Taps and toilets are the two things in a house that get used dozens of times a day, so they are also the first to wear out. Most of these repairs are quick in the right hands — tell us what is happening and we will look for an available local plumber.
A traditional tap with separate hot and cold handles seals against a rubber washer, and a washer that has hardened or split is behind most drips. A modern single-lever mixer uses a ceramic cartridge instead, which cannot be re-washered — it is replaced as a unit. Either way it is a small part, and the job is mostly about getting the tap apart without damaging the finish.
Where the drip is coming from tells you a lot. Water from the spout when the tap is off is usually the washer or cartridge. Water seeping around the base of the handle is more often the spindle O-ring. Water underneath the sink, appearing only when the tap runs, tends to be the flexible tail or the connection to it rather than the tap itself.
Sometimes replacement is the sensible call — a badly limed-up tap, a body that has corroded onto the sink, or a pair of taps where you cannot get parts any more. A plumber will tell you which way round it works out cheaper.
A toilet that keeps trickling is nearly always one of two parts. If water is running into the pan continuously, the outlet seal on the flush valve has failed and is letting the cistern drain away. If water is running out of the overflow or the cistern never quite stops filling, it is the fill valve — the float-operated inlet — that is not shutting off. Both are inexpensive parts and both waste a genuinely surprising amount of water if left.
A flush that has gone weak or does nothing at all is usually a broken flush mechanism, a detached cable or lever on a concealed cistern, or a cistern that is not filling to the right level. Water appearing around the base of the pan after a flush points at the pan-to-soil connector or the doughnut seal between cistern and pan.
Simple blockages — the ones caused by too much paper, wipes that should never have gone down, or a build-up in the trap — can often be cleared with a plunger or a closet auger. If more than one appliance is backing up, or a manhole is full, the problem is in the drain rather than the toilet and needs drainage attention.
Avoid pouring caustic drain cleaner into a blocked toilet. It rarely shifts a paper blockage and it makes the job hazardous for whoever works on it next.
Vofix is a matching service that connects customers with independent local plumbers. The plumber will confirm availability, pricing and the scope of work directly with you before work begins.
Availability varies by area and by day, so attendance is always subject to plumber availability. Vofix does not set or control the prices plumbers charge.
Three steps from telling us about the job to speaking with a local plumber directly.
Share a few quick details about your plumbing job, big or small.
We look for a plumber in the Vofix network covering your area.
Speak directly with your plumber and get the job sorted.
A washer or cartridge change is usually the cheaper option and is the right call for most taps. Replacement makes more sense where the tap body is corroded or heavily limed, where spares are no longer available, or where you were planning to change the taps anyway.
Enough to notice on a metered bill — a continuously trickling flush valve can lose several hundred litres a day. It is also one of the quickest jobs on a plumber’s list, and one of the easiest to keep putting off.
A plumber can normally clear a blockage in the pan or the trap. If several appliances are draining slowly, or an external manhole is full, the blockage is in the drain run and needs drainage equipment rather than a plunger. Describe what else is affected and we will point the enquiry the right way.
For a repair, no — most plumbers carry common washers, cartridges and fill valves. For a replacement it depends: some plumbers supply and fit, others will fit a tap you have chosen. Agree it in advance so the visit is not wasted.
Midlands guide figures are roughly £60–£150 for a tap repair, £100–£250 to supply and fit a new tap and £75–£180 to unblock a toilet. Vofix does not set prices; the plumber confirms the cost with you first.
See the full price guide →Send us the details and we will look for an available local plumber. Free to use, with no obligation to book.
Other everyday repairs you can send through Vofix.