i really can't afford this pool repair, darnit

June 6, 2011 4:04 PM

Uh oh. Our pool seems to have sprunk a leak. Now what? Need ideas for identifying the leak and/or what? Re-lining the pool?

Our in-ground pool is suddenly losing a lot more water than we're used to. Some facts:

-- It's an older pool. We moved in 15+ years ago and it wasn't new then.
-- The temperature hasn't been very hot around here lately. We're used to a certain rate of evaporation during the hottest summer months, but that doesn't apply right now.
-- The only thing that we changed recently was installing a different solar cover. We had always used the typical blue-colored plastic-ish cover. When the latest one wore out we purchased a new-fangled clear-ish cover that is noticeably thicker than the previous cover. Would this affect the rate of evaporation? I'm thinking no, since it covers the entire pool. And the pool water itself isn't that warm -- to be expected at this time of year.

The hard part is that we can't see any obvious leaks. So, any thoughts about that?

How about repairs? What kinds of options are there? Money is tight, so this is not the time for "hey, let's re-do the entire pool area and make it really fancy!" What would be the minimalist way of handling this?

And lastly, if you have any LA-area recommendations, please send them along.

Thanks.

posted by BlahLaLa to Home & Garden (2 answers total)

if you can find the leak there's a product out there called JB Waterweld that I used to fix a cracked toilet. Although I drained and dried it, the specs say it can cure underwater.
posted by any major dude at 6:51 PM on June 6, 2011

Have you checked all the piping in the filter system and such? I'm no pool expert, but plumbing is notoriously delicate.
posted by anaelith at 6:10 AM on June 7, 2011