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A Drip From the Spout Is Not a Drip From the Handle

They feel like the same complaint and they are not. One is the part that shuts the water off; the other is the part that stops water escaping around the stem. Knowing which you have is most of the diagnosis.

Briefly

A drip from the spout and a drip from the handle are different faults needing different parts. A spout drip is the valve failing to shut off; a handle drip is a seal around the stem. Knowing which you have decides what a plumber brings with them.

FaucetMend is a referral service, not a contractor. We connect homeowners with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands. We carry out no work, we sell no fixtures, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call. Nothing here is a statement about the water at any address; only a test of that water can tell you about it.

Water from the spout with the handle off

The shut-off is not shutting off. In a compression faucet that is a worn washer or a damaged seat for it to press against; in a cartridge faucet it is the cartridge; in a ceramic disc faucet it is the disc assembly or the seals under it.

Which of those you have is the first question a contractor will ask, and you can usually answer it yourself in a minute.

Water around the handle or at the base of it

Then the shut-off is probably fine and the seal around the moving stem is not. On older compression fittings that is packing or an O-ring under the packing nut; on cartridge and ball types it is the O-rings on the cartridge body or the cam and packing at the top.

It often shows only when the handle is open and the stem is under pressure, which is why it is missed by anybody testing with the tap shut.

Water under the sink and nothing above it

Then it is very likely not the faucet at all. The supply connections, the shutoff valves and the tailpiece all live down there and all fail in ways that look like a faucet problem from the cabinet floor. Establishing which takes a dry paper towel and ten minutes.

Why a drip is worth doing something about

Not for drama. Because the fault that causes it usually gets worse rather than staying put: a seat that has started cutting into a washer keeps cutting, and a cartridge that has begun passing keeps passing. The repair does not become easier by waiting and the water is not free.

And one thing worth checking first

If the drip started immediately after work anywhere on the plumbing, or after the supply was turned off and back on, debris disturbed in the pipes can lodge on a seat or in a cartridge. That is a clean-and-reassemble job rather than a worn-out-part job, and it is worth mentioning on the call.

Know the maker? Say so on the call.Cartridges are specific to a manufacturer, and the name on the handle is frequently the difference between one visit and two. We route you to a contractor covering your area, chosen on the ZIP code you give, free of charge to you. Faucets are simply our subject; the number itself handles any plumbing request.

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