Your pool is losing water. Is it a leak or just the sun doing its thing? You can find out with a bucket.

Fill a bucket about three quarters full with pool water. Set it on the second step so it’s sitting in the water. Mark the water level inside the bucket and on the outside of it, with tape or a marker. Leave the pump running as normal for a day, then compare. If the pool dropped more than the bucket did, you’ve probably got a leak. For a stricter version, repeat the test with the pump off.

Evaporation in a hot, dry area can run a quarter inch a day, sometimes more when it’s windy. Past that, pay attention.

Where do leaks hide? Skimmer throats, return fittings, the pump’s shaft seal, light niches, and old plumbing lines under the deck. Soggy grass near the equipment pad is a big clue. So is a pump that keeps losing prime, or tiles that seem to be shifting.

Resist the urge to just keep topping it off. You’ll dilute your chemicals, you’ll spend money on water, and if the leak is underground it can wash out the soil around the shell. That gets expensive in a hurry.

Leak detection is its own skill. Good techs use pressure tests and listening gear so they don’t dig up your patio on a hunch. A reliable california pools company will usually work from the equipment outward, because that’s where most leaks start.

Soil in the Central Valley moves more than people think, and old pipes and plaster pay the price. If you need pool repair Stockton CA, call sooner than later. Small leaks are cheap. Ignored ones are not.

Snap photos of wet spots and write down dates. It helps.