How Do You Know If Your Pool Is Actually Leaking?
Every pool loses a small amount of water to evaporation, splash-out, and backwash — but if you find yourself topping off your pool more than an inch or two per week, something more serious is likely going on. For homeowners in Studio City, CA and the surrounding San Fernando Valley, a hidden pool leak can quietly add hundreds of dollars to your monthly water bill while simultaneously eroding the soil beneath your deck and damaging your pool's structural shell.
At Studio City Leak Detection & Repairs, we field calls every week from homeowners who waited months before realizing their water loss was a true leak rather than normal evaporation. The sooner you identify a leak, the less damage — and the lower the repair cost. Here are five warning signs that should prompt you to pick up the phone.
1. Your Pool Drops More Than 1/4 Inch Per Day
Normal evaporation in the Los Angeles basin typically accounts for about 1/4 inch of water loss per day during hot, dry, or windy weather. If your pool is dropping a half inch or more each day — or you're adding water multiple times a week — evaporation alone is almost certainly not the culprit. The simplest way to check is the bucket test: fill a bucket with pool water, set it on a step, mark both water levels, and compare them after 24 hours. If the pool drops significantly more than the bucket, you have a leak.
Our pool leak detection service uses professional pressure testing and electronic acoustic equipment to go far beyond the bucket test and pinpoint exactly where your pool is losing water.
2. Wet Spots or Soft Ground Around the Pool
If the grass or landscaping around your pool deck stays consistently wet even when it hasn't rained, or if you notice soft, spongy soil near the pool wall or equipment pad, water is escaping underground. This is a strong indicator of a plumbing leak or a shell crack that is saturating the surrounding soil. Left untreated, this can undermine your deck's foundation, cause settling, and create a serious safety hazard.
Our pool plumbing leak repair team handles underground PVC pipe breaks and fitting failures with targeted excavation — we dig only as much as necessary, guided by our acoustic detection equipment.
3. Cracks in Your Pool Deck or Waterline Tile
New or widening cracks in your concrete deck, or tiles popping off the waterline, can signal that shifting soil — often caused by a leaking underground pipe — is putting stress on the structure. Cracks in the pool shell itself are also a direct source of water loss. Not every crack leaks, but every crack deserves a dye test to find out.
We use dye injection to determine which cracks are actively drawing water before we recommend any repair. Learn more about our pool shell crack repair service for gunite, plaster, and fiberglass pools.
4. Your Pool Loses More Water Overnight Than During the Day
This is a classic sign of a skimmer or return fitting leak. When your pump is running, the suction at the skimmer can actually mask a crack by holding negative pressure at the joint. Once the pump shuts off, water flows freely through any gap in the skimmer body or the plaster bond around it. If your water level drops noticeably overnight but seems stable during pump hours, a skimmer inspection should be your first call.
Studio City Leak Detection & Repairs performs targeted dye testing and pressure isolation for exactly this scenario. Read more about our skimmer leak repair process.
5. Your Equipment Pad Is Always Wet
A perpetually damp equipment pad — around your pump, filter, or heater — is not just a backwash splash problem. Dripping unions, deteriorated pump lid o-rings, cracked multiport valve gaskets, and failing check valves all cause ongoing water loss that adds up fast. If you see mineral staining or rust streaks on your pad concrete, water has been escaping for a while.
Many equipment pad leaks are fixed in a single visit because our technicians carry common o-rings and gaskets on the truck. See our pool equipment pad leak repair page for details.
What Should You Do If You Suspect a Pool Leak?
Don't wait. The longer a pool leak goes undetected, the more damage it causes to soil, decking, plumbing, and your water budget. Studio City Leak Detection & Repairs serves homeowners throughout Studio City, North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, Sherman Oaks, and the broader San Fernando Valley, Mon–Sun from 8 AM to 6 PM.
Call us at +1 (747) 774-7208 or email [email protected] to schedule a same-day pool leak inspection. The sooner we find it, the sooner it's fixed.