The Bucket Test: Is it evaporation or a leak?
Often in the spring and fall when the nights are cool and your pool is heated you will lose water due to evaporation.
There is a way to test if it is evaporation or a leak. The way to do this is called a bucket test. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Take a large empty ice cream bucket or something similar in size, fill it with your pool water (not garden hose or other type of water – as it must contain the same amount of salt and chemicals as your pool water)
2. Place the bucket on a step in your pool, where the bucket will have the same water level in it as on the step of the pool (both the water in your pool and on your step must be exactly the same level)
3. Leave the bucket overnight. Make sure no one uses the pool at this time.
4. In the morning check the water level in the bucket and in the pool. If the levels are the same it is evaporation. If the water in the pool is lower than in the bucket you may have a small leak.
Evaporation occurs more significantly when your water is heated and the nights are very cool.
Please let me know if your pool fails the bucket test.