Yes, and draining actually makes detection harder in most cases. We find leaks with the pool full using underwater inspection, dye testing, pipe testing, and acoustic equipment.
Call (954) 290-5177, Free Estimate →Yes. Pool leak detection is performed with the pool full of water at its normal operating level. Draining is not required and is counterproductive in most cases, it removes the water needed to observe the leak behavior, perform dye testing, and run pipe tests on the pool plumbing lines. The pool should be filled to the middle of the skimmer opening and the water should be clear before we arrive.
We go into the pool and inspect the full shell, skimmer, lights, return fittings, steps, and main drain, all with the pool full and at operating level.
Leak detection dye is applied near suspected areas while we are underwater. Dye drawn into a crack or fitting confirms an active leak at that location. Requires water.
Pool plumbing lines are tested by isolating individual circuits using test plugs. A line that holds confirms no failure. A line that does not hold points to the leak. Performed from the equipment pad, pool stays full.
A hydrophone lowered into the pool listens for sound created by water moving through a leak path. Works with the pool full, the water is the medium that carries the sound to the sensor.
When a pool pipe is confirmed leaking and we need to pinpoint the underground location, trace gas is injected into the isolated line and followed to the surface. Pool stays full throughout.
Where the pool stabilizes, at the skimmer, the light, the return jets, is a key diagnostic clue only visible when the pool is full and losing water normally.
A drained pool removes all the conditions that make leak detection work. Dye testing requires water around the surfaces being tested. The leak level clue, where the pool stabilizes, disappears when the pool is empty. The pipe testing setup still works on a drained pool but loses the cross-reference of what the water behavior was telling us before the drain.
In South Florida there is an additional risk to draining unnecessarily. A pool shell sitting empty in high-humidity, high-water-table conditions can experience hydrostatic uplift, the groundwater pressure beneath the shell can push it up from the ground, causing cracking or structural damage. This is why we do not recommend draining a South Florida pool unless there is a specific repair reason to do so.
I get calls occasionally from homeowners who drained the pool trying to find the leak themselves before calling us. Now I cannot see where the water was stopping. I cannot dye test anything. The pipe test results have no context. And in some cases the shell has already shifted from sitting empty.
Fill the pool. Keep the water clear. Turn off the autofill the night before. That is all you need to do. We bring everything else.
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Use the Leak Analyzer to score your symptoms, the Evaporation Calculator to estimate normal loss, and download the free beginner guide before you call anyone.
Evaporation Calculator → Leak Analyzer → Free Beginner Guide →Leak and Subsurface Locators finds pool leaks with the water in throughout South Florida. Licensed CPC1457277. Free estimate before scheduling.
(954) 290-5177 (561) 325-2678 (561) 325-2678Cloudy or green water limits the underwater inspection, we cannot safely see the floor, fittings, and lights well enough to do a thorough dive inspection. If the water is not clear, treat it first and call us once it is clear. A murky pool inspection gives incomplete results that do not serve you.
If the water is too low to run the pump or too low for a proper dive, we may ask you to fill it before the visit. The pool should be at its normal operating level, typically the middle of the skimmer opening, before we arrive.
Draining might be needed for certain repairs, not for detection. If a repair requires access to the dry shell surface, we discuss that separately after we have found and confirmed the leak. Detection itself does not require draining.
We test with both the pump on and off during the visit. The difference in water behavior between the two states is one of the most useful diagnostic indicators we have. We need to be able to run the pump, so the equipment pad needs to be accessible and the pump needs to be functional.