pool or spa.  All you need is a bucket that does not leak and a little patience.  The set-up is described in this website.  By running the test, you can see for yourself if there is a real cause for concern, or just Mother Nature creating a false alarm.

For a pool owner, it’s when their pool level overflows constantly.  But it could be worse, and that’s if it never overflows at all (that is unless they are lucky enough to have an overflow line plumbed into their pool). The peak of hurricane season is now just several weeks away. Nearly everyone knows just how much water that these big storms can bring in the form of rain. Rainfall totals are often measured in feet, not just inches. When the heavy rains do come, pool owners would be wise to protect their property by backwashing their pools to waste, to keep the water level down. This may help to prevent the pool from overflowing and flooding the deck, porch, or the foundation of their home. But never totally drain the pool, which may cause a concrete one to pop out of the ground, or a fiberglass pool to buckle or split along it’s walls from the weight of the soil.   And also if the big hurricane ever does ever come, please follow any evacuation orders.

Even some brief, but heavy storms on any given summer day can total over 4 inches of rain. When you get the rains that flood your pool observe the following: 1). the pool level starting out high, dropping rapidly, then it stops leaking at a level higher than the middle of the skimmer mouth.  2). if your pool normally doesn’t leak but never overflows regardless of how much water is added to it.  If either one occurs, then the chances are good that you have a high bond beam crack behind the waterline tiles, (high meaning above the normal operating water level). Now all of the water that would normally overflow your pool, leaks through this cracked area and can undermine the deck support and that of the pool plumbing. If you suspect your pool has a bond beam crack, it is also very important to backwash your pool to keep the water level down after these hit and miss storms, even more so due to the frequency that they occur.

If you are having a new pool installed or an existing one resurfaced/remodeled, look into the possibility of having an overflow line put in. Don’t you think it would save the pool owner time and ultimately money in the long run to have this feature in their pool?