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Pool water dropping faster than evaporation
You are topping the pool up more often than usual — a level that held for a week now needs water every few days, with no obvious change in the weather or how much the pool is used. In Dubai it is easy to blame evaporation, but a sudden change in the top-up pattern is usually a leak, and the sooner it is found the cheaper it is to fix.
Pool Maintenance
Normally scheduled. Equipment failures that would leave the pool stagnant are handled sooner.
Call nowRequest a leak check on WhatsApp01LIKELY CAUSES
What usually sits behind this symptom, and what tells one cause from another.
Evaporation misread as a leak
A bucket test shows the pool and a control bucket lose the same amount, so the drop is evaporation, not a leak.
Leak in the shell, fittings or light niche
The pool loses measurably more than the control bucket, and dye testing or pressure testing brackets the source.
Leak on the equipment pad or backwash line
Water loss with the pump running, or a wet pad, waste line or backwash discharge when the system is on.
Leak at the skimmer or return fittings
Dye testing around the skimmer mouth or a return fitting draws the dye in, showing water leaving through the joint rather than the shell.
02BEFORE ANYONE VISITS
What you can safely check.
- Run a bucket test: a bucket weighted on the step, filled to the same level as the pool, shows whether the pool is losing more than evaporation.
- Note whether the drop is faster with the pump running or when it is off.
- Check the equipment pad, the waste line and the backwash line for any wetness.
- Mark the level and watch it over 24 hours with the system off before calling anyone.
03WHAT WE MEASURE
We start with the bucket test to separate evaporation from a real loss, then narrow it by running the system on and off and watching the drop. We dye-test around returns, lights and fittings, and pressure-test the pipework where the pattern points at the circulation side rather than the shell.
04IN A VILLA
Villa pools lose water to evaporation, splash-out and the occasional backwash, which masks a slow leak for a long time. But a villa pool also has more pipe run between the equipment and the pool, and more fittings and features along the way, so a leak is as likely to be in the circulation as in the shell — which is why we test the system before anyone starts breaking out a finish.
05THE FIX
Which repair, and when.
A slow leak is a slow bill — the water you keep adding, plus whatever the escaping water is doing to the surrounding ground or the equipment pad. Left long enough, a small leak can undermine the deck or wash out the bedding under the pipework.
Confirm evaporation and adjust top-up habits
The bucket test shows the loss is evaporation, not a leak.
Repair the leaking fitting or line
Dye or pressure testing locates the leak in a return, light, skimmer or pipe.
Reseal or patch the shell
The leak is confirmed in the shell finish itself, quoted once located.
06WHAT DECIDES THE FIX
The same symptom can lead to different repairs. These are the things that decide which way it goes.
- What the bucket test shows — a pool and control bucket losing the same amount is evaporation, not a leak.
- Whether the drop changes with the pump — a loss that appears only when the pump runs points at the circulation, not the shell.
- Where the dye is drawn in — returns, lights, skimmers and fittings each have their own fix.
- The length and age of the pipe run — more buried pipe between equipment and pool means more places a leak can hide.
- The condition of the equipment pad — a wet pad or waste line is a cheaper fix than a leak under the deck.
- Where the loss shows itself — a drop that appears only with the pump running is usually circulation, which is often cheaper to reach than a shell leak.
07HOW A VISIT GOES
What to expect when we come out, and why the order matters.
Run the bucket test
A weighted bucket is compared with the pool over a set period to separate evaporation from a real loss.
Watch the level with the pump on and off
Running the system both ways shows whether the loss is on the circulation side or the shell.
Dye-test fittings and lights
Returns, skimmers, lights and fittings are tested to see where water is being drawn out.
Pressure-test the pipework
Where the pattern points at the circulation, the lines are tested to bracket the leak.
Repair and re-check the level
The leak is fixed and the level is watched again to confirm the loss has stopped.
08KEEPING IT FROM RETURNING
Once it is fixed, these steps make the fault less likely to come back.
- Run a bucket test before assuming a top-up pattern means a leak.
- Watch the equipment pad for wetness that appears only when the pump runs.
- Note any change in how much you top up, and over how many days.
- Keep the level above the skimmer so the pump never runs dry while you investigate.
- Have fittings and lights checked at the same time as any liner or tile work.
- Keep a simple record of top-ups, because the pattern over weeks is the first thing that reveals a slow leak.
09Typical villa pool servicing
Quoted per visit or on a regular schedule
Depends on pool volume, equipment set and visit frequency. Equipment repairs are separate and quoted after inspection. We do not carry out pool construction or full renovation.
10QUESTIONS
- How much loss is normal?
- It varies with heat, wind and use, which is why the bucket test matters — it compares the pool against a still-water control and tells you whether the loss is real.
- Should I keep topping it up?
- Keep the level above the skimmer so the pump does not run dry, but track how much you are adding and over how many days — that record is useful.
- Do you have to drain the pool to find a leak?
- Not usually. Most leaks can be bracketed and dye-tested with the pool full; draining is rarely needed just to locate one.
- Does a higher water bill always mean a pool leak?
- Not always. A leak is one cause, but evaporation, backwashing and splash-out all add water too. The bucket test is what separates a real leak from everything else.
- How fast is a slow leak, in real terms?
- It varies, but a change in your top-up pattern is the signal. If you are adding water every few days instead of weekly, something has changed and is worth testing.
- Is a pool leak an emergency?
- Usually not, unless water is visible on the equipment pad or undermining the deck. But the longer it runs, the more water and damage it adds, so it is worth scheduling.