Paradise Pool and Patio

Problems with Pool Liner: Replace or Repair?

Are you wondering if your vinyl liner will make it through another season? A new new replacement liner is costly, but sometimes you just got to bite the bullet and get a new liner. Here’s some advice for patching your liner or buying a new in-ground vinyl liner.

Shabby Pool liners

As the sun keeps shining on the lining of the pools, the bright colors lose their shine and become tacky. This is really noticeable above the waterline. The plastic color gets bleached out  by the sun and the liner doesn’t get cooled down by the water like the rest of the pool. Chlorine too can fade the lining; this occurs in localized areas if the chlorine levels stayed high for an extended period.

The fact remains that there is no available dye that you can put into the pool to brighten the color to the ones you had there before. Also pool liners don’t have a specific paint you could use to brighten up things. In order to make the appearance look better, a new liner is necessary.

Leaking Pool Liners

Leaks can also be found in a vinyl pool, and these leaks can continue after the lines are plugged; if this occurs, then know of a surety that the fault is from the vinyl but how do you know where exactly in the vinyl.

This is a difficult task; looking for the leaking point is like searching for needles in a haystack. The best action here is to look for the place where debris is stuck onto the vinyl when the water stabilizes.

A diver’s mask and a snorkel can be used to search the whole pool accurately. This should be done if the water is warm. Dye that is colored and placed in a small bottle can also be used; the testing areas should be cut out areas close to the steps, lights, and skimmers. The gaskets around plastic steps, skimmers and lights fail so this is a common area for a liner to leak at.   We can also find leaks in swimming pools. Normally it just takes an hour or two to find the leak or leaks.

If you find out the pool is leaking by the steps, skimmer, lights, etc then a new gasket or wall fitting could solve your problem. If the pool is leaking from the liner, continue to the next section.

Ripped or Torn Vinyl Liners

Tears that are of small length are quickly patched with a kit called the vinyl patch kit. These damages should not be more than 1-2 inches in length. Although tears that are large, up to feet can be patched with larger pieces of vinyl. This patch may last for a while, but the durability might be questioned. When budget allows, many persons would prefer to replace instead of repair or patch.

Patches would be useful and last longer when they are smaller, and the tear is not in a corner or close to the bead. But repairs are successful when the damage is on the wall, and the area of the tear is not too stretched. Dry patching is used if the tear is high up on the wall, but tearing close to the bottom or low on the wall, wet or underwater patching is used.

Old vinyl liners will rip off and not last long. This is because they would become tough and brittle and can snap off near the waterline.  The need to replace the liners because of small tears would not be overly necessary. But if the tears occur more frequently than it supposed, then you should consider getting a new pool liner.

Wrinkles in a Vinyl Liner

Several vinyl pools have creases in them, hence do not feel bad if yours have some wrinkles too. Sometimes wrinkles occur because of some error associated with installation due to miscalculation. Wrinkles can also be caused due to the erosion in the liner especially when the water is corrosive.

Wrinkles form weak spots in the liners and can be a point where snags can occur on the vinyl liner during cleaning. Several wrinkles can be a site for the growth of bacteria and algae.

Wrinkles can be made hard and rigid if they remain in under water for some time. Once it becomes hard, it may be impossible for the wrinkles to be removed.

Stained Pool Liners

The spring attracts some odd colors to the pool liners and the steps of the pools. In this case, the hue of the liner should be cleaned with chemicals.

Before now, the stains on a pool liner were difficult to remove. But with improvement, some chemicals can help renew your pool liner once it is stained. However, it may be time to change your pool liner. However first try using some pool chemicals to remove the stain. If it doesn’t work, then a new liner might be needed if the stain appearance is very bothersome.

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