What do soap, shaving cream, and incense have in common? No, they aren’t things found in a well-groomed hippie’s carry-on
All three can be used to detect suction side air leaks in a pool
A quick explainer – suction side leaks are plumbing cracks that suck in air (instead of leak water) when the pump is running… breaking this vacuum seal is especially bad because Air in your system can cause pump priming problems, low water pressure, and circulation issues that lead to water chemistry chaos….
And that’s where our three air leak detectors come in.
Let’s start with shaving cream, with your pump turned off… lather up any suspicious glue seams or valve housings. Then turn on your pump. If the foam gets sucked in or you see noticeable divots, you probably found a leak.
When using the dish soap method, make sure it’s an extra foamy mix so you can spot any leaks as they bubble up.
If incense is more your speed, light a stick and hold the burning end around those likely leaky seams. If the smoke gets pulled in, you found your problem…Word of warning.. This method would be skipped on windy days…
And finally, if burning incense doesn’t work, switch to sage, and we can all hope the leak fixes itself.
But what about you? Do you have any pool troubleshooting tips or tricks? Let us know in the comments!.
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