Why Some Rockhampton Taps are Leaking

There’s nothing like waking up at sunrise to the sound of birds chirping… and a leaking tap.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

A leaking tap can be an inconvenience. And whilst it’s not as bad as having your entire house flooded, it can still cause harm.

However, unfortunately a lot of homes in Rockhampton’s taps are always leaking. 

Why does a leaking tap matter?

A leaking tap does a lot more than make noise.

For one thing, having a constant moist and damp environment is perfect weather for mold. Having these black spots around your house isn’t just a pain to clean – they can damage your health. Mould is linked to developing irritated skin and eyes, and even asthma attacks in some people.

And a constantly leaking tap and moist environment can accelerate damage to other areas like your flooring

But the biggest kick in the gut is that you actually have to pay to get all these side effects. One tap that drips twice a minute can waste 260 litres of water a year, which instantly gets added to your quarterly water bill. 

Why are they always leaking?

There are a lot of reasons why a tap can be leaking. Here four common reasons that people experience them:

• Non-functional O-Ring

You’ve probably never heard of it, but an O-ring is a little piece of rubber that saves you a lot of headaches. It sits within a groove in your tap and is a seal that prevents water from coming out when the tap is closed. 

However, if this seal is worn or damaged, then you’ll find that your house is a bit more damp. It can even be leaking from another part of the tap than from where water usually comes from.

•  Damaged washers

A washer is another tight seal, like the O-ring, that prevents water from escaping. But, when this is deformed, cracked or worn down – it can no longer do its job well. And then you get the ‘drip, drip, drip’. 

•  Excessively high water pressure

Having super high water pressure is like squishing the entirety of Queensland into one room. With such pressure and force, water can be pushed out of the tap – even when it’s off. But, the problem with water pressure is that it starts small and can become a big problem. The higher the pressure, the more stress your tap is under and more worn its parts get – meaning even more leaks. And if the water pressure is super high, then the whole pipe can even burst!

•  Old and worn plumbing systems

When people start getting old, their back starts aching and they can no longer do what they used to do. It’s the same for taps. A tap is made out of many important parts, and as these get worn , loose and damaged with use, they eventually stop working. This is when leaks come.

How can I fix this?

It can be difficult to solve, seeming that there can be causes of a leaking tap – meaning different solutions. Some people are brave enough to DIY it. However, it takes a certain amount of skill to disassemble a tap and reassemble it better than before.

If DIY isn’t the route you want to go, we’ll be happy to connect you with plumbers who can give you a quote on that leaking tap. Absolutely Free. No Obligation.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to not let problems escalate. We’ve already seen the other flow on effects that high water pressure can have. 

Hopefully, one day you can wake up in peace without the sound of that ‘drip, drip, drip’.

This blog is not meant to constitute advice and is general in nature. Please read more here.