Standard Pools & Spas
Standard pool and spa leak detection
Backyard in-ground pools and the spas that share their water, tested from Fair Play across upstate South Carolina. Call (864) 710-8636 for a phone consultation first.
Chapter 01
What gives out on a backyard pool and its spa
A standard in-ground pool loses water in a handful of places, and none of them announce themselves. The skimmer lines can break underground until the pump starts pulling air. A liner can take a puncture you will never see from the deck. A return fitting, a light niche or the union between pool and spa can weep at the joint. And the spa that shares the water gives it a second basin to leave from. One Aquatrace customer wrote that he "lost suction in both skimmer lines" and could not get anyone to help him locate the cause.
The signs are the same on almost every standard pool: you are constantly refilling, you are burning through chemicals, the water level drops for no reason you can name, there are wet spots in the yard or near the pool deck, or you find air in the pump or a visible crack. The rule of thumb we give callers in Fair Play and around Oconee County is that adding more than two inches of water a week may mean a leak.
Evaporation is why we measure before we dig. Plenty of pools only look like they leak in July.
Rectangular in-ground pool with a diving board and a concrete deck, a lake and pool house behind
How Aquatrace works a standard pool
The visit starts with water loss confirmation: a baseline reading against the day's evaporation index, and a final reading once the testing and any repairs are done. Then a reservoir inspection of the pool basin and the spa basin, so we know whether the loss is in the shell, the spa or somewhere in between. Chris Sears, our Founder, Trainer & Lead Inspector, runs that work himself.
After that the plumbing gets its turn. We pressure test the filtration system and the entire plumbing system, then run an audible survey with water, air and specialized listening devices to locate underground lines under the decking, without tearing up the deck to guess. Dye testing shows whether water is actually drawing out of a suspect fitting or crack. When the shell itself needs a look, Chris dives it with NAUI-certified SCUBA training and takes underwater photographs for the report.
Please have the covers off, the pool and spa clean and balanced, the water at its normal operating level and the areas to inspect free of obstructions. The full list is on the what-to-expect page, and the whole sequence is laid out on our process page. If you want to size up the problem first, the bucket test and evaporation calculator are on the do-you-have-a-leak page.
Chapter 03
The patch, the report and the promise
Simple epoxy and vinyl repairs are done on the visit at no additional charge with the service fee, and a digital copy of the findings report is emailed to you afterward.
Dennis Gray, a customer with an underground pool and a constant water loss, put it this way: "Aquatrace identified punctures in the pool liner during the inspection and patched them all up." Anything bigger than that is a different conversation. We consult with you, recommend the most cost-effective solution, and that usually points back to the pool's original contractor.
The guarantee is called No Find, Full Refund. If your pool is losing half an inch or more of water daily, with no heater running, and we fail to locate the source, you get the service fee refunded. If the pool keeps losing water after the first assessment, Aquatrace reserves the right to a no-cost revisit, such as an evaporation test. Leaks that start after our visit are not covered. To book a standard pool or spa in Fair Play, Oconee County or the surrounding upstate, call (864) 710-8636 or toll-free (888) 896-AQUA.
Aquatrace tests standard backyard pools and spas from Fair Play, SC, and across upstate South Carolina. Rates depend on the pool, so call (864) 710-8636 for a phone consultation, Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.