Evaporation in the Wintertime

Can water evaporate in the winter? YES IT CAN! 

Many think that when fall and winter come that they will be safe from water evaporation, but that is not always the case. It doesn’t have to be a high temperature summer day to notice your pool water getting low. You may notice when you get a sample from your pool water to test that it is unbearably cold right now. Well, the colder your pool water becomes, the pressure difference between your water and the air outside grows significantly which speeds up the process of evaporation. Fall and winter can bring dry, low-humidity air and wind which you also must factor into the speed of evaporation. Will water evaporate with a winter pool cover? Yes, while the cover will minimize how much water evaporates, it still happens. 

When you are on your way to work in the morning, have you ever noticed a low-lying fog over a grass field? That is the pressure difference between the frost on the grass and the air temperature outside, which causes evaporation. The same thing happens to your pool. You may look outside in your backyard early in the morning and see the same fog rising off your pool water which affects your pool water level. Just like the summer, a ¼ of an inch to ½ an inch (depending on the weather) is normal water loss due to evaporation. If you are losing more than a ½ an inch a day, try a bucket test or mark your skimmer with a piece a tape and measure how much water you lose over a 24-hour period. If not, then just add water when needed and be assured that water evaporation during the winter is completely normal and expected.
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Suspect a leak? Call us and schedule a service call. 901-754-7058