Chandler Pool Acid Wash Losing water: is it evaporation, or a leak?
Water loss is where Arizona pool owners most often assume the expensive answer. The innocent explanation is genuinely large here, so it is worth ruling out first, and it costs nothing.
The bucket test
The only reliable home test, because it measures your pool against evaporation in the same weather on the same day.
- Fill a bucket with pool water and stand it on a step so it sits partly submerged. This keeps the bucket water at pool temperature, which matters.
- Mark the level inside the bucket and mark the pool’s level on the wall or tile.
- Leave everything running normally for 24 hours. Do not add water and try not to swim.
- Compare the drops.
- Roughly equal → evaporation. Nothing is wrong. It is July.
- The pool dropped noticeably more → the difference is your leak.
If you get a leak result, run it again with the pump off. Much worse with the pump running points more toward the pressure side of the plumbing; the same either way points more toward the shell or fittings.
Why evaporation is so large here
High temperatures, very low humidity, strong sun on the water all day, and wind, all pushing the same direction. A Valley pool can lose a meaningful fraction of an inch a day through summer with nothing whatsoever wrong with it.
A cover changes this substantially, which is the practical answer if the volume of top-up water is what is bothering you.
The connection nobody makes
Evaporation removes water and leaves every dissolved mineral. Then you top up with hard Valley water, which brings more in.
Do that all summer without replacing any water and calcium hardness climbs steadily. That is the mechanism behind the white ring at the waterline, and it is why a partial drain and refill is legitimate maintenance in this metro rather than an admission of failure.
- Top up little and often. A lower level is a more concentrated solution.
- Test hardness at the end of summer, not just chlorine and pH.
When it is a leak
Get it found before spending anything on the surface. Common sources are the skimmer and its throat, light niches and conduit, returns and fittings, the plumbing, and cracks in the shell.
That is leak detection work rather than ours. Once a leak is fixed, a drain and clean or an acid wash makes sense, because you would be restoring a pool that will hold what you put in it.
What it costs
| Situation | What it needs | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Bucket test says evaporation | A cover and frequent top-ups | Nothing |
| Hardness high after a long summer | Partial drain and refill | Drain and clean $200 to $450 |
| Waterline scaled from concentration | Calcium and scale removal | $200 to $500 |
| Bucket test says leak | Leak detection, a different trade | Leak company quote |
| Leak fixed, plaster stained | Acid wash | $300 to $800 |
From the pricing page.
Get a quote
Run the bucket test first. If it says evaporation you have saved a service call, which is a result we are happy with. We cover Chandler, Gilbert, Sun Lakes, Ahwatukee, Tempe, and Ocotillo.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much loss is normal in summer?
More than most people expect. With high heat, very low humidity, full sun on the water and some wind, a quarter of an inch a day is unremarkable and more is possible. That is exactly why the bucket test matters: it compares your pool against evaporation happening in the same conditions at the same time.
How does the bucket test work?
Fill a bucket with pool water, stand it on a step so it is partly submerged, mark the level inside the bucket and the pool's level on the wall, leave everything running normally, and come back in 24 hours. Both drop by evaporation. If the pool dropped noticeably more, the difference is a leak.
Does water loss cause my calcium problem too?
It contributes directly. Evaporation removes water and leaves every mineral behind, so a pool that loses and is topped up all summer concentrates its calcium hardness, which is what drives waterline scale. Frequent small top-ups beat letting it fall several inches.
Do you fix leaks?
No. Leak detection and plumbing repair is a separate specialty, outside the drain, wash and restoration work we do, and a genuine leak should be found and fixed before anyone spends money on the surface.