Suprised by an empty pool

Hi
I have a 52 inch above ground pool and its still covered from our New England Winters. During the last few weeks we noticed the level of our pool decreasing slowly. Today, its completely empty. I had no idea because the cover was still on and I had the feeling that I should peak. The pool is only 7 yrs old. Has this ever happened to anyone? Could it be a repairable leak or do you think we are going to have to replace the liner. When I looked at it today, I noticed wrinkles I didn't see before. I did not notice a rip though. How do you even find the leak if its small?? Will sitting empty (but covered still) hurt the liner further??

Thanks so much for your help.

Karen

You need to find the leak and either get a new liner or fix it. The pool walls can be damaged by wind with no water in there to hold them up. Don't overlook plumbing if you have a drain.

Hi Karen, the news is probably not good. Any time a liner is left empty it shrinks and dries out. It is probably not usable. If the liner has only pulled away from the wall by a few inches and if you can patch the hole you may be able to refill on a sunny day.

Here is a trade secret for finding holes. Remove two top rails, coping and rods. Crawl in underneath the liner. The hole will look like stars. Automatic cleaners can cause the liner to look like the milky way from the underside. If it is an isolated, patchable hole, you will easily find that also.

Best of luck, Dennis

So Dennis, does this mean you're not a fan of automatic cleaners? I just bought one, darn.

Shelley

Shelly, I am actually a very big fan of automatic cleaners. I love my ladybug and I have also had very good results from the Barracuda line. I am sure it's been at least 20 years since I have hand vacuumed.

I treat them just like I do my children, never leave them unattended in the pool.

I don't like the pool stores that tell you to let the cleaner run whenever the filter does and you will never have to vacuum. Maybe not but you will be replacing your liner every year. Cleaners usually have a few spots where they tend to get lazy and spend a lot of time. Those are the places the holes will be. Imagine a cleaner spending ten hours vibrating in one spot, night after night.

I just recommend that cleaners be used when needed to clean the pool and that's all. Until you have watched the thing for a few weeks and are certain it will never stall in one place, just use it when it can be watched.

I have never been able to train one that good so I put it in the pool when I am doing yard work or swimming. That way I can check on it often and keep it doing it's job.

Hope this helps some, Dennis