Pool Liner Cave Ins

by Jenny Neider
(Boise ID)

How do you fix where your pool liner has made a divot, or hole along the inside, the edge of pool? While in the pool I can fit my entire foot in one and the other is about 8 inches wide by 3 feet long. Any ideas, anyone actually had this problem?

Hi Jenny

This happens a lot so yes, others have had this problem. Your first concern is whether or not the vinyl liner is touching the bottom rail or footplates. Anytime the liner is resting on metal I recommend draining and fixing ASAP. Once the pool cove has washed out, even the smallest tear can rip into a big tear and drain the pool in minutes.

If the depressions are not leaving the liner on metal you have the choice of fixing now or waiting until the swimming season is over. Either way, it should be fixed.

To fix it you need to drain the pool down to just a few inches. You then remove about six rails and release the liner. Someone should be in the pool holding the liner back while someone else is making repairs to the sand base by adding more sand and smoothing.

If you drain the pool completely the liner will shrink and you may not be able to use it again, leaving some water in the bottom prevents this.

It is also a good idea to try and determine why this is happening. Ants can do this and so can gophers. Knowing the cause will help you prevent it from happening again.