Hidden water leaks in Lanzarote: what to watch for
Hidden water leaks are the worst kind. They tick along behind a wall or under a slab for months, and the first sign is usually a horrible quarterly water bill from Canal Gestión. By then the damage is done. Below is what Leakbusters Lanzarote actually looks for when we walk into a property — same checks you can run before you call us.
The water bill comparison
Canal Gestión bills are quarterly. Don't just glance at the total. Pull last year's bill for the same quarter and compare. A 20% jump that you can't explain by guests, a longer stay, a new pool, anything — that's worth a closer look.
We had a family in Puerto del Carmen ring us after their quarterly went from €180 to €420. Turned out to be a fractured supply pipe under the driveway. Volcanic substrate had shifted in a minor tremor a few weeks earlier and cracked the line.
The midnight meter test
Costs you nothing. Run it before you call anyone.
- Wait until late, when everyone's asleep and nothing is running
- Find your water meter — usually a ground box near the property boundary
- Write down the reading, every decimal
- Don't touch any water for 90 minutes
- Check again
If the numbers moved, water's going somewhere it shouldn't.
What to look for inside the house
Lanzarote's so dry that indoor damp is almost always a leak rather than weather.
Walls and ceilings: discolouration on a wall in a low-humidity house means moisture from inside the wall. Paint bubbling or wallpaper lifting in a specific spot is usually pipework behind.
Floors: a tile that suddenly rocks when you stand on it. Grout going dark in one area. Wooden floor that's gone springy underfoot.
Mould patterns: if one wall keeps growing mould while everything else is dry, the moisture has a source.
Outside the property
Walk the perimeter every few weeks.
- A patch of grass or weeds noticeably greener than the rest
- A spot in the garden that's permanently muddy
- Paving that's recently shifted or cracked
- Puddles forming when it hasn't rained
Listen at night
The island is quiet after midnight. Stand still in a room with the water off:
- A hissing or rushing sound near a wall
- A rhythmic drip where there's no tap
- Water movement in pipes when nothing's running
Pressure changes
A sudden drop across the whole property usually means a leak in the main supply line. A drop on one tap or shower is more likely a local issue with that fitting.
Why Lanzarote properties are vulnerable
Volcanic ground: the basalt and tephra below our feet shifts subtly with rare heavy rain or minor tremors. Pipes installed thirty years ago weren't designed to flex.
Construction era: a lot of the island went up between 1975 and 1995. That era used galvanised steel pipes that corrode from the inside, early PVC that goes brittle with age, and soldered copper joints that fatigue after thirty years of temperature cycling.
Water chemistry: desalinated seawater is fine to drink but has a slightly different mineral profile and pH to natural freshwater. Over decades it accelerates pipe degradation. There's nothing to be done about it except replace pipework when it's had its time.
What to do if you suspect a leak
- Take photos of the damp patches with dates
- Run the meter test over 48 hours
- Check under every sink and around the boiler for visible moisture
- Drop food colouring into the toilet cistern — if it shows up in the bowl without flushing, you've found a leaking flush valve
If the meter test says water is leaving the property and you can't see where, that's when you call a leak detection specialist. Same goes if you've had three quarterly bills climbing or if walls or floors are starting to show structural changes.
How professional leak detection works
Modern leak detection in Lanzarote uses three tools that find leaks without smashing into anything.
Acoustic sensors — listen for the sound of pressurised water escaping. Pinpoints leaks to within a centimetre or two through walls and floors.
Thermal imaging — picks up temperature differences caused by moisture behind plaster. Cold spots = wet plaster = leak.
Tracer gas — for the awkward ones, we pressurise the line with a harmless nitrogen/hydrogen mix. The gas escapes through any opening and detectors pick it up at the surface. Works through concrete.
The point of all three is the same: locate the fault precisely before anyone breaks any tiles or floor.
The maintenance angle
If your Lanzarote property is over twenty years old, an annual plumbing inspection is the cheap insurance against the kind of damage that takes a month and €5,000 to put right. Catching a slow supply leak in year one costs you a survey and a joint replacement. Catching it in year three costs you a screed, a floor, a ceiling underneath, and a battle with the insurer.
Leakbusters Lanzarote runs no-find no-fee surveys across the entire island. If you've spotted any of the signs above, give us a call and we'll come and look.