Pool Leak Detection, Miami-Dade & Broward

Technician performing electronic pool leak detection on a pool deck

Losing water faster than evaporation?

A quarter inch a day adds up fast — on your bill, in your chemistry, and eventually in the soil under your deck. We use electronic listening and pressure testing to pinpoint where the water is escaping, whether it's the shell, a return line, a skimmer throat, or a light conduit.

Pinpointing first means we open only what has to be opened. You get photos, a clear explanation, and a repair quote before any work starts.

What's included

Bucket test and water-loss measurement
Electronic listening survey
Pressure testing of return and suction lines
Skimmer, light, and fitting inspection
Dye testing of suspected cracks
Written findings with photos
Repair performed by our own crew

Get a Free Quote Call (954) 691-6742

Do you actually have a leak?

Signs your pool is actually leaking

Any one of these on its own can have another explanation. Two or more together almost always means a real leak.

You are adding water more than once a week

Topping off is normal in August. Topping off every few days, in every season, is not - and auto-fill valves hide it completely, which is why the first sign for many owners is the water bill.

The water bill jumped with no change in habits

A pinhole in a pressure-side return line can move hundreds of gallons a day without ever showing at the surface.

Chemistry will not hold

Constant fresh water dilutes stabilizer and chlorine and drives hardness around. If your chemistry resets itself every week, you may be treating a leak rather than a chemical problem.

Soft, sunken, or always-damp decking

Water escaping a buried line washes out the fill beneath the deck. Cracked or settling pavers near the equipment pad are a classic tell.

Air bubbles from the returns

Air coming back into the pool means the suction side is drawing air in somewhere - a leak that runs backwards, and one that will burn out a pump seal if ignored.

The water stops at one particular level

If loss halts at the skimmer throat or the light niche, that is where to look. A pool that keeps dropping past the returns is usually a shell or main drain issue.

Our method

How we find it - without tearing up your deck

Pinpointing first means we open only what genuinely has to be opened. You get photographs, a plain explanation and a repair price before any concrete is touched.

Measure the actual loss

We start with a bucket test and a measured water-loss rate over a set period, with the pump both running and off. Loss that only happens with the pump running points to pressure-side plumbing; loss that happens either way points at the shell or a fitting.

Pressure-test the plumbing

We isolate and pressurise the suction and return lines one at a time. A line that will not hold pressure is a line with a hole in it, and the drop rate tells us roughly how big.

Listen electronically

Pressurised water escaping underground makes a distinctive sound. Electronic listening gear tracks it through deck and soil to a spot rather than a general area, which is the difference between one small opening and a demolished patio.

Inspect fittings and the shell

Skimmer throats, return eyeballs, light conduits, main drains and the tile line get checked directly, with dye testing on any suspected crack to confirm flow before we call it.

Report, then repair

You get written findings with photos and a quote. If you approve it, our own crew does the repair - we do not hand you off to a subcontractor and disappear.

Common causes

What we find, and what it takes to fix

Return and suction line leaks
Usually a cracked fitting or a pinhole from ground movement. Repaired by exposing one small section, or by rerouting the line if the run is beyond saving.
Skimmer throat separation
Extremely common in older South Florida pools - the plastic skimmer pulls away from the concrete shell. Sealed from inside without draining in most cases.
Light niche and conduit leaks
Water escapes through the conduit behind the fixture. Often repairable with a niche seal rather than a full deck opening.
Shell and plaster cracks
Confirmed with dye testing, then patched or, for structural cracking, staple-and-seal repaired. Not every visible crack actually leaks.
Main drain and hydrostatic valve
Harder to reach and worth confirming carefully, because the fix is more involved. We rule out everything cheaper first.
Equipment pad leaks
Pump seals, filter unions, valve bodies and heater connections. The good news: these are visible, above ground and usually the cheapest to fix.

Try the bucket test before you call

It takes five minutes and it tells you whether you have a leak or just Florida evaporation. If it comes out clean, you have saved yourself a service call.

1Fill a bucket with pool water and set it on the second step so the water inside and outside are level.
2Mark the water level inside the bucket and outside on the pool wall, using tape.
3Leave the pump running normally and wait 24 hours, with no swimming and no backwashing.
4Compare the two marks. If the pool dropped more than the bucket, the difference is your leak - evaporation affects both equally.
5Repeat with the pump off. More loss with the pump running points at the pressure side of the plumbing.

Losing water? Call (954) 691-6742

Service area

Pool leak detection in every Miami-Dade and Broward city

We find leaks in pools and spas across Miami-Dade and Broward, from pool leak detection in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach to Davie, Kendall and Aventura. Pick your city below.

Miami-Dade County

Broward County

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Leak detection FAQ

What pool owners ask us about leaks

How much does pool leak detection cost in Miami-Dade or Broward?

It depends on the size of the pool and how much plumbing has to be isolated and tested, so we quote it before we start rather than after. What we will not do is charge you for a full survey when a five-minute look at the equipment pad finds a weeping filter union. Call 954-691-6742 and describe what you are seeing and we will tell you honestly what it is likely to involve.

Do you have to drain my pool to find the leak?

Almost never. Pressure testing, electronic listening and dye testing are all done with the pool full. Draining a pool in South Florida is genuinely risky because the water table is high and an empty shell can float or crack, so we treat draining as a last resort rather than a starting point.

Will you have to break up my deck or patio?

Only where the leak actually is, and only after we have pinpointed it. The entire reason for electronic listening and pressure testing is to avoid exploratory demolition - we would rather open one square foot in the right place than ten in the wrong one.

How long does leak detection take?

Most residential jobs are a single visit of a few hours. Water-loss measurement needs a period with the pump off, so occasionally we do the measurement one day and the survey the next. Larger commercial and condo pools with more plumbing runs take longer.

Is a quarter inch a day normal?

Roughly, yes - a quarter of an inch a day is typical South Florida evaporation, more in peak summer heat and wind, less in cooler months. Consistently losing half an inch or more a day is worth investigating, and an inch a day is a leak until proven otherwise.

My pool only leaks when the pump is running. What does that mean?

That points at the pressure side - the return plumbing that pushes water back into the pool. Those lines are only under pressure while the pump runs, so the leak effectively switches on and off with it. It narrows the search considerably and is good news, because it usually means the shell is fine.

Can you repair what you find, or do I need another company?

We repair it ourselves. A&V is a licensed pool contractor - CPC1456836 - so the same crew that locates the leak does the plumbing repair, the skimmer seal or the shell patch. You get one point of contact and one warranty.

Do you do leak detection for condos and HOA pools?

Yes, and it is a significant part of our commercial work. Shared pools lose more money to leaks than private ones simply because they are bigger and heated more. We provide written findings with photographs that a board or property manager can put in front of owners to justify the repair.

Find the leak before it finds your deck