Signs a tap needs work
- Drips from the spout after the tap is turned fully off.
- Water pooling around the base of the tap or the handle.
- A handle that's stiff, loose, or spins without shutting off.
- Damp in the cupboard under the sink or basin.
- A mixer that drifts hotter or colder on its own.
- Hammering or squealing when you turn the tap on or off.
What you're allowed to do
Under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act, repairing or replacing taps, tap washers, ball valves and plugs isn't sanitary plumbing, and PGDB includes taps on its list of homeowner jobs. A new washer, a new cartridge, or a whole new tap fitted to the existing connection is yours to try.
Turn the water off before you start: at an isolating valve under the sink if there is one, or at the toby. Stop if the job means cutting, moving or rejoining a pipe, or if the water is coming from the pipework rather than the tap. That part is restricted work.
What a plumber will do
A plumber will find whether the leak is the washer, the seat it closes against, the cartridge, the tap body or the pipe feeding it. They can refit or replace a mixer, fit isolating valves so the next repair is easier, and fix leaks in the wall behind a shower or bath mixer.
They'll also check a new mixer suits your hot water. A low pressure cylinder is built for a much lower working pressure than the mains, and some mixers are made with mains pressure in mind, so it pays to ask before you buy.
What changes the job
Older washer taps and newer ceramic disc mixers fail in different ways and use different parts. A tap set into a tiled wall is harder to get at than one on a benchtop. Corroded fittings, discontinued parts and awkward cupboards add time.
Hot taps and wasted water
Rheem's owner's guide makes the point that even a small leak wastes a surprisingly large quantity of hot water and energy, and tells owners to replace faulty tap washers. A dripping hot tap is worth fixing sooner rather than later.
The Building Code requires hot water at basins, baths and showers to come out at a temperature that avoids the likelihood of scalding, which is the job of a tempering valve. If a hot tap suddenly runs much hotter or cooler than usual, the problem may be that valve, and it needs a plumber.
New tapware and the lead-free rules
From 2 May 2026, plumbing products used in drinking-water systems must meet lead-free requirements for all new building work, whether it needs consent or not. The change isn't retrospective, so the taps already in your house haven't become illegal. When a plumber fits new tapware, ask whether it meets the requirements.
Yours, or the plumber's
You can
- Replace a washer, a cartridge or the whole tap on its existing connection.
- Replace a sink, basin or bath plug.
- Turn the water off at an isolating valve or the toby before starting.
Leave to an authorised tradie
- Leaks from pipes, joints or fittings under the bench or in the wall.
- Moving a tap, or changing to a wall-mounted mixer.
- Fitting new isolating valves.
- A tempering valve that has stopped working properly.
What we would do
Have a go at a dripping washer if you're handy; it's legal and the part is small. Stop as soon as the job means touching a pipe or the leak is somewhere other than the tap. If the mixer is set into a wall, the hot side has gone strange, or you just want it done, tell us which tap and what it's doing, and we'll match you with an authorised plumber who handles taps and mixers.