POOL LEAK DETECTION
IN CAPE TOWN

Professional plumbers use pool leak detection to find if and where a leak has occurred in your pool, hot tub or spa. Absolute Plumbing uses modern leak detection methods to find your leak so we can repair pool leaks quickly and accurately. 

Absolute Plumbing uses three leak detection methods to quickly and accurately find a leak in your pool, hot tub or spa: 

1. Leak Detection Dye: A small amount of brightly coloured dye is squeezed near a spot where we suspect there may be a leak. We then watch to see if the dye moves, which indicates there is water flow and a leak is present.
2. Hydrogen Gas Seeking Machine: Our professional plumbers pump hydrogen gas through your pipes, and then a snooper is used to sniff out gas exiting from the source of your leak. Hydrogen gas molecules are so tiny they can even permeate through asphalt.
3. Acoustic Leak Detection: This device uses tiny microphones to detect a leak as it recognises the sound of running water or water hissing out of a small hole at high pressure. 

Swimming pool leak detection is best left to professional plumbers, but here is a test that you can do to see if you have a leak in your pool, hot tub or spa. 

Absolute Plumbing’s Bucket Test:

This test will help you determine if you are losing water due to evaporation or if you have a leak present in your pool, hot tub or spa:

Step 1: Fill your pool to its normal level and ensure there is no rain forecast for your area for the next 24 hours.

Step 2: Place a bucket on the top step of your pool and fill it with water approximately 5cm higher than the pool level outside the bucket. 

Step 3: Turn the pumps off and ensure the autofill is turned off for the durion of the test.

Step 4: Use a grease pencil to mark the water level on the inside and outside of the bucket. (The mark on the outside of the bucket indicates the pool level.)

Step 5: Turn the pump back on but ensure the autofill is still off.

Step 6: Do not use the pool/hot tub/spa for 24 hours

Step 7: After 24 hours, measure how much water has evaporated from the bucket and the pool. 

If more water has evaporated from the pool than the bucket, you have a leak and need to call Absolute Plumbing for a swimming pool leak detection. (Do not extend the test past 24 hours as this can cause inaccurate results)

Beware! You could still have a leak as this test only checks whether your pool’s water loss is due to evaporation. Smaller leaks may still be present in your pipes and pump system.

To keep your pool leak free, you will need the assistance of a registered plumber. Keeping a close eye on the signs of leaks and maintaining the plumbing is the only way to avoid costly leaks in your swimming pool, hot tub or spa.

Having a professional plumbing provider fix your pool pipes will save you money in the long run, as you may make costly mistakes during your swimming pool repair that may need professional intervention. 

Once we have determined that your leak is coming from one of your swimming pool pipes, we have two choices: either we will dig up and replace the pipe or use our no-dig solution and simply reline your pool pipes. 

Here are the benefits of relining your instead of replacing them:

• Save money: Relining your pipes can be up to 50% cheaper than replacing them.
• Save time: Pipe relining is up to 80% faster as we don’t waste time digging.
• Eco-friendly: Relining creates a stronger pipe leading to fewer leaks and saving precious water resources.
• No pipe is too big or too small: We can reline pipes from 75mm-1500mm in diameter.

Are you seeing air bubbles in your pump? Here is a quick way you can test if there is an air leak in your swimming pool pipe/pump that is affecting the functionality of your pump:

Step 1: Run a steady stream of water through your hose pipe

Step 2: Starting from the bottom, run water over your swimming pool pipes and fittings for 10 seconds, keeping an eye on the bubbles in your pump.

Step 3: If the bubbles disappear in your pump when the water runs over that spot, you have found an air leak.

Step 4: Don’t stop! You might have more than one leak, so keep moving up slowly and see if there isn’t another leak. *Remember to move from the bottom up*

Step 5: Call Absolute Plumbing to pinpoint and fix all leaks in your swimming pool pipes and fittings.

It may be tempting to try to fix your pool piping yourself, but it may cost you more in the long run. It’s best to get a professional out straight away as our team of plumbing experts may notice something that you would likely miss or an area that could become a problem in future.