A dripping tap wastes anywhere from 15 to 90 litres of water a day and the constant plink is enough to drive anyone mad. The good news is that most drips come down to one small part that costs a few pounds and can often be swapped in under half an hour. Here is how we approach it on jobs across Newcastle and the wider North East, and how you can tackle it yourself.
Before you buy anything, identify the tap, because the fix depends entirely on what is inside it. Traditional taps that turn several times before the water stops use a rubber washer on a brass jumper. Modern lever taps that go from off to full flow in a quarter turn use a ceramic disc cartridge instead. Mixer taps in kitchens often use a single larger cartridge that controls both hot and cold.
In our experience around Tyneside, older terraces in areas like Heaton, Fenham and Wallsend still tend to have washer-type taps, while newer builds and refurbished kitchens almost always have ceramic cartridges. Water in the North East is mostly soft, so limescale is less of a culprit here than it is down south. Drips in this region are usually simple wear: a perished washer, a scored valve seat or a cracked ceramic disc.
Turn off the water first. Use the isolation valve on the pipe under the sink if you have one, giving the screw slot a quarter turn with a flathead screwdriver. If not, turn off the main stopcock, usually under the kitchen sink, then open the tap to drain the last of the water. Put the plug in the plughole so you cannot lose a screw down it.
Prise off the hot or cold cap on top of the tap head, undo the retaining screw and lift off the head. Undo the headgear nut underneath with an adjustable spanner, holding the tap body steady so you do not twist the pipework. At the bottom of the headgear you will find the washer, either pushed on or held by a small nut. Standard sizes are half inch for basin taps and three quarter inch for bath taps, and a pack of replacements costs around 2 to 4 pounds from any trade counter or DIY shop. Fit the new washer, reassemble in reverse order and turn the water back on slowly.
Quarter turn and lever taps cannot be re-washered. The whole cartridge needs replacing when it fails. The process is similar: isolate the water, remove the handle, then unscrew the cartridge with a spanner. The catch is that cartridges are not universal. Take the old one with you to match it, or note the tap brand and model, because an ill-fitting cartridge will leak worse than the original fault. Expect to pay between 5 and 25 pounds depending on the brand, with branded mixer cartridges at the top end.
One tip worth knowing: if a quarter turn tap drips and also feels gritty or stiff when you turn it, the cartridge is on its way out. Replacing it at that point saves you doing the job twice.
If the tap still drips after a new washer, the brass seat inside the tap body is probably worn or scored, which needs a reseating tool or a replacement tap. Corroded headgear nuts that will not budge, taps with no isolation valves, or a stopcock that is seized shut are also good reasons to stop and get help rather than force anything, because a snapped fitting turns a drip into a flood.
For a straightforward tap repair in the Newcastle area you would typically expect a plumber to charge somewhere in the region of 60 to 120 pounds including parts, depending on access and what is actually wrong. Replacing the whole tap costs more once you factor in the new tap itself, which can run from about 20 pounds for a basic pair to well over 100 for a quality mixer. If you are unsure, a quick phone call with a photo of the tap usually lets us tell you what the job involves before anyone comes out.
A slow drip wastes around 15 litres a day, while a fast drip can exceed 90 litres. On a water meter that adds up over a year, and a dripping hot tap also wastes the energy used to heat that water.
No. Even a small drip means the valve is holding back mains or tank pressure, and opening the headgear with the water live will soak the room. Always isolate the supply first and open the tap to confirm it is dead.
The brass seat the washer presses against is probably worn or scratched, so the new washer cannot seal. The seat can sometimes be reground with a reseating tool, but if the tap is old it is often more economical to replace it.
