How to Repair a Leaking Tap in Dagenham

Published July 2026 | Leaking Tap Repair

This guide covers everything you need to diagnose and fix a dripping or leaking tap in your home, from identifying the cause through to replacing worn washers, O-rings, and cartridges. It's written for homeowners in Dagenham and the wider Greater London area who are comfortable doing light DIY and want to sort the job out themselves before reaching for the phone.

A leaking tap is not just an annoyance. A tap dripping once per second typically wastes around 5,500 litres of water per year, and if you're on a water meter that adds up on your bills. The good news is that many tap leaks can be fixed in under an hour with basic tools and a few pounds' worth of parts. This guide will help you work out what type of tap you've got, what's likely causing the problem, and how to fix it properly.

Before You Start - Safety First

Before you touch anything under the sink or near the tap, you need to isolate the water supply. This is the single most important step, and skipping it means water everywhere and potentially damage to your cabinetry and floor.

Most modern homes in Dagenham will have isolation valves fitted directly to the supply pipes running beneath the tap. They look like small inline fittings with a flat-head screw slot. Turn the slot a quarter turn so it sits at 90 degrees to the pipe and the water is shut off. If you don't have isolation valves, or they're corroded and won't turn, you'll need to close the main stopcock instead. This is usually found under the kitchen sink or where the supply pipe enters the property, often near the front exterior wall.

Once the supply is off, open the tap fully to release any residual pressure and drain the remaining water from the pipe. Put the plug in the basin or sink before you start dismantling anything. Tap components are small and a washer or retaining nut disappearing down a drain will ruin your afternoon.

A few other points worth noting before you begin:

• If you're working on a hot tap, wait for the water in the pipe to cool before you start handling fittings.
• Don't overtighten fittings when reassembling. Brass headgear nuts and ceramic components can crack.
• If you notice corrosion, green staining on copper pipe, or any sign of a joint weeping, stop and get a qualified plumber to assess before going further.

What You Will Need

Getting your tools and materials together before you start saves a lot of time. Here's what you'll typically need for a standard tap repair:

Tools:

• Adjustable spanner (a 15mm and 22mm combination covers most tap sizes)
• Flat-head and cross-head screwdrivers
• Pliers or grips with a cloth wrapped around the jaws to protect chrome fittings
• Allen key set (needed for some modern monobloc and mixer tap designs)
• Old cloth or small towel to mop up residual water

Materials:

• Assorted tap washer pack (available at most plumbers' merchants and DIY stores across Greater London, typically 3 to 6 pounds)
• O-rings in the relevant sizes (bring the old ones with you to match or measure with a calliper)
• PTFE tape
• Silicone grease or plumber's grease
• Replacement cartridge if you have a ceramic disc mixer tap (10 to 35 pounds depending on brand)

Time estimate: Most tap repairs take between 30 and 90 minutes. If it's your first time working on a tap, budget a full hour and a half to be comfortable.

Step-by-Step Instructions

These steps cover the most common scenario: a traditional pillar tap or older monobloc mixer tap dripping from the spout, which is almost always a worn rubber washer. The process for ceramic disc cartridge taps differs slightly and is covered where relevant.

Step 1: Identify the Source of the Leak

Before dismantling anything, work out exactly where the water is escaping. A drip from the spout points to a worn washer or jumper valve, or a failed ceramic cartridge on newer taps. Water leaking around the base of the tap or weeping around the handle points to a failed O-ring or deteriorated gland packing. Getting this right means you replace the correct part first time and don't need to repeat the job.

Step 2: Turn Off the Water and Drain the Line

Close the isolation valves on the hot and cold supply pipes, or turn off the main stopcock. Open the tap fully and leave it until it runs completely dry. Place a cloth under the tap body and inside the cabinet to catch any residual water. If you're working on a bathroom tap over a pedestal basin, lay the cloth on the floor to catch anything that falls.

Step 3: Remove the Tap Handle

Most tap handles are secured by a screw hidden under a decorative cap on the top of the handle. Pop the cap off with a flat-head screwdriver, undo the screw underneath, then lift or pull the handle away. On older taps in Dagenham properties - particularly in houses built before the 1970s - handles can be seized on from years of limescale buildup. If it won't budge, try gently wiggling it from side to side rather than forcing it straight up, which risks cracking the fitting. A small amount of penetrating oil left for ten minutes can help with particularly stubborn handles.

Step 4: Remove the Headgear

With the handle off, you'll see the headgear nut - the large hexagonal nut that holds the internal tap mechanism in the body. Use an adjustable spanner to turn it anti-clockwise. If the whole tap body tries to rotate rather than the nut, hold it steady with a second spanner or ask someone to hold the tap. Remove the headgear unit completely and set it on your cloth. You may get a small amount of water at this point even with the supply off, so be ready.

Step 5: Replace the Washer

At the bottom of the headgear spindle you'll find the washer held in place by a small brass nut. Undo it with a spanner, remove the old washer, and have a look at it. A worn washer will typically be cracked, completely flattened, or hardened so it no longer flexes. Fit the new washer of the same size and secure the retaining nut firmly but without over-torquing it.

While you've got the headgear out, look down into the tap body at the seat - the metal surface the washer presses against. Run your finger around it. If it feels rough, pitted, or grooved rather than smooth, no washer will seal it reliably. You'll need to regrind the seat - see the next section for how to handle this.

Step 6: Check and Replace the O-rings

The O-rings on the headgear spindle seal the tap against water escaping around the handle. While you have everything apart, check these carefully. If they're flattened, cracked, or feel hard rather than supple, replace them now. Apply a thin coating of silicone grease to each new O-ring before fitting it. This helps it seat evenly and extends its service life considerably. Skipping the grease is a common reason for O-rings failing again quickly.

Step 7: Reassemble and Test

Refit the headgear, tightening the nut clockwise until it's firm. Reattach the handle, replace the screw, and press the decorative cap back in place. Then slowly reopen the isolation valve or turn the stopcock back on. Watch the tap carefully for the first minute. If you see a slight weep around the headgear nut, try a further quarter turn. Turn the tap on and off a couple of times and confirm the drip at the spout has stopped. Leave it for ten minutes and check again before declaring the job done.

What to Do If This Does Not Fix It

If the tap is still dripping after a new washer, the most likely cause is a damaged tap seat. Greater London has moderately hard water, and over many years limescale and general wear can pit or groove the seat surface inside the tap body to the point where no washer can form a watertight seal regardless of condition.

The fix is to use a tap reseating tool, sometimes called a tap re-facing tool. These cost between 15 and 35 pounds from plumbers' merchants and work by cutting the seat back to a smooth, flat surface. You insert the tool into the tap body once the headgear is removed, press down, and rotate it a few times. It takes around 10 to 15 minutes. A local plumber in Dagenham can also do this as part of a routine tap service call if you'd rather not buy a specialist tool for a one-off job.

For ceramic disc mixer taps, the repair is a cartridge replacement rather than a washer job. Cartridges are brand-specific, so you'll need the tap's make and model to order the correct one. Common brands found in Dagenham homes include Bristan, Grohe, Armitage Shanks, and Ideal Standard. A replacement cartridge typically costs between 15 and 40 pounds, and fitting it is usually a 20-minute job once you have the correct part in hand.

If the tap body is corroded, cracked, or the connections behind the wall are showing signs of moisture, the repair conversation shifts to replacement. A new standard pillar tap set costs from around 20 to 60 pounds at most plumbers' merchants. Installation adds around 60 to 120 pounds, depending on access and whether new isolation valves need to be fitted at the same time.

When to Stop and Call a Professional

There's no shame in recognising when a job has gone beyond a DIY repair. Our engineers at Voltrade attend tap-related callouts across Dagenham and the surrounding areas regularly, and certain situations should always be handed to a professional plumber.

Call a qualified plumber if any of the following apply:

• You can't isolate the water supply because the stopcock is seized, corroded, or missing. A faulty stopcock is a safety issue, not just an inconvenience.
• The supply pipes behind or beneath the tap are showing pinhole corrosion, green verdigris, or any active drips at the joints.
• The tap body itself is cracked and water is coming through the fixture rather than from a valve component.
• You've replaced the washer and reseated the tap seat and it's still dripping. This can indicate abnormally high incoming water pressure, which needs a pressure-reducing valve rather than a tap repair.
• The property has lead pipework. This is not uncommon in older Dagenham housing stock, particularly in properties built before 1970. Don't disturb lead pipework without professional guidance on safe handling and replacement options.

A standard plumber callout and tap repair in Greater London typically costs between 80 and 180 pounds including parts, though rates vary depending on the time of day and the complexity of access. If you use the Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool before booking, it can help you describe the exact fault clearly to an engineer, which often means a faster repair and a more accurate quote upfront without a follow-up visit.

Questions About This Process

How do I know if my tap uses a rubber washer or a ceramic disc?

Ceramic disc taps have a noticeably short, stiff action - you typically turn the handle only a quarter to a half turn from fully closed to fully open, and it feels firm throughout. Rubber washer taps require multiple full rotations and feel looser in operation. If your tap is stiff and crunchy when you turn it, it almost certainly uses a ceramic cartridge. If it turns freely through several rotations, it uses a rubber washer. When in doubt, look up the make and model printed on the tap body before buying parts, as ordering the wrong cartridge is an expensive mistake.

Why does my tap drip more at night than during the day?

This is one of the most common questions our engineers hear from homeowners across Dagenham and Greater London, and the answer is water pressure. Mains pressure typically rises overnight when overall demand drops across the network. Higher pressure pushes past a worn washer more easily, making the drip faster and more noticeable during quiet hours. If your tap drips mainly at night or seems worse first thing in the morning, this confirms the washer is worn rather than pointing to a more complex fault. Replacing the washer should resolve it completely.

Can I leave a dripping tap for a few weeks before repairing it?

A slow drip at the spout that falls into the basin won't cause structural damage in the short term, but it does waste water continuously and will push your bills up if you're on a metered supply. A leak at the base of the tap or under the sink is more urgent - water sitting on a timber vanity unit or cabinet floor causes rot and mould within weeks rather than months. If you notice soft or discoloured wood under your sink, or a musty smell coming from the cabinet, treat it as an urgent repair rather than something that can wait.