Leaking Tap Repair in Fleet - What One Hampshire Homeowner Found Behind the Chrome

Published July 2026 | Leaking Tap Repair Guide

A homeowner in Fleet notices a slow but persistent drip from their kitchen mixer tap late on a Sunday evening. It is not dramatic - no burst pipe, no flooded floor - just that steady, rhythmic tick of water hitting the stainless steel sink every few seconds. They put a cloth underneath, head to bed, and tell themselves they will deal with it tomorrow. Three weeks later, the cloth is soaked every morning, the water bill has crept up, and there is a faint mineral stain forming around the plughole where the drip has been landing. What started as a minor irritation has quietly become a problem worth solving properly.

What Was Actually Going On

When one of our engineers visited the property in Fleet, the diagnosis came quickly. The homeowner had a standard single-lever kitchen mixer tap - a fairly common fitting in homes built or refurbished in the past decade or so. The drip was coming from the spout rather than the base, which already pointed toward the cartridge rather than an O-ring or body seal.

A ceramic disc cartridge is the mechanism inside most modern mixer taps that controls water flow and temperature. Unlike the old-fashioned rubber washers found in traditional pillar taps, ceramic disc cartridges use two precision-ground ceramic discs that rotate against each other. When they are working correctly, the fit is tight enough to stop water completely. When they fail - which they eventually do, particularly in areas with hard water - you get exactly this kind of steady drip that no amount of turning the handle will fix.

Fleet sits in an area of Hampshire where water hardness is moderate to high. The local water supply draws partly from chalk aquifers, which means calcium and magnesium deposits build up inside tap cartridges over time. This limescale grit gets between the ceramic discs, scratches their surface, and breaks the seal. It is not a fault with the tap itself, and it is not caused by anything the homeowner has done wrong. It is simply what happens when ceramic components meet hard water over a period of years.

Our engineer used the Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic process to confirm the fault before touching anything. This matters because a dripping tap can sometimes indicate water pressure issues rather than a failed component - and if that is the case, replacing the cartridge will not solve anything. In this instance, the water pressure in the property was normal, the supply isolation valves were working correctly, and the fault was definitively in the cartridge itself. No guesswork, no unnecessary parts ordered.

How the Problem Was Resolved

Fixing a leaking tap in Fleet - or anywhere, for that matter - follows a logical sequence. Here is what the repair actually looked like in practice.

First, the water supply to the tap needs to be isolated. Most modern kitchen taps have service valves on the supply pipes directly underneath the sink, which means the water to just that tap can be shut off without affecting the rest of the house. Our engineer turned both the hot and cold isolation valves and opened the tap to release any residual pressure in the line.

Second, the tap handle needs to come off. On most modern mixer taps, this means locating a small grub screw - sometimes hidden under a decorative cap on top of the handle. With that removed, the handle lifts clear and the cartridge retaining nut is visible.

Third, the cartridge itself is removed. This is where having the right tools matters. The retaining nut on a mixer tap can be very firmly seated, particularly if it has not been moved in several years. Forcing it with the wrong spanner can damage the tap body. A properly equipped plumber will have basin wrenches and cartridge pullers that make this job clean and controlled.

Fourth, the replacement cartridge is fitted. This is not a universal component - cartridges vary between manufacturers and even between tap ranges from the same manufacturer. Brands like Bristan, Grohe, Hansgrohe, and Armitage Shanks all use different cartridge sizes and configurations. Getting the correct replacement is essential. Our engineer identified the tap brand from the body markings, confirmed the cartridge type, and fitted a like-for-like replacement.

Finally, the tap is reassembled, the isolation valves are reopened slowly, and the flow is tested. The engineer ran both hot and cold, checked for drips at the spout and at the base, and confirmed the handle action was smooth and the temperature mixing was working correctly.

Total hands-on time for the repair: approximately 45 minutes. A clean, contained job with no damage to the surrounding area.

What This Cost and How Long It Took

One of the most common questions we get from homeowners in Fleet is what a tap repair is going to cost before they commit to calling anyone out. It is a fair question, and the answer depends on the type of tap and the nature of the fault.

For a standard washer replacement on a traditional pillar tap - the type with separate hot and cold controls - expect to pay in the region of 80 to 130 pounds including labour. The parts themselves are inexpensive, and the job is typically done within 30 to 45 minutes.

For a ceramic disc cartridge replacement on a modern mixer tap, as in the Fleet case described here, the cost typically falls between 100 and 180 pounds. The cartridge itself can cost anywhere from 15 to 60 pounds depending on the brand and type, with the remainder covering the engineer's time.

If the tap is a more premium brand - Hansgrohe, Grohe, or similar - cartridges are at the higher end of that parts cost range, and in some cases may need to be ordered rather than sourced from a local trade supplier. That can add a day's lead time but does not usually affect the labour cost significantly.

Complete tap replacement, where the existing tap is beyond sensible repair or the homeowner wants to take the opportunity to upgrade, typically costs between 180 and 350 pounds for a standard kitchen or bathroom mixer, including the new tap and fitting. A more premium tap unit will push that higher.

In the case of the Fleet homeowner, the total bill came to 145 pounds, including the cartridge, all labour, and the initial diagnostic visit. The drip that had been losing an estimated 15 to 20 litres of water per day stopped completely. Over the course of a year, that kind of slow leak can add 30 to 50 pounds to a water bill - so the repair pays for itself relatively quickly.

How to Spot the Same Issue in Your Home

Not every leaking tap announces itself dramatically. Many of the calls we get from Fleet and the surrounding parts of Hampshire start with "it's only a small drip" - and by the time someone calls, it has been dripping for weeks. Here is what to look for.

A drip from the spout when the tap is fully off is the most obvious sign. Even one drip every few seconds adds up. A tap dripping once per second loses roughly 12,000 litres per year. Drips every two to three seconds still account for 4,000 to 6,000 litres. If you are on a water meter - as a growing number of Hampshire households are - that is money going directly down the drain.

Leaking from the base of the spout, or from around the handle, usually points to a failed O-ring rather than the cartridge. O-rings are the rubber seals that prevent water from escaping around the moving parts of the tap. They perish over time, especially in areas with variable water temperature. This type of leak often appears as a small puddle around the base of the tap rather than a drip from the spout.

Stiff or difficult handles are often a precursor to a cartridge failure. If you have noticed that your kitchen or bathroom tap has become harder to turn, or the temperature is not responding the way it used to, the ceramic discs inside may already be damaged or scaled up.

Limescale deposits around the spout outlet, or a rattling sound when the tap is running, can also indicate internal wear. In hard water areas like Fleet, these signs tend to appear on taps that are more than five to eight years old, particularly if the tap has never been serviced.

A quick check worth doing: turn your tap off as firmly as you comfortably can, then watch the spout for 60 seconds. Any drip at all is worth investigating. It will not fix itself, and leaving it will only accelerate the wear on the internal components.

Lessons - What Every Fleet Homeowner Should Know

After dealing with leaking taps across Fleet and Hampshire, a few lessons keep coming up.

Know where your isolation valves are. This sounds basic, but many homeowners do not know where the service valves for their kitchen tap sit, or whether they work. If a tap develops a sudden serious leak - or if a cartridge fails catastrophically while you are trying a DIY fix - being able to isolate the water quickly prevents a minor job from becoming a major one. Check yours now. They should turn with a flathead screwdriver and shut off the flow completely within a quarter turn.

Do not ignore slow drips. The temptation to put a bowl under the tap and deal with it later is understandable, particularly in a busy household. But the water that drips is wasting money, and more importantly, the drip itself accelerates the degradation of the internal seal. A cartridge with a small fault will develop a worse fault if left. What costs 120 to 150 pounds to fix today can become a complete tap replacement job if the damaged cartridge causes scoring to the tap body itself.

Hard water is a factor. Fleet and much of Hampshire sit in a moderately hard to hard water zone. If you have not considered a water softener or a scale inhibitor on your main supply, it is worth looking into - particularly if you find yourself replacing tap cartridges or shower heads with some regularity. This is not a job for a plumber necessarily, but it is something to discuss when an engineer is on site for another reason.

Match the fix to the tap. A well-made mixer tap from a reputable brand - Bristan, Grohe, Hudson Reed, Vado - is worth repairing. The cartridge replacement will extend its life by many more years, and the quality of the tap body justifies the spend. A budget tap from a DIY retailer that is leaking after two years is probably better replaced entirely. Our engineers in Fleet will always give you an honest assessment of whether a repair makes sense relative to the tap's condition and age.

DIY is possible but comes with caveats. Replacing a rubber washer on an old-style pillar tap is within the capability of a reasonably practical homeowner. Replacing a ceramic cartridge on a modern mixer is trickier - the risk of cross-threading the retaining nut, misidentifying the cartridge type, or damaging the tap body is real, and the consequences mean calling a plumber anyway but now with a more complex job. If you are confident and methodical, it is achievable. If you have any doubt, the call-out cost is worth it.

Related Questions

How long does a tap repair typically take in Fleet?

Most tap repairs - whether a washer replacement or a cartridge swap - take between 30 and 60 minutes once the engineer is on site. If the tap requires a special-order part that is not held in a local trade supplier, there may be a short wait before the second visit to complete the repair. In most cases, though, our engineers carry a range of common cartridges and washers and can complete the job in a single visit to your Fleet property.

Can a leaking tap cause damp or water damage in my home?

A drip from a spout is unlikely to cause structural damage, but a leak from the base of a tap or from the supply pipework underneath can soak into cabinet boards and cause swelling, mould, and rot over time. Kitchen sink cabinets are particularly vulnerable because the inside of the unit is rarely checked. It is worth opening the cabinet doors under your sink periodically to look for moisture or staining on the chipboard. Catching this early keeps the repair simple and inexpensive.

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

The answer depends on the tap's age, quality, and overall condition. A quality tap from a reputable brand that is leaking due to a worn washer or cartridge is almost always worth repairing - the repair extends its life significantly and costs far less than replacement. A budget tap that is visibly corroded, has a damaged body, or is more than ten years old may be better replaced, since the worn components will likely cause repeat problems. Our engineers will give you a clear recommendation on site rather than push you toward the more expensive option either way.

Do I need a Gas Safe engineer to fix a leaking tap?

No. Leaking tap repairs are plumbing work, not gas work, so Gas Safe registration is not required or relevant. What you do want is a qualified plumber - ideally one who is registered with a recognised trade body such as the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) or who holds a WaterSafe accreditation. This confirms they are trained to work on domestic water systems to current Water Regulations standards, which is the applicable framework for tap and pipework repairs in Hampshire and across the UK.