Leaking Tap Repair Guide for Ealing Homeowners

Published July 2026 | Leaking Tap Repair Guide

You notice it first thing on a Tuesday morning - a steady drip from the kitchen tap that definitely wasn't there last week, drumming against the stainless steel at two-second intervals. By the time you've made your coffee, you're already calculating how much that's going to cost on the water bill, and wondering whether it's the sort of thing you can sort yourself on a Saturday afternoon or whether you need to call someone in. That decision matters more than most people realise, because a leaking tap left unattended doesn't just stay the same - it almost always gets worse.

Understanding What Is Actually Happening Inside Your Tap

A tap is a valve, and like any valve, it works by pressing a soft material against a hard seat to create a seal. When you turn the handle, you're either tightening that seal or opening a gap to let water through. A drip means the seal is no longer doing its job when the tap is in the closed position. The water pressure in your supply - typically somewhere between 1 and 3 bar in most Ealing properties - is constantly pushing against that seal. The moment the seal weakens, water finds a way through.

The specific mechanics depend on what type of tap you have. Traditional compression taps, which are still very common in older Greater London properties built before the 1990s, use a rubber washer on a spindle. Quarter-turn ceramic disc taps, which became standard in most new builds and refurbishments over the past two decades, use two ceramic discs that rotate against each other. Mixer taps add a cartridge into the mix. Each type fails in its own way, which is why diagnosing correctly before reaching for the toolbox makes a real difference to whether the fix actually holds.

The Most Common Causes of a Leaking Tap

In our engineers' experience, the vast majority of leaking taps in Ealing come down to one of five causes. Getting clear on which one you're dealing with determines everything that follows.

Worn or Damaged Washers

This is the single most common cause of a dripping tap in older properties. The rubber washer sits at the bottom of the tap spindle and presses against the valve seat each time you close the tap. Every use creates a small amount of friction, and over time the rubber deteriorates - it hardens, compresses unevenly, or develops small cracks. Once that happens, the seal isn't complete and water seeps through. Washers are cheap components, typically a few pence each, but they do need to be the exact right size and type for your tap. Using the wrong washer creates a worse seal than the worn one you've just removed.

Failing O-Rings

If your tap is leaking around the base of the spout rather than dripping from the nozzle, O-rings are usually the culprit. These are small rubber rings that seal the moving parts of the tap body, particularly around the cartridge or spindle where it enters the tap body. O-rings fail in similar ways to washers - they dry out, crack, or simply wear flat after years of use. Mixer taps are particularly susceptible to O-ring failure because they have more moving components and therefore more points where a seal can break down.

Corroded or Pitted Valve Seat

The valve seat is the metal surface that the washer presses against to form the seal. In areas with hard water - and much of Greater London sits in a hard water zone - limescale and mineral deposits gradually build up on the valve seat. This creates an uneven surface that no washer can seal against properly, no matter how new the rubber is. You might replace the washer and find the tap still drips. That's often a damaged valve seat. A plumber can re-grind the seat using a tool called a seat grinder, but in many cases it's more cost-effective to replace the tap body entirely.

Worn Ceramic Discs

Ceramic disc taps are generally more durable than their washer-based counterparts, but they're not immune to failure. The discs themselves can crack if overtightened - a common mistake when people try to stop a drip by forcing the tap closed harder. Limescale can also jam the discs or cause them to chip. A cracked ceramic disc typically means replacing the cartridge assembly. The parts themselves aren't expensive, but getting the right cartridge for your specific tap model can require some research, particularly for less common brands.

Loose or Worn Packing Nut

If the leak is coming from around the tap handle rather than the spout, the packing nut or the packing material beneath it is likely the problem. The packing nut holds the stem assembly in place and keeps water from travelling up the spindle. Over time it can work itself loose through vibration, or the packing material can compress and shrink. Sometimes tightening the packing nut with an adjustable spanner is all that's needed. Other times, new packing material or a replacement stem is required.

Solutions That Actually Work

Before you do anything else, turn off the water supply to the tap. There'll either be an isolation valve on the pipe under the sink - a flat-headed screw that you turn 90 degrees to close - or you'll need to turn off at the main stopcock, usually found under the kitchen sink or in a cupboard near the front door in most Ealing terraced houses. Then open the tap fully to release any residual pressure and drain the remaining water from the pipe.

For a traditional compression tap with a worn washer, the process looks like this:

1. Remove the tap handle - most have a small screw under a decorative cap on top of the handle. Prise the cap off with a flathead screwdriver and undo the screw beneath.
2. Unscrew the packing nut using an adjustable spanner, turning anticlockwise.
3. Pull out the spindle and look at the bottom - the washer is held in place by a small brass nut. Undo this and remove the old washer.
4. Take the old washer to a plumbers' merchant or a well-stocked hardware shop and match it exactly. Avoid guessing on size.
5. Fit the new washer, reassemble in reverse order, and turn the water back on slowly to check.

For ceramic cartridge taps, the repair is similar in principle but you're replacing the whole cartridge rather than just a washer. Identify the make and model of your tap if you can - sometimes printed on the tap body, sometimes only traceable from packaging or the original installation paperwork. Cartridges typically cost between 10 and 35 pounds depending on the brand. Grohe, Hansgrohe, Bristan, and Ideal Standard all have good parts availability in the UK. For more obscure imported brands, sourcing the right cartridge can be more difficult and time-consuming than the repair itself.

When our engineers run a Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic on a leaking tap, one of the first things it flags is whether the leak pattern suggests a washer issue, a cartridge issue, or a seat problem - because each has a different repair path and a different cost implication. Knowing this before ordering parts saves a second visit and avoids the frustration of fitting a new washer only to find the seat is the real problem.

When You Need Professional Help vs Sorting It Yourself

The honest division is this: if the tap is a standard compression design and you're comfortable working with your hands, a washer replacement is within reach for most people willing to spend an hour and follow instructions carefully. The same goes for tightening a packing nut or replacing an O-ring on a visible spout seal.

You should call a plumber when any of these apply:

• The isolation valve under the sink is stuck, corroded, or absent - attempting to force a stuck isolation valve can cause it to fail completely and flood the cabinet.
• The valve seat is visibly pitted or corroded - re-grinding a seat requires specialist tools and the wrong technique makes the problem worse.
• The tap body itself is cracked or the thread is damaged - these aren't fixable with standard repair parts.
• The leak is coming from the pipework connections rather than the tap mechanism itself - this is a plumbing issue, not a tap issue.
• You've replaced the washer and the tap still drips - this usually points to a seat problem that needs professional assessment.
• The tap is part of an integrated mixer system or a thermostatic shower valve - these have more complex internals and getting them wrong is expensive.

In a lot of older Ealing properties, particularly Victorian terraces and 1930s semis, the internal pipework hasn't been touched in decades. Disturbing old fittings can reveal corrosion problems that were dormant until someone tried to fix them. A plumber who knows what they're looking at can spot these risks before they become expensive emergencies.

What to Expect from a Repair Visit

A typical leaking tap repair visit in Greater London will begin with the plumber assessing the tap type, the source of the leak, and the condition of the isolation valves and nearby pipework. Most experienced plumbers carry a stock of common washers, O-rings, and basic cartridges, which means simple repairs can often be completed in a single visit without needing to source parts separately.

For a washer or O-ring replacement on a standard tap, expect the job to take between 30 minutes and an hour including turning the water off and back on and checking for further leaks. For a cartridge replacement, add time for sourcing parts if the cartridge isn't immediately to hand. For a tap replacement - where the existing tap is too far gone to repair cost-effectively - expect a half-day booking to allow for removing the old tap, fitting the new one, and making good any sealant around the sink.

In terms of cost, a straightforward washer replacement in Ealing typically runs to between 80 and 130 pounds including call-out and labour for most plumbers. A cartridge replacement tends to cost between 100 and 180 pounds once you factor in the part. A full tap replacement, supplying a new mid-range tap and fitting it, typically comes in between 180 and 320 pounds depending on the tap chosen and the complexity of the existing pipework. These figures reflect realistic 2026 Greater London rates - prices vary between individual tradespeople so it's worth getting two or three quotes for anything beyond a basic repair.

Common Questions from Ealing Homeowners

How much does a leaking tap repair cost in Ealing?

For a basic washer or O-ring replacement, most Ealing plumbers charge between 80 and 130 pounds including call-out. Cartridge replacements typically add the cost of the part on top, bringing the total to around 100 to 180 pounds in most cases. If the tap needs replacing entirely, budget from 180 to 320 pounds depending on the tap specification and the complexity of the installation. Always ask for a fixed quote before work begins rather than an hourly rate estimate.

Can a dripping tap increase my water bill significantly?

Yes, more than most people expect. A tap dripping at a rate of one drop per second commonly wastes around 15 to 20 litres of water per day. Over a month that adds up to several hundred litres. On a metered supply - which is increasingly common in Ealing and across London as Thames Water expands metering - this translates to a measurable increase on your quarterly bill. Beyond the cost, there's the question of the continuous moisture around the sink, which over time can soften worktop edges and encourage mould growth in poorly ventilated kitchens.

My tap drips only when it's first turned off - is that still a problem?

A tap that drips briefly after being turned off, then stops after a few seconds, is often in the early stages of washer wear rather than full failure. The washer is still sealing eventually, but not immediately as it should. Left alone, this pattern typically progresses to a continuous drip over weeks or months. It's worth addressing sooner rather than later, because catching it at this stage usually means a simple washer swap rather than dealing with a seat that's had prolonged contact with a dripping seal and has started to corrode or pit.

How do I know whether to repair or replace my tap?

The main factors are the age and condition of the tap, the cost of parts, and what you'd like in terms of appearance. If a tap is under ten years old and structurally sound, repair almost always makes more sense economically. If it's a very old tap where the body shows signs of corrosion, the chrome is flaking, or it's been repaired multiple times already, replacement gives you a fresh start and typically costs only marginally more than repeated repairs on a failing unit. Our engineers can usually give a clear recommendation within the first few minutes of assessing the tap in person.