- 1). Determine if the water loss in your pool is due to evaporation or a leak. Place a 5-gallon bucket in the pool with only inches of the bucket top sticking out of the water. Fill the bucket with water until it is the same level as the pool water level. Use a marker to mark the level on the bucket. After 24 hours, compare the pool water level to the bucket water level. If the pool water level is lower than the bucket's, you have a leak.
- 2). Check your pool equipment for leaks. Inspect your pool filter, heating system, pipe valves, and pump to make sure they are not the cause of your leak. Look for moist ground around or underneath any of these pieces of equipment. Check the pump for leakage by turning it off and on again, watching for spraying water when the pump is turned off. Also, look for cracks in the plaster and look closely at the tile and inside of the skimmer. Most in-ground pool leaks are due to a separation between the skimmer and the concrete.
- 3). Purchase pool dye from your local pool retailer to help determine the location of a leak. This dye, specifically created for pools, will travel to the location of the leak and be sucked out making it easy for you to pinpoint the leak. This technique works better if you have an approximate idea of where the leak may be located. If not, simply try using the dye in various places around the pool, and watch where the dye travels. If it is sucked out of a particular spot in the pool, you've found your leak.
- 4). Drain the pool and grab a sponge and soap. Use the sponge to spread soap over the area where you believe the leak is located. Once the soap is over the leak, it will bubble up like chewing gum.
- 5). Wait for the pool to drain down. If you simply allow the pool water to continue to drain, you'll be able to determine the approximate height of the leak since the pool won't leak below the leak line. Use this technique to determine the approximate level of the leak and then use one of the other mentioned techniques to determine the specific spot of the leak.
- 6). Call in a professional if none of the techniques above enable you to determine the location of your pool leak. Use an Internet search engine or local listing to find a pool specialist near you. Leak detection specialists have special equipment they can use to find the leak and repair it.
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