- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time
- 45 minutes to 2 hours
- Parts
- $10 – $60
- To hire out
- $150 – $350
A dripping tap is a worn seal, not a broken tap. The part that has failed is usually a rubber washer or a cartridge, both of which cost a few dollars and sit an inch or two below the handle.
The awkward part is not the repair, it is identifying which of four tap designs you have, because they come apart differently. Get that right and the rest is straightforward.
How to tell this is your problem
- A drip from the spout when the tap is fully closed
- The handle has to be forced hard to stop the flow
- Water seeps from around the base of the handle when it is running
- Green or rust staining below the spout where the drip lands
Should you do this yourself?
Yes, with patience. The main risk is not the plumbing but the age of the fittings: a seized cartridge in a twenty-year-old tap can be genuinely stuck, and forcing it can crack the body. If the tap is old and cheap, replacing the whole thing is often less work than repairing it.
Stop and call someone if
- The shut-off valves under the sink will not close or weep when turned. That is the job now, not the tap.
- The tap body is cracked, or the base moves when you push the spout. Neither is repairable with a washer.
- Water is coming from the pipes below rather than the tap itself.
What you need
Tools
- Adjustable wrench
Wrap the jaws in cloth or tape so you do not mark the chrome.
- Screwdrivers, flat and Phillips
The handle screw is often hidden under a decorative cap you lever off with the flat one.
- Allen keys
Most single-lever taps use a small grub screw rather than a conventional screw.
- Penetrating oil
For fittings that have not moved in years. Apply, then wait - it does nothing if you spray and immediately pull.
Materials
- Cartridge or washer kit
Take the old part to the shop. Cartridges are not interchangeable between makes, and the closest-looking one is usually wrong.
- Plumber’s grease
A smear on the new O-rings. Petroleum jelly is not a substitute and degrades rubber over time.
Step by step
- 1
Identify the tap
Two handles that turn a quarter-turn: ceramic disc. Two handles that turn several times: compression, with a rubber washer. One lever that moves up and side to side: cartridge or ball. Knowing which decides what you buy and how it comes apart.
- 2
Shut off and protect the drain
Close both valves under the sink and open the tap to release pressure. Put a cloth in the plughole - the small screws and clips involved find drains with uncanny reliability.
- 3
Take the handle off
Lever off the decorative cap if there is one, undo the screw beneath, and lift the handle straight up. If it will not move, penetrating oil and ten minutes of patience beats levering, which snaps handles.
- 4
Replace the failed part
On a compression tap, undo the stem nut, lift out the stem, and replace the washer at its base. On a cartridge tap, remove the retaining clip or nut and pull the cartridge straight out, noting its orientation - fitted the wrong way round, hot and cold swap over.
- 5
Grease and reassemble
Smear plumber’s grease on new O-rings before fitting. Reassemble in reverse, tightening firmly but without force. Ceramic and plastic parts crack long before they feel over-tight.
- 6
Turn on slowly and check
Open the shut-off valves gradually rather than all at once - a sudden surge can dislodge a seat you have just seated. Run both hot and cold, check for drips at the spout and around the handle, and confirm hot is actually on the hot side.
Mistakes that cost money
- Buying a cartridge that looks right. Take the old one; manufacturers use dozens of near-identical designs that do not seal in each other’s bodies.
- Using petroleum jelly instead of plumber’s grease, which swells and degrades the rubber over a few months.
- Forcing a seized handle or cartridge. A cracked tap body turns a $15 repair into a $300 replacement.
- Repairing a tap that is not worth repairing. On a cheap twenty-year-old mixer, a new tap can cost less than the parts and time.
When to call a professional
Call a plumber if the shut-off valves are seized or weeping, if the tap body is cracked or loose at the base, if the drip continues after a correctly fitted new cartridge - which usually means a worn valve seat - or if you would be cutting into supply pipework to fit a replacement.
Hiring a plumber
What Ontario requires, how to verify it, and what the work should cost.