How do I fix a dripping tap?
A drip isn't just annoying — it inflates your water bill and leaves limescale stains in the basin. It's also one of the easiest things you will ever learn to fix. Genuinely, it takes no experience.
The problem
Water drips from the spout while the tap is closed; or leaks from under the handle; or seeps from the tap's base onto the basin. Sometimes it only starts a minute after you close it, or gets worse when the water pressure is high.
Likely causes
A worn washer — older taps
In a two-handle tap (separate hot and cold), each handle presses a rubber washer onto a seat to close off the water. Rubber hardens and cracks with age, so water sneaks past. The cheapest part in your house.
A worn ceramic cartridge — modern mixers
In a single-lever mixer, a ceramic cartridge does the sealing. When it wears, or grit and limescale get into it, it starts to drip. The part is replaced as a whole unit — far easier than repairing it.
A perished O-ring
If the leak is from under the handle or the base of the spout while the tap is running (not from the spout itself), it's usually an O-ring. A rubber ring that costs pennies.
A scored or scaled valve seat
The metal surface the washer presses against can corrode or scale up. You replace the washer and it still drips. A seat-dressing tool fixes it — or the body needs replacing if it's badly gone.
Water pressure that's too high
An overlooked but real cause: excessive pressure wears out every washer in the house and causes pipe hammer. If your taps are all starting to drip one after another, get the pressure checked.
A clogged aerator
Not strictly a drip, but it gets confused with one: if the flow is weak or sprays everywhere, the aerator in the spout is furred up with limescale. It unscrews by hand and soaks clean in vinegar.
Fix it — step by step
- Shut the water off and block the drainClose the small isolation valve under the basin (clockwise). If there isn't one, close the main stopcock. Then open the tap to release the water left in the line. Stuff a cloth into the drain.Blocking the drain isn't optional — screws and small rings love to vanish down it.
- Photograph the tap before you dismantle itTake pictures from a few angles with your phone. When you're putting it back together, those photos will save you half an hour of guesswork.Lay the parts out on a towel in the exact order you removed them, left to right.
- Remove the cap and the handleThere's a small plastic cap on top of the handle (often red/blue). Prise it off carefully with a thin screwdriver — there's a screw underneath. Undo it and lift the handle off.If the handle is stuck with limescale, don't force it. Wrap it in a vinegar-soaked cloth for half an hour and try again.
- Take out the cartridge or valveUnder the handle you'll find either a large nut (older tap) or a retaining ring and cartridge (modern mixer). Undo the nut with an adjustable wrench, or pull the cartridge straight up.Some cartridges need a firm pull. Twist a quarter-turn first, then lift.
- Inspect the washer and O-ringsAt the bottom of the valve is a rubber washer held by a screw, and rubber rings around the body. Look at them: hardened? cracked? squashed flat instead of round? That's your culprit.Take the old part to the shop with you. The sizes are many and near-identical — matching by eye doesn't work.
- Fit the new partInstall the new washer or cartridge in exactly the same orientation. Smear the new O-rings with a little silicone plumber's grease (not oil, not petroleum jelly).A cartridge only goes in one correct way. Fit it backwards and hot and cold swap over — you'll know instantly.
- Clean the aerator in vinegarWhile you're at it, unscrew the aerator from the end of the spout (by hand, or with pliers wrapped in a cloth), soak it in white vinegar for an hour, and scrub it with an old toothbrush.This alone restores the pressure on a lot of taps — people blame the mains supply for it constantly.
- Reassemble, open the water slowly, and testPut everything back in reverse. Open the valve slowly, not all at once. Run the tap for a minute, close it, and watch it for ten. Dry under the basin with a cloth and come back to check for damp.Don't torque the nuts down with all your strength — over-tightening cracks plastic and crushes your new washer. Firm is enough.
Tools & parts you'll need
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When to call a professional
Call a plumber if: there's no isolation valve under the basin and the main stopcock is seized or won't fully close; the pipework under the basin is rusted or crumbles when you touch it; the tap is welded to the basin with limescale and won't budge; you've replaced the washer and the cartridge and it still drips (usually a damaged valve seat); or you find damp or mould in the cabinet under the sink (there's a second, hidden leak).
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Try photo diagnosisPeople also ask
How much water does a dripping tap actually waste?
One drip a second is tens of litres a day. Over a year a single dripping tap runs to thousands of litres — water you paid for, going down the drain. The part that stops it costs less than a cup of coffee.
How do I know if my tap uses a washer or a cartridge?
Two separate handles that screw round and round = usually a washer. One lever you lift and tilt = a cartridge. A handle that turns only a quarter-turn = ceramic discs.
I replaced the washer and it still drips — why?
Usually the valve seat (the metal the washer presses onto) has become scored or scaled, so a new washer can't seal against it. There's a cheap tool called a seat wrench/dresser to true it up — or the seat itself can be replaced if it's removable.
Water leaks from the base of the tap, not the spout
That's a body O-ring, not the washer. Lift the spout, replace the rubber rings around the body, and grease them with silicone. Completely different problem from a dripping spout.
Do I have to turn the water off for the whole house?
Not if there are small isolation valves under the basin — just close those. Most modern basins and bathrooms have them. If there aren't any, close the main and warn the household first.
I tightened the nut hard and the drip got worse
Classic. Over-tightening squashes the washer flat or cracks the plastic inside a cartridge. Undo it, check whether the washer has deformed (replace it), and reassemble firmly but gently.