How to Fix a Leaking Tap in Dereham

Published July 2026 | Leaking Tap Repair Guide

This guide walks you through diagnosing and repairing the most common types of leaking tap found in UK homes, from dripping mixer taps to seeping pillar taps. It is written for homeowners in Dereham and the wider Norfolk area who want to attempt the repair themselves before calling in a professional.

Before You Start - Safety First

Before you touch a single fitting, turn off the water supply. This sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many call-outs our engineers attend in Dereham where someone has cracked open a tap only to flood the cupboard under the sink. Do not skip this step.

Your mains stopcock is usually found under the kitchen sink, in the airing cupboard, or near the front door on the ground floor. Turn it clockwise until it stops. Then open the tap you are repairing fully to drain any residual water from the pipe. Have a couple of old towels and a small bucket ready - even with the supply off, there will be some water left in the system.

A few more things to check before starting:

• Make sure you have adequate lighting under the sink or around the tap area.
• Take a photo of the tap assembly before you dismantle anything. It makes reassembly much easier.
• Check whether the tap is still under any manufacturer warranty. Disassembling it yourself may void that warranty.
• If your home has a combi boiler and the leaking tap is a hot water tap, the boiler will not need to be touched - but be aware the water in the hot pipe may still be warm for a few minutes after isolation.

What You Will Need

Getting the right tools and parts together before you start saves multiple trips to the hardware shop. In Dereham, you have a handful of good options for plumbing supplies, including trade merchants and general DIY retailers who typically carry the basics.

Tools:

• Adjustable spanner (a 12-inch is usually sufficient)
• Flathead and crosshead screwdrivers
• Allen key set (many modern tap handles are held on with grub screws)
• Needle-nose pliers
• A cloth or rubber strap wrench if you want to protect chrome finishes

Materials:

• Assorted tap washers (a mixed pack costs around 2 to 4 pounds and covers most common sizes)
• O-rings in a range of sizes (similarly priced mixed packs are widely available)
• PTFE tape (under 2 pounds per roll)
• Silicone grease or plumber's grease
• Replacement cartridge if you have a ceramic disc tap (prices vary widely - budget between 5 and 30 pounds depending on brand and tap model)

Time estimate: Allow 30 to 60 minutes for a first attempt on a straightforward washer replacement. A ceramic cartridge swap on a modern mixer can be done in under 20 minutes once you have the part. If you are dealing with a corroded or old tap in a Norfolk property built before the 1980s, budget a bit more time for stubborn fittings.

If you are unsure what type of tap you have, the Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool can help you identify the mechanism and find compatible replacement parts before you start pulling things apart.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Identify the type of tap and where it is leaking

Not all leaks are the same, and identifying where the water is coming from tells you exactly what needs replacing. There are three common leak points:

• Dripping from the spout - typically a worn washer (older taps) or a damaged ceramic cartridge (modern taps).
• Leaking around the base of the handle - usually a worn O-ring or packing nut.
• Leaking at the body of the tap or connection point - often a loose fitting or deteriorated seal, which may need a plumber.

Confirm which type of tap you have. Traditional pillar taps have a separate hot and cold, each with a headgear nut and a rubber washer. Modern mixer taps most commonly use ceramic disc cartridges. Quarter-turn taps are almost always ceramic disc.

Step 2 - Remove the tap handle

Look for a small decorative cap on top of the handle - it is usually marked with H or C (or coloured red and blue). Prise it off carefully with a flathead screwdriver. Underneath you will find a screw - typically crosshead or hex. Remove it and lift the handle straight off. Some handles are quite stiff if they have not been removed in years. A gentle wiggle should free them. Do not force it with a hard twist as you can crack the handle on older taps.

On some designs, particularly wall-mounted taps common in older Norfolk properties, the handle may be held by a grub screw on the side or underside of the handle rather than on top.

Step 3 - Remove the headgear or cartridge

With the handle off, you will see either a hexagonal headgear nut (traditional taps) or a cartridge retaining nut or clip (ceramic disc taps). Use your adjustable spanner to unscrew the headgear nut counter-clockwise. Protect the chrome with a cloth between the jaws of the spanner if the finish matters to you.

Once the nut is off, lift the headgear assembly (traditional) or cartridge (ceramic) straight up and out of the tap body. Keep track of any small washers or retaining clips - they are easy to lose down the drain.

Step 4 - Inspect and replace the washer or O-ring

On a traditional tap, look at the bottom of the headgear. You will see a rubber washer held in place by a small nut or a clip. This washer is almost certainly the cause of a dripping spout. Unscrew the retaining nut, remove the old washer, and fit a new one of the same size. If you are not sure of the size, take the old one to the hardware shop and match it up.

O-rings sit around the body of the headgear and prevent leaks around the handle. If you can see a ring of worn rubber, replace it. Roll the old one off, lubricate the new one lightly with silicone grease, and roll it into the groove.

On a ceramic disc cartridge tap, the cartridge itself is typically replaced as a unit rather than repaired. Note the orientation before you pull it out - most are directional. Match the replacement to the brand and model of your tap. Many common brands used in UK new-builds, including Bristan, Methven, and Grohe, have readily available replacement cartridges.

Step 5 - Check the valve seat

This step is worth doing while you have the tap open. The valve seat is the metal surface that the washer presses against inside the tap body. Run your finger around it. If it feels rough, pitted, or has visible grooves, a new washer will not seal properly against it and the drip will return quickly.

A tap re-seating tool can grind the surface smooth and costs around 8 to 15 pounds. This is a common issue in older properties around Dereham where the original tap fittings have been in service for decades. If the seat is badly damaged, it is often more economical to replace the whole tap rather than attempt a reseat.

Step 6 - Reassemble the tap

Work in reverse order. Seat the headgear or new cartridge back into the tap body, making sure it is properly aligned. Hand-tighten the retaining nut first, then snug it up with the spanner - firm but not over-torqued. Refit the handle and screw it back down. Replace the decorative cap.

Wrap two or three layers of PTFE tape clockwise around any threaded connections if you noticed any weeping from those areas when the tap was in use.

Step 7 - Turn the water back on and test

Open the stopcock slowly - do not crank it fully open in one go. This reduces the chance of a surge causing issues elsewhere. Let the water run through the tap for 30 seconds, then turn the tap off and watch for 60 seconds. Check around the base of the handle and the connection points as well as the spout. If it is dry, you have done the job. Give it another check the following morning when the water pressure has been sitting on it overnight.

What to Do If This Does Not Fix It

If the tap still drips after a new washer or cartridge, the most likely culprits are a damaged valve seat (see Step 5 above), an incorrectly sized replacement part, or a cartridge that was fitted in the wrong orientation. Remove the assembly again, double-check the part against the original, and reseat it carefully.

Leaks around the base of the tap, where the tap meets the sink or worktop, are a different issue entirely and are not fixed by internal washer replacement. These are commonly caused by a deteriorated back nut underneath the basin or worktop. Tightening this nut - or replacing the rubber seal beneath it - typically fixes the problem, but access can be very tight, particularly under a Belfast sink. Our engineers in Dereham see this frequently in older-style kitchens where the sink has settled slightly over time.

If water is seeping from the supply pipes feeding the tap rather than from the tap body itself, that is a separate plumbing issue and not something a tap repair will resolve.

When to Stop and Call a Professional

There are situations where the right call is to put the tools down and contact a qualified plumber. Knowing the limits of a DIY repair is not a failure - it is sensible.

• You cannot isolate the water supply. If the stopcock is seized, corroded, or missing, do not proceed. A plumber can replace or free the stopcock as part of the job.
• Visible pipe corrosion. If the pipework feeding the tap is heavily corroded, green, or flaking - which our engineers do encounter in some of the older housing stock around Norfolk - disturbing the fittings can cause a pipe failure.
• Leaking stop end or compression fitting. If the leak is at a compression joint rather than the tap itself, and tightening does not stop it, the fitting likely needs to be replaced or re-made properly.
• The tap body itself is cracked. No amount of washer replacement will fix a cracked tap body. The whole tap needs replacing, which involves cutting off and reconnecting the supply pipes.
• You have tried twice and it is still dripping. Two failed attempts usually means something else is going on. A plumber in Dereham will typically charge between 60 and 100 pounds per hour, and a leaking tap repair commonly takes under an hour. Spending that money is cheaper than the water waste and the risk of water damage from a persistent leak.

A full tap replacement, including labour and a mid-range tap supplied by the plumber, typically costs between 120 and 250 pounds in the Norfolk area, depending on accessibility and whether the isolating valves also need attention.

Questions About This Process

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

The quickest way to tell is by how the tap operates. If it requires multiple turns to open and close fully, it almost certainly has a traditional rubber washer and headgear mechanism. If it opens and closes with a quarter turn - roughly 90 degrees - it uses a ceramic disc cartridge. Most taps installed in UK homes built after around 2000 use ceramic discs. Older properties in Dereham, particularly Victorian and Edwardian terraces, are more likely to have traditional pillar taps with rubber washers. If you are still unsure, removing the handle and inspecting the internal mechanism will make it obvious immediately.

Can a dripping tap really make a significant difference to my water bill?

Yes, it can. A tap that drips once per second can waste over 5,000 litres of water per year. For metered households in Norfolk, that represents a measurable increase on your water bill - and a persistent drip can cause staining, limescale build-up, and in worst cases, surface damage to your sink or bath. Beyond the cost, it is simply wasteful. A 2-pound washer and half an hour of your time is a worthwhile repair. If you are unsure whether your property is metered, contact Anglian Water, which is the water supplier for most of Norfolk including Dereham.

Is it worth repairing an old tap or should I just replace it?

It depends on the condition of the tap body and how old the tap is. If the tap is cosmetically fine, the valve seat is in reasonable condition, and the internal components are still available, a repair is typically the more economical choice. However, if the tap is heavily corroded, scratched, or the finish is peeling, or if replacement parts are difficult to source for an obsolete model, a new tap is often better value in the long run. A decent quality replacement tap from a brand such as Bristan or Pegler costs between 40 and 120 pounds and will come with a manufacturer's warranty.