Common plumbing repairs and their causes

Dripping taps

A tap that drips after it is turned off usually has a worn washer on older taps, or a worn ceramic cartridge on quarter-turn and mixer taps. Drips from the base of the spout or round the handle point instead to a failed O-ring or seal. All of these are part replacements rather than new taps, as long as the parts are still available.

Before any tap repair, the water to that tap must be isolated. If there is no isolation valve under the sink, fitting one at the same time makes every future repair easier.

Leaks under sinks and basins

Water in the cupboard under a sink is most often a compression joint that has worked loose, a flexible tap connector that has started to weep, or a waste trap whose washer has hardened. Dry the pipes with kitchen roll, run the tap and watch where the first drop forms; that tells you whether it is the supply or the waste.

A leaking waste only drips when water is draining. A leaking supply pipe drips all the time, even with the taps off, and should be isolated straight away.

Other frequent faults

• Toilets that keep running: usually the fill valve or flush valve seal
• Low pressure at one tap: often a blocked aerator or partly closed valve
• Slow wastes: hair and soap build-up in the trap or the first run of pipe
• Banging pipes when a tap shuts: loose pipe clips or fast-closing valves
• Damp patches on ceilings below bathrooms: failed sealant or a tray or waste leak
• Stiff stopcocks that will not turn: worth replacing before you need them

When to call a plumber

Simple checks, like cleaning an aerator or tightening a trap by hand, are fine to try. It is worth calling us when a leak is on the supply side, when water has reached the ceiling below, when a fault keeps returning, or when the repair means cutting into pipework or lifting tiles.

We work Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. If water is escaping outside those hours, turn off the stopcock and contact us when we are open. Quotes are free and without obligation.

Small habits that prevent repeat repairs

Many of these faults come back for the same reasons. Turning taps off hard crushes washers and wears cartridges faster, so close them only until the flow stops. Hair catchers on shower and bath wastes cut down slow drains far more effectively than chemical cleaners, which can damage older traps.

Once a year, turn every isolation valve and the main stopcock off and on again so they do not seize, and look under sinks and around the toilet for any sign of damp. Replacing sealant as soon as it cracks or blackens also stops water tracking behind baths and trays, which is one of the most common reasons for a stained ceiling below a bathroom.

Outside this service

Where we cover

We carry out plumbing repairs across Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Malvern, Ledbury, Newent and Ross-on-Wye.

Related: plumber near me, toilet repair, leak and drain repairs, bathroom maintenance.

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