The swimming pool industry sells swimming pool products that usually come with warranties.  In particular, regarding pool liner warranties, most people buy products with the incorrect belief that a warranty is also a guarantee that pool liners will not fail, when considering improper maintenance and other factors that no one has control of (like inclement weather and acts of Mother Nature).

In a nutshell, all swimming pool liners are just a piece of vinyl and they are not impervious to damage that includes holes, punctures, tears, faded spots, and wrinkled areas; all leading to possible pool liner failure.

The nuts and bolts of a pool liner warranty can be found, of course, in the fine print, which always states that the warranty is limited. However, the limitations are many. Meaning that most (or a very high percentage) of the time, the problem is not covered under warranty because of the limitations of the warranty.  In ground swimming pool liner warranties are very similar in nature to an above ground swimming pool liner warranty, in that the damage or problem that causes failure is almost always one of the limitations of the warranty.

On the other hand, one of the functions of the pool liner   warranty is to help with the situation that the pool liner does not hold water, immediately out of the box.  It makes sense that in most of these cases (except improper or faulty installation) the swimming pool liner was manufactured incorrectly, and as a result should be covered under warranty.

What does this mean for all swimming pool owners? Do not buy pool liners based on warranty.  They simply do not mean much.  Instead buy based on reputation, and of course price.  It is always good to remember that you (the pool maintainer) and Mother Nature are the reasons that swimming pool liners have a short life or fail.  This mentality will help guide you into better overall maintenance of your pool liner and swimming pool in general.