How to Fix a Leaking Shower Head
The first question with a dripping shower head is whether water is still travelling through the pipes, or only emptying out of the fitting. That question is how to fix a leaking shower head in one step. A head that drips for a minute or two after you close the taps is just shedding what it holds.
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A drip that goes on for hours means a worn seal in the wall mixer, and that repair belongs to a licensed plumber.
The housing mix here shapes the job. At the last census only 28.5 per cent of dwellings here were separate houses, so most showers in Toowong sit in unit bathrooms. In the towers around the station, mixers and their valves sit packed into shared walls, so a correct diagnosis matters before anyone starts undoing fittings.
What Leftover Water Looks Like
Water left inside the head after a shower is normal, and it stops by itself. A drip that carries on once the water is off means the mixer's internal seal has worn, and that is a different job.
A shower head and the arm above it trap a little water every time you shower. Gravity empties that water over the next minute or so, and the drip stops on its own. Nothing is broken and no part needs replacing.
A drip still going ten minutes or an hour later is different. Water is slipping past a seal it should not be able to pass. The fault lives in the mixer controlling the flow, not the head hanging off the wall.
Signs Pointing to the Shower Mixer
A dripping shower comes from three places: the connection between head and arm, the mixer built into the wall, and on a bath-shower set-up the spout and the diverter inside it.
The join with the arm
Water seeping there while the shower is running points to a loose joint or a perished seal at that connection. Fittings that dry out once the shower is off confirm it.
The mixer in the wall
A drip that persists once the taps are closed signals the mixer, where a washer or cartridge past its best lets water creep past its seal. A handle that stiffens, or water running at the wrong temperature, often rides along, because the cartridge sets both flow and temperature.
The spout and diverter
Water dropping from the head while the bath is filling, or the spout losing water mid-shower, signals a tired diverter or a restricted spout rather than the head.
Scale plays its part as well. Mineral build-up choking the spray holes forces water out through other openings in the head, which reads like an odd leak with no obvious source.
Can You Replace a Shower Head Yourself
Yes, the QBCC lists replacing a shower head as unregulated work, so anyone who has the knowledge and skill for the task may do it. No plumbing licence is required.
Neither the QBCC nor the local government needs to approve the work, and nothing gets reported afterwards. Licence or not, the finished work has to reach the minimum standard set out in the legislation and codes.
The cartridge or valve within the mixer is a job for a licensed plumber, because the QBCC's unregulated list names the head and not the mixer.
A replacement head carries its own rule. The national Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme covers shower heads sold in Australia, and the label shows the star rating and water-use details wherever the head is listed for sale, online included.
Renters get a small allowance here. A shower head swap ranks among the few jobs a Queensland rental allows without a licensee. Queensland's tenancy law puts the owner or manager in charge of keeping the place in good repair throughout the tenancy. A tenant should tell whoever manages the property as soon as a fault appears.
When a New Part Does Not Stop the Drip
A drip that defeats a new washer or cartridge usually means a worn valve seat, or damage in the body of the mixer, and a licensed plumber assesses both. The washer presses onto the seat, and the cartridge closes within the body, so worn metal underneath either one stops the new part sealing.
Fixing or swapping parts inside the mixer is minor work that only a licensee may do, with neither a permit nor a Form 4 required. The next move is a phone call, not another part.
When to Call a Plumber
Call once the drip survives the taps being closed, or water shows up where it should not. A licensed plumber traces the fault to the mixer, the diverter or the seat. The price turns on which part has failed and how easily the mixer can be reached, and a fixed quote settles it before any work starts.
Deeper fixture faults, including work on the arm and in-wall parts, sit on our shower repairs page.
Shower Head Questions From Toowong
Call (07) 3524 7137What makes a shower head drip?
A perished seal at the join with the arm leaks while you shower, and a drip that persists with the taps off points to the mixer's washer or cartridge. Scale choking the spray holes forces water out elsewhere. And on a bath and shower combo, a tired diverter can send water the wrong way.
Can I change a shower head myself in Toowong?
Yes, the QBCC classes a shower head swap as unregulated work, which anyone with the know-how and skill for the job may do. No approval is required and nothing gets reported. The finished work has to meet the minimum standard, and a new head sold in Australia carries its WELS label.
Who is allowed to replace a shower cartridge in Queensland?
A licensed plumber. Repair work on the mixer's innards is minor work reserved for a QBCC licensee, without a permit or a Form 4. The QBCC's unregulated list names the head, not the mixer or its cartridge.
Why does my Toowong shower leak where the head screws on?
Water seeping at that join while the shower runs points to a joint that has worked loose, or a seal that has perished, at the connection. Swapping the head is the unregulated job, so you may do that part yourself if you have the skill for it, though the result still has to meet the standard.
Ring Us About the DripWe'll call you back.
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