Don't Ignore a Leaking Pool — Let's Find It Before It Gets Worse
The Art of Complete Pool Care
Your pool should be the easiest part of your property. We keep it that way through dependable care and consistent service year after year.
Swimming Pool Leaks
Swimming pool leaks can surface without warning — and when they do, fast and reliable repair is essential. Acting quickly helps you avoid rising water bills and prevents further damage to your pool’s structure. That’s where the professionals at Gorlin Pools & Spas come in.
As trusted pool leak specialists with over 25 years of experience, we know that most leaks can’t wait. We respond quickly, delivering pool leak repair services that get to the root of the problem. When you call us, we perform a thorough inspection to make sure nothing gets overlooked. Our detailed leak detection process helps us understand the full scope of the issue — whether the problem is in the plumbing lines or the pool shell itself — so we can provide the most accurate and lasting repair.
Financial Benefits
- Lower Utility Bills: Leaks drive up water usage, leading to higher water bills. You'll also need to add more chemicals to maintain proper balance, which increases costs even further.
- Prevent Major Repair Costs: A small leak can cause significant structural damage over time. Prompt repair prevents soil erosion around the pool and helps you avoid expensive fixes for issues like cracking or settling.
Structural & Safety Benefits
- Prevent Structural Damage: Water escaping through a leak can saturate the surrounding soil, causing erosion that weakens the pool's foundation — and in some cases, even your home's foundation.
- Ensure Proper Water Balance: A leak throws off your pool's chemical balance, making it harder to keep the water clean and safe for swimming. Fixing the leak makes maintaining proper water chemistry far more manageable.
- Improve Health and Safety: Leaks can create standing water around the pool, which becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests. Wet areas near the deck also increase the risk of slips and falls.
More Benefits
- Protect the Pool Liner: For above-ground pools, ongoing water loss can leave the liner exposed for extended periods — making it vulnerable to sun damage, heavy winds, and premature deterioration.
- Protect Pool Equipment: A significant leak can pull air into the plumbing system, which puts unnecessary strain on pumps and other equipment — leading to costly repairs or early replacement.
Repairing a pool leak quickly helps you avoid rising water and chemical costs, prevent structural damage to your pool and surrounding property, protect your mechanical equipment from unnecessary wear, and keep your swimming environment safe and healthy.
Financial Savings
- Reduced Utility Bills: A leak can waste thousands of gallons of water, creating a noticeable and ongoing spike in your water bills that only gets worse over time.
- Lower Chemical Costs: Constantly adding fresh water to make up for the loss dilutes your pool chemicals, forcing you to purchase and apply them more frequently just to maintain proper balance.
- Avoid Expensive Repairs: Catching a small leak early is far more affordable than dealing with the secondary damage that builds up when it's ignored — including major structural repairs, equipment replacements, or even foundation work on your home.
- Structural Integrity: Water escaping from a leak saturates the surrounding soil, leading to erosion and ground shifting. Over time, this can cause the pool shell to crack, the deck to settle or heave, and in severe cases, compromise the foundation of your home.
- Landscape Damage: The constant flow of water and chemicals into the surrounding ground can kill grass and plants, leaving you with muddy, soggy, or washed-out areas throughout your yard.
- Prevention of Sinkholes: In extreme cases, persistent underground leaks can gradually wash away soil beneath the surface — eventually leading to the formation of sinkholes on your property.
48 Hour Bucket Tests for Water Loss
Preparation
Specific steps needed to be taken while doing this work.
- Find any bucket or pail and fill it with pool water approximately ¾ of the way full.
- Mark the water line in the bucket with a piece of tape
- Place the bucket in the pool on the top or second step.
- Fill the pool a little higher than normal and mark the water level in the pool with a piece of tape.
- Prepare a piece of paper by writing the following:
- Filter ON the pool lost ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ inches, the bucket lost ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ inches
- Filter OFF the pool lost ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ inches, the bucket lost ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ ͟ inches
Day 1
- Leave the filter on for 24 hours. Leave all suction and return valves open. Day and night, 24 hours in a row.
- Using a ruler and measuring to the 1/16th of an inch record the water loss results after 24 hours with the filter on.
- After recording the results lower the tape mark in the bucket to the new water level in the bucket and lower the tape mark in the pool to the new water level in the pool.
Day 2
- Leave the filter off for 24 hours. Day and night, 24 hours in a row.
- Using a ruler and measuring to the 1/16th of an inch record the water loss results after 24 hours with the filter off.
The Bucket Test: A Simple Home Check
Before calling us, you can do a quick bucket test to confirm you have a leak rather than just high evaporation. Here’s how:
- Fill a bucket to the same water level as your pool
- Place it on a pool step so both are exposed to the same conditions
- Mark the water line in both the bucket and the pool
- Come back 24 hours later (with the pump running normally)
- If the pool has lost significantly more water than the bucket, you likely have a leak
If the test confirms a leak, call us. We’ll come out and find exactly where it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to get started? Call us at (732) 323-8200 or fill out our online form to schedule a pool leak detection service. We serve homeowners across Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, and Mercer Counties, NJ.
How do I know if my pool has a leak?
The bucket test is a reliable home check. If your pool loses significantly more water than a bucket of equal water sitting on a step over 24 hours, you likely have a leak.
How do you find a pool leak?
We use a combination of visual inspection, pressure testing, dye testing, and electronic listening equipment to locate the source accurately before recommending repairs.
Can a small pool leak wait?
We wouldn’t recommend it. Even a small leak wastes significant water over a season and can undermine your pool deck, saturate the surrounding soil, and damage equipment. It also makes water chemistry much harder to maintain.
Is pool leak detection covered by homeowners insurance?
In some cases, yes — especially if the leak has caused damage to your property. We recommend checking with your insurance provider. We can document our findings to support a claim if needed.
What if the leak is in my underground plumbing?
We can pressure test and locate underground leaks with minimal disruption. Many can be repaired via pipe lining or targeted spot repair without extensive excavation.