How to Fix a Dripping Tap
Working out how to fix a dripping tap starts with one question: which part inside has worn? A tap that drips after you close it has almost always failed at a washer, a valve seat or a ceramic disc cartridge, and the fix differs by tap type. Our Nundah plumbers handle these jobs every week, from interwar cottages with original two-handle taps to the mixers in the suburb's newer apartment blocks.
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Queensland law also decides part of the answer for you. One small repair is open to anyone with the skill, and the rest of a tap's working parts belong to a licensed plumber. Knowing which side of that line your drip falls on saves a wasted weekend and a wet vanity.
Is Your Tap a Washer Tap or a Mixer
Taps seal in one of two ways: a compression tap closes a rubber washer onto a valve seat, while a mixer tap usually seals with a ceramic disc cartridge. The washer rides at the foot of the spindle on a part called a jumper valve, and winding the handle presses it down until the flow stops. A mixer blends hot and cold at one lever, which normally moves a quarter turn.
The quick test takes a few seconds:
Washer tap
hot and cold handles of their own, each needing several full turns to close.
Mixer
one lever, usually a quarter turn, with a cartridge inside doing the sealing.
A drip means the sealing part has worn. Two other usual suspects sit nearby: an O-ring around the spindle, and a valve seat worn or pitted enough that a new washer cannot press flat against it. A mixer that seals with a washer instead of a cartridge counts as a washer tap for the rest of this page.
Can Anyone Replace a Jumper Valve or Washer
Yes, Queensland leaves the jumper valve or washer in a tap to anyone with the appropriate knowledge and level of skill. The QBCC lists that one job as unregulated work, so no licence, no approval and no report are needed, provided the work still meets the minimum standards set by the legislation and codes.
Every other tap repair stays with a licensed plumber. A ceramic disc cartridge does not appear on the unregulated list, and the QBCC's owner guide uses replacing a whole tap as its own example of work that needs a licence.
Before anyone touches a tap, the water needs isolating:
- close the tap's own isolation valve if it has one;
- otherwise shut the stop tap at the water meter.
Nundah's rental profile keeps this rule worth knowing. Renting dominates the suburb, so plenty of dripping taps here belong to tenants who should report the fault rather than attempt any repair themselves. The owner or manager holds the duty to keep the place in good repair, and a routine repair happens within a reasonable time of the tenant telling them.
Why a Small Drip Is Worth Fixing
A slow drip can waste thousands of litres of water over time. None of that water disappears from the bill, because the property owner pays for everything recorded on the meter, leaks included.
Urban Utilities offers a concealed leak adjustment, and leaking taps sit outside it. The adjustment targets hidden leaks in buried pipes, not water lost through a fitting that shows itself in the basin. A dripping tap is billed like any other use, so the loss lands on the owner every quarter until someone fixes it.
The suburb's stock makes the arithmetic matter more than you might think. Housing records describe Nundah as mainly interwar homes with worker's cottages among them, and those cottages often carry original two-handle washer taps that have been reseated or patched across generations. A drip left running in one of them costs the owner twice: the wasted water, and the seat wear that builds while it runs.
Why a Tap Drips After a New Washer
Three signs point past the washer: a drip that survives new parts, water showing at the handle or base, or a mixer that still drips from the spout. Each one points to a different worn part.
The likely culprits line up like this:
Valve seat
scored or corroded, so the new washer cannot seal against it.
O-ring or spindle seal
worn, letting water weep at the handle or base.
Loose connection
a fitting under the tap that needs re-seating by hand, not force.
Ceramic disc cartridge
worn inside a mixer, and the whole cartridge needs replacing with the correct model for the make.
Cracked or heavily corroded body
the tap itself has reached the end.
Repairing or replacing any of those parts is minor work for a QBCC licensee, with no permit and no Form 4. One habit makes all of them worse: forcing a tap shut. Extra pressure on the handle grinds the washer into the seat and wears both down faster, so it never cures a drip.
When to Call a Plumber
Call a plumber once the drip survives a washer swap, or whenever water shows anywhere other than the spout. Water at the base of a mixer can travel along an apartment bench and drip off the far edge. That is how a small O-ring failure becomes a complaint from the unit below.
Our tap repairs service covers washers, cartridges, seats and O-rings in one visit, with the parts diagnosed on the spot. A tenant who spots the drip should report it straight away rather than wait, since the repair duty sits with the owner or manager. Renters near Oxenham Park or the station tell us the same story: the tap dripped for weeks before anyone logged it, and the water bill told the tale first.
Dripping Tap Questions From Nundah
Call (07) 3524 7137Why does my tap keep dripping after I turn it off?
Something inside has worn out. Washer taps drip when the washer or the valve seat is worn, and mixers drip when the ceramic disc cartridge has failed. Forcing the handle shut grinds the washer and seat down faster, so the drip only gets worse.
How can I tell a washer tap from a mixer?
Count the handles and the turns. A washer tap has one handle each for hot and cold, and both wind several rotations to shut. A mixer works off one lever, normally a quarter turn, with the sealing done by an internal cartridge.
Who pays for the water a dripping tap wastes in Nundah?
The property owner pays. Urban Utilities bills every litre the meter records, leaks included, and the utility's concealed leak adjustment does not cover water lost through leaking taps. Tenants should report a dripping tap so the owner can arrange the repair.
What does it cost to fix a dripping tap in Nundah?
Two things drive the price: the tap type and which part has worn, and whether the valve seat or tap body is also damaged. We confirm the price in a fixed quote before any work starts, so nothing rides on the hour or the trip.
Call Us About the DripWe'll call you back.
Ring (07) 3524 7137 and tell us what's wrong. You get $0 call-out fees, a fixed quote before any work starts and same-day where we can, 7 days a week.
To claim your $0 call-out fee, call (07) 3524 7137 today.