So your swim season is in full gear, the water is fresh and clear, you’ve had some successful swimming pool parties and you’ve got some more planned before the end of the season. But then one day you notice that the water level of your pool is a lot lower than it should be – even taking into account any water evaporation. You probably don’t want to admit it, but it looks like your pool liner has a hole. This is something you want to fix as soon as possible. The longer you leave it more likely the liner will fail completely. So, to help you out we’ve created a guide of how to patch above ground pool liner. Read on…
Find the Leak
Finding the leak can often be harder than noticing you even have a leak. If it isn’t readily apparent, you’ll have to perform an ink test. If the water level has stopped dropping, you can be relatively sure that the leak is near the water surface. If it’s still going down, you’ll have to expand your search. Fill a syringe with leak finding dye and carefully squirt it to where you think the leak is. If a leak does exist in the area, you’ll see the dye move towards it. This can be a long and painstaking process, but it’s absolutely necessary unless you want to completely replace your liner.
Patching the Leak
There are a few different ways to patch a liner leak. The simplest is best for the smallest of leaks or for temporary repairs. All this requires is some waterproof tape. In fact, if you own a pool, it’s probably a good idea to have some of this on hand. Its adhesive will still work underwater, and you can always use more if necessary. If you’re looking for something a little more permanent, you can invest in some peel and stick patches. These are likely to last longer than waterproof tape and are less likely to fray or peel away. If you have a large hole you might want to invest in a vinyl patch kit. These typically come with large pieces of vinyl which you cut down to size and apply with a tube of adhesive that can be used underwater. Many of these kits also come with some PVC to patch the outside of the pool as well.
Dry Patching
It’s best not to drain your pool completely if at all possible. If the leak is near the top of the pool, you might consider dry patching it. But if the leak is at or near the bottom, it’s not worth your while to drain the water to get to it with a dry patch. If liner dries out or is exposed too long to UV rays it’ll become brittle and prone to cracking. Therefore, it’s recommended to stick to wet patching unless the hole is near the top of the pool.
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