Patching a leak in a vinyl liner

[PoolDoc]

Dye checking for leaks MUST be done with the pump off, and with you moving VERY slowly. It's almost impossible to do leak checking holding your breath, because the movement from bobbing up and down does not stop till AFTER you run out of air, and have to stir things up again.

[CarlD]

Last year, for the first time, I was able to use the dye successfully. I found two holes, fairly far apart where I thought there might be one. I just let the dye sit in the pool with the plumbing off and me NOT in the water, so it was still, and it found the holes.

[JimK]

Dye checking for leaks MUST be down with the pump off, and with you moving VERY slowly. It's almost impossible to do leak checking holding your breath, because the movement from bobbing up and down does not stop till AFTER you run out of air, and have to stir things up again.

I did shut the pump off a couple hours before trying the dye test. I also tried to move real slow. The places I tested the dye seemed to just sit there without much movement.

I watch a few videos so I'd have an idea what to look for, but I didn't observe anything like I saw in the videos.

At this point I'm not too worried about it since water loss over the winter was only about 1/2" per month. I don't notice any unusual loss during the summer.

I also wonder if the leak is actually somewhere above the water line and water only leaks out when we get a heavy rain during the winter causing a lot of water to collect on the cover, causing it to sag, and displacing the water in the pool above the normal level. Btw, I don't lower the water level at closing, the idea being to help prevent the liner from floating (we're only 9ft above sea level). Plausible?