Aquadoctor Leak Detection's Pool and Leak Blog
Aquadoctor Leak Detection (located in Venice, FL ) 941.303.0620 (texting is OK!) aquadoctorinc@gmail.com
9/6/22- Intro/Welcome
Hi, my name is Doug and I am the Lead Leak Technician here at Aquadoctor Leak Detection. I have decided to make a blog for Aquadoctor Leak Detection's current and prospective customers (or anyone wanting to learn more about pools) to help share information on pool leak detection to better help pool owners understand leak issues and how this business actually works. This blog will also give you a sense of how we communicate and understand pools so you can get a feel for our company up front before having a a leak detection performed. If you are unsure of which company to hire or how to approach your pool leak, this blog is for you. There are many causes of pool water loss from leaks to valve configuration issues to misunderstanding increased evaporation caused by heating a swimming pool. The average water loss is 1/4" in a 24 hour period if no heat (or rooftop solar) is being added to the system.
Some of the most common areas for leaks to occur are the skimmer, return outlets, drain outlets, light niches & conduits, and structural cracks. Pool leaks can and will occur in any part of the system that is under water/ hydrostatic pressure. The remedy for all of these issues is most often fairly simple and ideally do not require a larger repair in the majority of cases. This is the viewpoint of Aquadoctor leak detection and other leak companies do not share this philosophy mainly because they make a great deal of profit by performing a leak detection with the final recommendation resulting in a larger repair to be performed by their repair crews. Not all one stop shop leak companies have this MO but rather it is just a business model that works for them and there is absolutely a market for pool owners who want to make one phone call and pay one person to solve their leak issue. We have vastly different views on the legitimacy of the high sales volume of light niche replacements and skimmer replacements recommended and performed by repair crews who are part of the same company performing the leak detection. We hope you will feel like Aquadoctor Leak Detection is worth hiring for your pool leak because of our honesty and transparent business model which saves our customers money. This is the only way we know how to do business.
We will be adding more technical content on this page soon, especially related to several specific repair types and helpful products and explanations of certain features. There are most often more than one solution to solve pool leak issues and the cost range of those options vary as much as the design of pools can vary. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY SPECIFIC TOPICS, DON'T HESITATE TO SEND AN EMAIL AND I WILL MAKE A POST ABOUT IT TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. I'VE WORKED ON POOLS FOR 10 YEARS IN LEAK DETECTION,NEW CONSTRUCTION, REPAIR AND WARRANTY SO I CAN COVER ALMOST EVERYTHING.
You can follow us on instagram @aquadoctorleakdetection or @aquadoctorinc
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more content to come. thanks for reading
Everyone has their own opinion on how to best build and repair pools. I am simply sharing one viewpoint I believe it would be very helpful for pool owners to be aware of and also have some technical material available. Pools do not have to be overly complicated or expensive to maintain and enjoy.
Just save water.
Doug
4/4/23- Evaporation and Pool Covers
As we approach summer, the weather has been changing. The rainy season is not yet upon us and evaporation losses are persistent. It is typical to have to add water once a week to your pool to make up for the evaporation losses. This figure is even more if a solar heater, gas heater, or electronic heat pump is installed in the system and actively raising the water temperature. One of the best investments a pool owner can make if they have any form of heater is a thermal cover. There are many styles of thermal covers from the old school ones that roll up in a spool on the deck to the custom fitted covers that anchor to the deck. One of the styles we prefer are the lily pad design which do not take up much deck space and can float freely in the pool. Here is an example of this cover type:
This style of cover is highly efficient and allows for the evaporation loss of a heated pool to be much lower while also saving on the electric/gas bill by trapping more heat inside the pool. Using a pool cover will save you money, water, and make your swimming experience warmer year round.
Just save water.
Doug
5/18/23- What are some easy ways to maintain your water level while you are out of town?
There are 2 simple devices that make filling your pool while away much easier for your pool service. The first is a hose timer (approx $20) which can be purchased at a Lowes/Home Depot/Ace type department store or online like the one in the following link:
All you have to do to use this timer is connect it between your hose and hose bib then turn on the hose and set how many minutes you want it to run for (up to 120 min or 2 hours). This helps understand how much water is being used and added.
The next device you can get is a little more expensive (approx $90) and may be available at at hardware store or you may need to visit a pool store like Leslie's or Pinch-a-Penny. Basically, this product is an add on autofill for pools that do not have a built in auto-fill. You connect it to the end of the hose and it sits on the coping and the float adjusts to the desired water level such that it automatically shuts off when the valve is closed by the rising water level. It is important to weigh this device down by putting rocks inside the hollow cavity and/or adding bricks or heavy material to the top so the buoyant force does not push the autofill out of position and cause the hose to continue running after the desired water level is acheived. Here's a link for the hose mounted autofill:
Filling your pool smartly and efficiently will help save money and idenitify any leak issues early. For those who have a built in autofill system, we do not recommend running it all of the time. The reason is they will mask the symptoms of a leak and you will only notice your pool has a leak when you receive a massive water use bill from the water department. normally, you should only have to turn your autofill on once a week which allows pool owners to be cognizant of evaporation losses, water use, and potential leaks.
Just save water.
Doug
6/26/23- Why your pool may not need an overflow and how deck drainage works
The answer is simple- your deck is designed to drain water if your pool overflows. Decks are built with a 1" slope every 8' (or they should be per pool code). This means that the coping/top of the pool is the high point of the entire deck and water flows away from it towards either the edge of the deck/cage or towards a deck drain. Some pools have very large deck areas that get into more complex slope arrangements but the basic concept is the same. It is very rare for an overfilled pool to cause any additional issues besides flooding into the yard the same as it would with an overflow. The situation when this becomes a problem is when the deck drain ends are plugged by mulch or debris. There are several solutions to this. Most deck drains are a 2"x3" channel drain that is designed to perfectly accept 1-1/2" sch 40 pvc to add an extension beyond a garden/mulch bed to redirect flow further from the deck. Another solution is to make a small trench near the outlet of the deck drain and add gravel to create and maintain a flow path for water to exit the deck. Almost every deck that has flooding issues is due to the ends of the deck drain not allowing proper flow and drainage because blockages effectively act like a cork in a wine bottle. Remove the cork and let your deck drain as it was designed to do.
Most newer pools have a built in overflow. The majority of the time this is plumbed into the front port of the skimmer and is simply a "U"- shaped pipe that doesn't see any pressure and only equalizes with the pool water level outside the deck at whatever height it is cut to (we recommend 3/4 of the way up the tile at lowest so your system saves and optimal amount of water). Other places you may see an overflow plumbed are a 1" pipe in the side of the skimmer (built in), in the waterline tile, and sometimes a sidewall return that only connects to the overflow outside of the deck. Even if your pool has an overflow, there are certain times you may want to drain the pool manually, such as a torrential downpour or incoming hurricane. This can be accomplished with a plumbed in discharge (many pools have a hose bib directly after the pump or it may be a separate valve) but the filter clean out port can also have a hose connected to it. Another very cheap option is to get a standard 1-1/2" PVC thread and screw it into a return fitting, connect a blue collapsable hose and run the hose to the desired location so the pump will drain the pool. Again, this is not a normal operation and if your pool deck has clear ends on the drain, an overfilled pool will not cause any major damage.
Just save water.
Doug