What to Expect During a Pool Leak Detection

A professional pool leak detection is non-destructive— we find the leak without saw-cutting your deck or jackhammering to go looking. Here's exactly what happens, start to finish, so you know what you're paying for.

1. We confirm it's really a leak

Before anything else, we make sure water loss is an actual leak and not evaporation. If you've already run a bucket test, that gives us a head start.

2. We inspect the obvious spots first

We check the equipment pad, the skimmer, the returns, the light niche, and the liner or shell for visible problems. Sometimes the leak is right there and we fix it on the spot.

3. We pressure-test the plumbing

If it's underground, we isolate and pressure-test each line — suction, return, and main drain — to find out which pipe is losing pressure. This is how we tell a plumbing leak apart from a shell or fitting leak.

4. We listen electronically

With the line pressurized, we use electronic listening equipment to hear water escaping the pipe underground and trace it to the exact spot — instead of digging up the whole run.

5. We dye-test to confirm

At suspected spots in the pool, we release dye and watch the water pull it into the leak. That confirms the precise location before we touch anything.

6. We make the repair

For vessel repairs we can make on-site — skimmer seams, return fittings, light niches, liner patches and the like — we fix it right then, and it's included in the flat rate. If a leak needs work beyond that scope (like excavating a broken underground pipe), we'll explain it and give you the price up front before doing anything.

How long it takes

Most detections take a couple of hours. Underground plumbing leaks can take longer because isolating the right line is painstaking work — but that's the part that saves you from tearing up a deck to guess.

Book a detection

Our flat-rate leak detectionis $499 inground or $399 above-ground, repairs we can make included, no trip charge. Call us and we'll get you on the schedule.