A dripping tap is one of those jobs that gets ignored for months, right up until the water bill arrives or the limescale stain in the basin refuses to shift. The good news is that most drips come from a part costing a few pounds and can be sorted in under an hour with basic tools. This guide walks you through finding the cause, doing the repair, and knowing when it is worth handing over to a professional.
Before you buy anything, you need to know what is inside the tap. Older taps with a handle that turns several times to open have a compression valve with a rubber washer at the bottom. Taps that turn a quarter or half turn use a ceramic disc cartridge instead. Single lever mixer taps, common in kitchens and modern bathrooms, use a larger mixer cartridge that controls both flow and temperature.
Where the drip appears also tells you something. Water dripping from the spout when the tap is off usually means a worn washer or a failed cartridge seal. Water leaking from around the base of the handle or the body of the tap points to a worn O-ring or a loose gland nut rather than the seat itself.
Turn off the water first. Most homes built or replumbed in the last thirty years have a small isolation valve on the pipe under the sink or basin. Turn the screw slot a quarter turn with a flat screwdriver so it sits across the pipe. If there is no isolation valve, use the main stopcock, usually under the kitchen sink or near where the supply enters the house. Open the tap fully afterwards to release the pressure and confirm the water has stopped.
Put the plug in so nothing small disappears down the waste. Prise off the decorative cap on the handle, undo the retaining screw, and lift the handle off. On a compression tap you will then see a headgear nut, which needs an adjustable spanner. Hold the tap body steady while you turn, otherwise you can twist the tap and stress the pipework below.
On a compression tap, the washer sits on the end of the valve, held by a small nut or pushed onto a peg. Take the old one with you to a plumbers merchant so you get the right size. If the brass seat it presses against is pitted or rough, a new washer will not seal properly. A cheap reseating tool grinds the seat flat in a minute or two and is worth doing if the washer looks chewed up.
For ceramic disc taps, the whole cartridge comes out as one unit. Note whether it is the hot or cold side, because they are often handed and turn in opposite directions. Replacement cartridges cost roughly £8 to £25 depending on the brand. Mixer cartridges for lever taps are more variable, and branded ones from makers such as Bristan, Grohe or Hansgrohe can run to £30 or more, so take a photo and the make of the tap before ordering.
Around the Solent coast the water is hard, and limescale builds up on cartridge seals and inside tap bodies faster than in softer water areas. If parts are stiff or crusted, a soak in white vinegar for an hour will usually free them. Smear a little silicone grease on new O-rings and threads before reassembling so they do not bind next time.
Some taps are simply not worth fixing. If the chrome is flaking, the body is corroded or the tap is a budget model from a discontinued range, finding matching parts can take longer than the job itself. Very old taps can also have seized headgear that snaps rather than unscrews, which turns a small repair into replacing the tap and possibly the flexible connectors underneath.
If you have turned everything off and water still flows, the isolation valve has probably failed and needs replacing too. Similarly, if the drip returns within a few weeks of a new washer, the seat is likely damaged and needs reseating or the tap needs replacing. A plumber or maintenance firm will typically charge a call out plus the first hour, and a straightforward tap repair or swap for a like for like tap usually falls somewhere in the £60 to £150 range locally, depending on parts and access.
A tap dripping once a second wastes somewhere in the region of 5,000 litres a year. On a water meter that adds a noticeable amount to the bill, and on hot taps you are paying to heat that water as well.
No. Even on a compression tap, removing the headgear opens the supply and you will get a full flow into the basin. Use the isolation valve under the sink, or the main stopcock if there is not one.
The most common cause is a worn or pitted brass seat that the washer cannot seal against. Reseating the tap with a simple grinding tool usually fixes this, though on older taps replacing the tap is sometimes the more sensible option.
Call, email or WhatsApp a few photos of the job. We will come back to you with an honest opinion and a clear price.
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