Water bill creeping up?
What a Dripping Tap Actually Costs You
A tap that drips once every few seconds runs continuously, day and night, and the volume adds up faster than most people expect, a steady drip wastes a substantial amount of water over a year, and every litre of it appears on your bill. If it’s a hot tap, you’re paying twice, once for the water and once for the energy used to heat it.
The other cost is the tap itself. A worn washer that keeps dripping grinds against the brass seat underneath it, and the longer it runs the more damage it does to the tap body. Fixed early it’s a washer. Left for a year it can be a reseat or a new tap.
Why does it happen
Why Taps Drip
Perished washers
The brass seat the washer presses against wears and pits, particularly if a tap has been dripping a while or gets turned off hard. A new washer on a damaged seat drips again within weeks, the seat needs reseating for the repair to hold.
Failed cartridges
In mixer taps, the ceramic cartridge wears or gets damaged by grit in the water supply.
Worn O-rings
Where a tap leaks from the base or the spout rather than the outlet, it’s usually an O-ring rather than a washer.
Water pressure
Persistently high mains pressure shortens the life of every washer, seal and cartridge in the house. If taps across the property keep failing, the pressure limiting valve is worth checking, that’s covered on our burst and leaking pipes page.
What We Do
Taps We Repair and Replace
Kitchen and Bathroom Taps
Standard washer taps, quarter-turn ceramic disc taps and older three-piece sets. Most drips on conventional taps are a perished washer or O-ring, and the repair is quick.
Mixer Taps
Single-lever mixers use a cartridge rather than washers. When they drip, stiffen or start swinging loose, the cartridge has usually failed. Cartridges are brand-specific, so identifying the tap correctly matters more than the repair itself.
Shower Taps and Shower Heads
Dripping shower taps, leaking shower heads and mixers that won’t hold temperature. If water is appearing anywhere other than out of the outlet — through the wall, in the room below, or as a damp patch on a nearby wall, that’s a different problem, and our burst and leaking pipes page covers it.
Outdoor and Garden Taps
Garden taps take weather, sun and rough handling, and they’re the ones most likely to be dripping unnoticed for months. Hose bibs, garden taps and outdoor mixers repaired or replaced.
Rated 5 stars
Penrith Families & Businesses Have Trusted Us for 24 Years
Our continual focus on customer service, affordable pricing and quality workmanship has earned DrainPro Plumbing Services a 5 star rating across Penrith and Western Sydney.
Daniel came, checked, fixed all the while answering all my silly questions. Helped getting rid of a massive debris in the sewer pipe. Would 100% recommend.
Koichi Pham
Fixed a burst water pipe I accidentally hit while gardening. They came out straight away and got it sorted quickly and professionally. Great service and very easy to deal with.
Jade McQuillan
Daniel provided a very quick service, was very friendly and explained all the options we had before going ahead with work to make sure we were completely informed.
Monica Asimus
Our old toilet needed an emergency replacement. Daniel responded immediately and was able to have a brand new toilet replaced within 24hrs at a reasonable price.
Caitlan Read
Daniel went above and beyond to fix a cracked pipe in our front yard. After the job you couldn’t tell there was a large trench dig up it looked untouched.
Jessica Toth
Daniel arrived on time, delivered high-quality work, and was very professional throughout the entire process. He exceeded expectations and I couldn’t be happier!
Jasmine Dilworth
Our Process
What Happens When You Call Drain Pro
- You call, and you speak to a plumber
Describe what’s happening and you’ll get an honest read on how urgent it is and what it’s likely to cost, before anyone leaves the depot. - We arrive same day
With common washers, O-rings and seals already on the van. - You get a fixed price before work starts
No hourly rate ticking over while the problem gets diagnosed. - The repair is tested
And the area left clean.
Fast Same-Day Service
Areas We Service
Based in Werrington Downs, we cover Penrith, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and the surrounding corridor.
Penrith
- Penrith
- Cranebrook
- Werrington
- Werrington Downs
- St Marys
- Kingswood
- Cambridge Park
- Claremont Meadows
- Caddens
- Jordan Springs
- Glenmore Park
- Emu Plains
- Leonay
- Orchard Hills
Blue Mountains
- Glenbrook
- Blaxland
- Warrimoo
- Mt Riverview
Hawkesbury
- Windsor
- South Windsor
- Bligh Park
- McGraths Hill
- Riverstone
- Schofields
- Marsden Park
- Erskine Park
FAQs