How to Fix a Dripping Tap
Most guides on how to fix a dripping tap skip the first step: working out which tap sits on your basin. Washer taps and mixers seal in different ways, and the type decides both the part and who may change it. Homes across Strathpine include plenty of 1960s and 1970s stock, so compression taps with separate handles still turn up on basins every week.
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This guide explains what seals inside each tap type. It also covers the one repair Queensland law leaves open to a capable owner, what a drip costs on the water bill, and the faults that need a licensed plumber.
What Seals Inside a Tap That Drips
Two tap types cover nearly every home: the compression tap closes a rubber washer onto a metal seat, while the mixer usually seals using a ceramic disc cartridge. Both can drip, but for different reasons and under different rules.
The test at the sink takes five seconds:
A washer tap
gives you two handles, one for hot and one for cold, and each takes several full turns to close. Winding the handle drives the spindle down, and the jumper valve under the spindle carries the washer onto the seat.
A mixer
runs one lever, generally a quarter turn from closed to full, mixing the hot and cold inside the body.
A drip tells you the sealing part has worn through. On a washer tap the washer is the usual suspect, with the O-ring and the valve seat close behind. On a mixer it is generally the cartridge.
Some mixers use a washer instead of a cartridge, and those follow the washer rules in the next section.
Can Anyone Replace a Jumper Valve or Washer
Yes, for that one part only. The QBCC's unregulated list names a tap's washer and jumper valve. Anyone with the knowledge and skill the QBCC describes may do the job, with no licence needed and nothing to report, provided the work meets the minimum standards.
Every other tap job is licensed work. The cartridge is not on the unregulated list. The QBCC's owner guide points to putting in a whole new tap as work that needs a licence.
If you take on the washer, isolate the water first:
- close the tap's own isolation valve if it has one;
- otherwise close the main stop tap by the water meter.
Houses from Strathpine's first developer estates still carry their original compression taps in places, and a tap tightened for decades often hides more than a tired washer.
Why a Small Drip Is Worth Fixing
Left alone, a slow drip sends thousands of litres through the meter over a year or two. That water stays on your account: you pay for every drop the meter records, drips included, so the bill lands on the owner.
Unitywater adjusts bills for concealed leaks, but a dripping tap sits on the exclusion list, so no relief is coming for a tap left weeping. Running cisterns and other water appliances are excluded too.
At the last census most homes in the suburb were owner-occupied, so the drip usually shows up on the owner's own account. Checking your meter now and then is the simplest way to catch a slow loss early.
Tap Faults That Need a Licensed Plumber
Three signs push the fault past the washer: a drip that outlives a new washer, water showing at the handle or around the base, or a mixer dripping from the spout. Each sign points to a different worn part.
The usual culprits look like this:
- a valve seat worn rough or pitted, so a fresh washer cannot seal against it;
- a tired O-ring or the spindle seal where the spindle passes through the body;
- a connection under the sink that has come loose;
- a ceramic disc cartridge past its best, which needs the correct replacement model because sizes and fittings vary by make;
- a tap body cracked through or corroded badly.
Fixing or swapping any of those parts is minor work, which a QBCC licensee carries out without a permit or a Form 4. One habit worth breaking in the meantime: cranking a tap shut wears out both the washer and the seat sooner, so a tighter grip never cures a drip.
When to Call a Plumber
Call a plumber once the drip points past the washer, or whenever you would rather not touch the tap at all. Our tap repairs service covers worn seats, cartridges, spindles and full replacements, with a fixed quote before any work starts. A licensed repair also keeps the work inside the system the QBCC oversees.
Questions We Get About Dripping Taps
Call (07) 3524 7163How can I tell if my tap is a washer tap or a mixer?
Look at the handles. A washer tap gives you one for hot and one for cold, and each needs a good few turns to shut off. A mixer runs a single lever that generally turns a quarter turn and works on a cartridge inside.
Do I need a licence to change a tap washer in Queensland?
No, not for the washer and its jumper valve. The QBCC treats that job as unregulated, so no licence applies and nothing needs reporting, as long as the work reaches the minimum standards. Cartridges, spindles and every other tap repair are for a licensed plumber.
Is a plumber needed to fix a dripping tap in Strathpine?
No, if a worn washer is the only fault and you have the skill to renew it. Yes for a worn valve seat, an O-ring, a spindle, a cartridge or a whole new tap, because those count as minor work for a licensed plumber.
My rental tap drips in Strathpine, so who repairs it?
The owner or property manager. Queensland tenancy law requires them to keep the place in good repair through the tenancy, and you tell them as soon as you notice the drip. A dripping tap counts as a routine repair, fixed within a reasonable time.
Ring Us About the DripWe'll call you back.
Phone (07) 3524 7163 for a licensed plumber in Strathpine. We work under QBCC No: 15024607, with flat-rate pricing, no hidden fees and same-day where we can.
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