Does your pool lose water at an excessive rate? Fortunately, you might not have a pool leak but rather rapid evaporation.

So, how much evaporation is normal for a pool? Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about pool evaporation. With a 40-year history of commercial pool deck resurfacing and other pool maintenance and repairs, AquaGuard 5000 knows how to keep your pool in top condition.

Table of Contents hide

1 Determining the Rate of Evaporation

2 What Affects Pool Evaporation?

3 Preventing Evaporation in Your Pool

4 Contact AquaGuard 5000 for All Your Pool Repair Needs

Determining the Rate of Evaporation

On average, a pool loses about a quarter inch of water every day. If you believe your pool loses water at a higher rate, you can run an evaporation test. The “bucket test” uses the following process:

Find a bucket.
Set it on a step in your pool and secure it with a heavy rock at the bottom.
Fill the bucket with water until it reaches the same level as the pool. Mark the level inside the bucket with a permanent marker or waterproof tape.
Let the bucket sit overnight and check the water levels in the morning.

If you have a bucket and the pool losing water at the same rate, your problem is evaporation rather than a leak. You can measure the water loss in the bucket to determine how many inches evaporated. Under extreme circumstances, up to three inches of water can evaporate overnight.

What Affects Pool Evaporation?

If you’re wondering, “How much evaporation is normal for a pool?” you should know what affects the evaporation. The following environmental factors can lead to your pool losing more water.

Humidity: The more humid the air, the less water it can hold. If you live in a dry climate, your pool water evaporates more quickly.
Wind: As the window blows over water, it picks up some of the molecules and steals them from your pool. If you live in a coastal or mountain location, you’ll see your water evaporate faster than in other locations.
Sunlight: The most significant cause of evaporation is sunlight. As the sun heats the water, it turns into vapor and rises from your pool. Pools in sunny locations or in direct sunlight have less pool water efficiency.

Preventing Evaporation in Your Pool

The largest pools, under the most excessive conditions can lose up to 10,000 gallons of water over a year. This costs you significant money to fill your pool, so it’s best to prevent water loss as much as possible. Installing a pool cover can prevent most of the evaporation, saving you money over time.

Pool covers come in three options:

A solar cover is an affordable option but requires the most manual labor.
A liquid cover is a spray chemical that forms an invisible barrier once the water settles.
An automatic safety cover is more expensive but covers the pool with the flick of a switch.