Marlboro, NJ Pool Leak Case Study: Customer Didn’t Want to Wait 2 Weeks – 5+ Weeks Later, the Pool Was Still Leaking

The Problem: Losing 1-2 Inches of Water Every Day

A homeowner in Marlboro, NJ contacted Atlantic Pool Leak Detection because their swimming pool was losing approximately 1-2 inches of water per day.

When they first reached out to us, our next available appointment was approximately two weeks away.

With the pool losing that much water, the homeowner was anxious to get someone there sooner. Rather than wait for our appointment, they hired a local cleaning and restoration company that also offered pool leak detection services and could get to the property faster.

Unfortunately, trying to save two weeks ended up costing the homeowner more than five weeks of time, nearly $750 in leak detection charges, unnecessary excavation, and more than a month of continuously adding water to the pool.

When Atlantic Pool Leak Detection ultimately came to the property more than five weeks after the homeowner’s original call to us, the pool was still losing approximately 1 inch per day.

Two Broken Return Lines Were Found – But the Pool Kept Losing Water

The cleaning and restoration company arrived with their leak detection equipment and tested the pool’s plumbing. They determined that two underground return lines were broken.

That part of their diagnosis was correct. Both return lines did have underground plumbing breaks. So the homeowner plugged and shut off both return lines, completely isolating them from the pool.

But something important happened: The pool continued losing approximately 1 inch of water per day.

That should have immediately changed the direction of the investigation by the other company. The return lines were broken, but once they were plugged and isolated, they could no longer account for the pool’s continuing water loss.

There had to be another leak.

Three Visits, $750 & Multiple Incorrect Locations

Over the next several weeks, the company returned to the property a total of three times.

They attempted to pinpoint the underground breaks and marked multiple locations where they believed the return lines were broken.

Based on those locations, the homeowner dug up areas around the pool looking for the breaks.

They weren’t there.

Despite multiple attempts, the underground return-line breaks were not successfully pinpointed.

More importantly, the original problem the homeowner was trying to solve hadn’t changed at all.

The pool was still losing approximately 1 inch of water every day.

By this point, the homeowner had spent nearly $750, dealt with three service visits, excavated multiple areas and spent more than a month continually adding water to keep the pool at the proper level.

More Than Five Weeks Later, Atlantic Pool Leak Detection Came Out

More than five weeks after the homeowner originally contacted us, Atlantic Pool Leak Detection finally came to the property.

Remember why the homeowner chose the other company in the first place: They didn’t want to wait approximately two weeks for us.

Unfortunately, five weeks later, they had spent nearly $750 and countless hours dealing with the problem – and the pool was still losing an inch per day.

When we arrived, we knew the two return lines had failed testing. But we also knew that couldn’t explain the continuing water loss. If those lines were plugged and isolated and the pool continued dropping an inch per day, we needed to keep looking. Our job wasn’t simply to find something wrong with the pool. Our job was to find out where the water was actually going.

A Difficult Leak Was Hiding Inside the Skimmer

We thoroughly evaluated the pool and pressure tested the plumbing and ultimately located a very difficult-to-find leak inside the skimmer.

This was a completely separate issue from the two broken return lines.

And it explained what had been happening for the previous five-plus weeks.

Even with both broken return lines plugged, water was still escaping through the leak inside the skimmer.

We located the leak and made the necessary repair.

Then we waited to see what the pool would do over the next 24 hrs.

The Next Day, the Customer Confirmed the Pool Was Holding Water

The following day, the homeowner reached out to us:

“Looking fine, thanks.”

The pool was holding water.

After more than five weeks of dealing with the problem, three visits from another company, nearly $750 spent and multiple areas dug up looking for underground plumbing breaks, the leak responsible for the pool’s continuing water loss had finally been located and repaired.

The Two Return Lines Still Need to Be Addressed

The two return lines are broken underground, and those plumbing issues still need to be resolved.

Atlantic Pool Leak Detection will be returning to perform additional testing and attempt to accurately pinpoint the locations of those breaks so the necessary plumbing repairs can be completed. That’s an important distinction in this case.

The first company wasn’t wrong when they determined that two return lines were broken. The problem was that they stopped short of finding the leak that was actually allowing the pool to continue losing an inch of water every day. There were multiple problems with this pool.

Finding one problem wasn’t enough.

Pool Leak Detection Is a Specialty – Not Just Another Service

This case is a perfect example of why homeowners should look closely at who they hire to diagnose a swimming pool leak.

The homeowner hired a cleaning and restoration company that also offered pool leak detection. They arrived with leak detection equipment and correctly identified two failed plumbing lines. But owning leak detection equipment doesn’t make someone a pool leak detection specialist.

The equipment is only part of the process. Experience is what allows a technician to interpret the results, understand what those results mean in relation to the pool’s actual water loss, recognize when the findings don’t fully explain the problem and know when to keep looking.

At Atlantic Pool Leak Detection, pool leak detection isn’t one of many services we offer. It’s what we specialize in.

We work with swimming pool leaks every day. Difficult leaks, multiple leaks and situations where the obvious problem isn’t necessarily the only problem are exactly why experience matters. We have located over 5000 pool leaks.

In this case, two return lines were broken. But the pool was still leaking with those lines plugged.

The investigation wasn’t finished.

Waiting for the Right Company Could Have Saved Time & Money

There’s an important takeaway from this Marlboro case.

The homeowner originally contacted Atlantic Pool Leak Detection but didn’t want to wait approximately two weeks for an appointment.

Instead, they hired a company that could get there sooner.

Ultimately, more than five weeks passed before we came out and resolved the continuing water-loss problem.

During that time, the homeowner:

• Spent nearly $750 on the other company’s leak detection services. 
• Had technicians at the property three separate times. 
• Dug up multiple areas based on incorrectly pinpointed underground break locations. 
• Spent more than a month continually adding water to a pool losing approximately 1 inch every day. 
• Paid for all of that additional water. 
• Still ended up needing a pool leak detection specialist to find the leak responsible for the continuing water loss. 

Had the homeowner waited for the original appointment with Atlantic Pool Leak Detection, they potentially could have saved nearly $750 and avoided more than a month of frustration, wasted water, additional expense and unnecessary excavation.

Sometimes the company that can get there first isn’t the company that’s going to get you to the answer fastest.

When your pool is losing water, hire a reputable company that specializes in pool leak detection. Getting the right diagnosis the first time can save far more time and money than getting the earliest appointment.