In the Sacramento area, plain evaporation swings hard with the season over a still, swim-free stretch: roughly a quarter inch a week in winter, climbing to about two inches a week at the height of summer, and more on hot, dry, windy days. If your pool drops noticeably faster than the norm for the time of year, or you are adding water every few days, it is likely a leak. The bucket test settles it: float a bucket of pool water on a step and compare how far the pool and the bucket each drop over 24 to 48 hours.

A detection specialist pressure-tests the plumbing lines, listens for escaping water with acoustic equipment, checks the equipment pad, and dye-tests the shell and fittings to pinpoint the exact leak before anything is opened up. The whole point is to locate it precisely, so nobody jackhammers a deck on a guess.

No. Down a Quart is a free referral directory, not a repair company. We match you with an independent, vetted leak-detection specialist. That independence is the point: because we do not sell repairs, we can tell you when it is only evaporation and you need nobody at all.

Most detection visits land in a few-hundred-dollar range, and the exact price comes from the independent pro you are matched with. Finding the leak first almost always costs less than the water, chemicals, and heat that a running leak wastes month after month.