Water Around the Base, Only When It Runs

What it almost always is

On a faucet with a swivel spout, the spout sits in the body on a pair of O-rings. When those harden or split, water under pressure escapes around the joint and appears at the base — and only while the water is on, which is the giveaway.

It is a small part and an ordinary repair. It is also one that gets quoted as a whole faucet more often than it needs to be, which is worth knowing before the conversation.

Why it matters more than a drip into the bowl

Because this water does not go down the drain. It runs across the deck of the sink, finds the mounting holes, and goes into the cabinet or into the counter. On a timber counter or a particle-board carcass that does real damage quietly.

Dry the area, run the tap, and look underneath while it is running. If water is arriving under the sink from the mounting holes, that is the answer.

The one that is not the spout

If water appears around the base with the tap off, or seems to come from beneath the whole fixture rather than the spout joint, the seal or gasket under the faucet body may be the problem instead — or the water may be arriving from somewhere else entirely and pooling there.

Working out where water is actually coming from is worth ten minutes before anybody is called.

And if the fixture rocks

A faucet that moves when you push the spout has loose mounting hardware, and movement destroys whatever seal is underneath it. Say so on the call, because it changes the job from a seal to a seal plus refastening, and sometimes reveals a corroded mounting.

• Under the sink
• Repair or replace