A dripping tap is one of those things that starts as a minor annoyance and gradually becomes impossible to ignore. That slow, rhythmic drip can waste a surprising amount of water, push up your bills, and leave stains on the sink or basin. The good news is that most dripping taps have straightforward causes, and many can be fixed without too much trouble. The question is whether you’re comfortable doing it yourself or whether it makes more sense to call someone in.
Here’s what’s usually going on, how to work out what type of tap you’ve got, and when it’s worth getting a plumber involved.
Why taps drip
Most tap drips come down to worn or damaged internal components. The exact cause depends on the type of tap, but these are the most common culprits.
Worn washers — This is the classic reason a tap drips, especially on traditional taps with separate hot and cold handles. The washer sits inside the valve and creates a watertight seal when you turn the tap off. Over time, it wears down, hardens, or gets torn, and water starts leaking through. If your tap needs more and more force to turn off properly, a worn washer is the likely cause.
Damaged O-rings — These are small rubber rings that sit around the valve stem or spout. If an O-ring perishes or gets displaced, you’ll often see water leaking from the base of the spout or around the handle rather than from the spout itself. Mixer taps are particularly prone to this.
Corroded valve seat — The valve seat is the part of the tap body that the washer presses against. If it gets corroded or pitted — often from limescale buildup in hard water areas like Teesside — it won’t seal properly, even with a new washer. You’ll replace the washer and the tap will still drip.
Worn cartridge — Modern mixer taps and ceramic disc taps don’t use washers. Instead, they have a cartridge or ceramic disc mechanism inside. When these wear out, the tap drips. Cartridges can last years, but once they go, they need replacing. You can’t usually repair them.
High water pressure — If your mains pressure is unusually high, it can force water past seals that would otherwise hold. This is less common, but worth checking if multiple taps in the house are playing up.
Limescale buildup — Teesside is a hard water area, and limescale can accumulate inside taps over time. It can damage washers, corrode valve seats, and interfere with ceramic disc mechanisms. If you’ve got older taps and you’ve never descaled them, this could be contributing to the problem.
How to identify the type of tap
Before you do anything, it helps to know what kind of tap you’re dealing with. The internal workings vary, and so does the fix.
Compression taps — These are traditional taps with separate hot and cold handles that you turn several times to open and close. Inside, there’s a washer that compresses against the valve seat. These are the easiest to work on and the most common in older properties across Teesside.
Ceramic disc taps — These have a single lever or two handles that you only need to turn a quarter or half turn. Inside, there are two ceramic discs that slide over each other to control the flow. They’re low-maintenance but harder to repair when they do go wrong, because you usually need to replace the entire cartridge.
Mixer taps — These combine hot and cold water in a single spout. They can use either washer or cartridge mechanisms. If it’s a single-lever mixer, it’s almost certainly a cartridge type.
If you’re not sure, have a look at how far you need to turn the handle. Multiple turns means compression. Quarter turn means ceramic disc or cartridge.
Can you fix it yourself?
It depends on the tap type and your confidence level.
Replacing a washer on a compression tap is a common DIY job. You turn off the water supply, remove the handle and headgear, swap the washer, and reassemble. You can buy tap washers for a couple of pounds from any hardware shop. If you’re comfortable using a spanner and following a step-by-step guide, it’s doable.
Replacing an O-ring is similarly straightforward, though you need to make sure you get the right size.
Ceramic disc and cartridge taps are trickier. The cartridge itself can cost £20–£50 depending on the brand, and you need to make sure you buy the exact replacement for your tap model. Getting the old cartridge out and the new one in can be fiddly, and if you’re not sure what you’re doing, it’s easy to damage the tap body or end up with a worse leak than you started with.
If the valve seat is corroded, that’s harder to fix. You can sometimes re-seat it with a specialist tool, but it’s not a common DIY repair. In many cases, it makes more sense to replace the entire tap.
If you’ve tried replacing the washer and the tap still drips, or if you’re not confident working with the plumbing, there’s no shame in calling someone. A good plumber will have the right tools, the right parts, and the experience to get it sorted quickly. See: Plumbing
When to call a plumber
Here’s when it makes sense to get a professional in.
The tap keeps dripping after you’ve replaced the washer — This usually means the valve seat is damaged or there’s limescale buildup that you can’t easily remove. A plumber can re-seat the valve or advise on whether the tap needs replacing.
It’s a mixer or ceramic disc tap — Unless you’re confident identifying and sourcing the right cartridge, and comfortable dismantling the tap, it’s easier to let a plumber handle it.
There’s limescale damage — If the tap is old and you can see or feel limescale buildup, it’s likely affecting the internal components. A plumber can assess whether descaling will help or whether the tap needs replacing.
The tap is leaking from multiple points — If water is coming from the spout, the base, and around the handle, there are probably several worn parts. At that point, replacing the tap is often more cost-effective than repairing it.
You’re not comfortable with the work — If you’ve never worked on taps before, or if the thought of turning off the water supply and dismantling the tap makes you uneasy, it’s worth paying someone to do it properly. A botched repair can turn a dripping tap into a flooding tap.
For professional help, see: Taps or Leak Repairs
What it costs
If you call a plumber to fix a dripping tap, you’re typically looking at £60–£120 depending on the complexity of the job and whether parts need replacing.
A simple washer replacement on a compression tap might be at the lower end of that range. A cartridge replacement on a mixer tap, or a job that involves descaling and re-seating a valve, will be closer to the higher end.
If the tap is beyond repair and needs replacing, budget roughly £80–£150 for a basic tap supply and fit, or £150–£300 for a decent quality mixer tap. The cost depends on the tap you choose and how much work is involved in fitting it. See: Bathroom Plumbing
The cost of ignoring it
A dripping tap might seem harmless, but it adds up.
A tap dripping once per second wastes around 15 litres of water a day. Over a year, that’s more than 5,000 litres — enough to fill dozens of baths. If it’s the hot tap dripping, you’re also wasting the energy used to heat that water.
On a metered supply, that will show up on your water bill. Even on an unmetered supply, it’s wasteful.
Beyond the water cost, a persistent drip can cause staining on sinks and basins, and in some cases can lead to more serious leaks if the underlying problem gets worse. If the valve seat is corroding or the tap body is wearing through, a drip today can turn into a more expensive repair tomorrow.
Final thoughts
Most dripping taps are down to worn washers, damaged O-rings, or limescale buildup — all fixable, but not always straightforward depending on the tap type. If you’re confident and it’s a simple compression tap, it’s worth trying yourself. If it’s a mixer tap, or if the problem persists after a DIY fix, calling a plumber is usually the quicker and more reliable option.
If you’d like help diagnosing or fixing a dripping tap, get in touch. We’ll sort it and make sure it’s done properly.