How to Fix a Leaking Shower Head
The timing of a shower drip tells you which part is at fault before anyone picks up a spanner.
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Here is how to fix a leaking shower head the way a licensed plumber reads it on a call out to Carseldine: watch the clock, then work out which of three parts is leaking.
Some drips right after you shut off are just water emptying from the fittings. A drip that lasts the afternoon is a seal wearing out, and the head is rarely the guilty part.
Normal Drips Versus a Failing Seal
Water held in the arm and head for the first minute after use is normal; a drip that continues for hours with the water off is not.
The arm and the head trap a little water every shower, and gravity drains that water within a minute or so. Anything past that window is a fault, not leftover water.
A drip beyond the drain-down comes from the mixer, where a worn washer or cartridge is letting water creep past its seal. The cartridge controls flow and the hot-cold blend, so wear can also appear as a stubborn handle or a temperature that never settles.
Most Carseldine homes date from the 1980s to the 2000s, so many wall mixers are decades into their service life.
Head, Joint or Mixer Behind the Wall
Three spots produce nearly every shower drip: the joint connecting the head and arm, the in-wall mixer, and the spout with its diverter on a bath-shower combination.
Each spot has its own signature:
The joint with the arm
water at the connection while a shower is running means the joint has loosened or its small seal has perished.
The in-wall mixer
a drip with the supply closed traces to the mixer, where the internal washer or cartridge has worn thin.
The bath spout and diverter
water showing at the head while the bath is filling, or escaping from the spout during a shower, points to a worn diverter. A spout that restricts the flow causes the same symptom.
Scale deserves a mention too. Mineral crust can choke individual spray holes and push water through the head's other gaps, which reads as an odd leak rather than a steady drip.
Even the newest bathrooms at Rockpool, the aged care home that opened in 2022, run on the same washers and cartridges as an older ensuite.
What Counts as Unregulated Plumbing Work
Yes, the QBCC lists replacing a shower head as unregulated work for anyone holding the appropriate knowledge and level of skill.
No plumbing licence is needed. Neither the QBCC nor the local government asks for approval, and the job does not get reported to anyone.
Whatever the licence situation, the work still needs to reach the minimum standard required by law and by the codes.
The head is where the freedom ends. Inside the mixer, the cartridge or valve is licensed territory: the unregulated list covers the head alone, so a licensed plumber handles those repairs.
The QBCC calls that sort of mixer repair minor work: it needs a licensee, and it skips the permit and Form 4 paperwork.
Any new head you buy needs registration under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme, with its stars and water use shown on the label.
Rentals carry a small allowance. A shower head swap is one of the few jobs on a Queensland rental that need no licensee. The owner or manager carries the duty to keep the place in good repair through the tenancy, and a tenant has to flag needed repairs promptly.
When a New Part Does Not Stop the Drip
A drip that persists past a new washer or cartridge usually means wear at the valve seat or damage in the mixer body, and a licensed plumber checks both.
A washer closes against the seat; a cartridge closes inside the mixer body. Worn or damaged surfaces there defeat a new part, so the drip carries on.
Fixing a fitting inside the mixer is minor work in the QBCC's eyes, so the same licence rules apply.
What the fix costs depends on which part has failed and how open the mixer access is. We set the price in a fixed quote after seeing the job.
Our shower repairs page takes the mixer story further, covering diverters, arms and diagnosis behind the tile.
Shower Head Dripping Questions Answered
Call (07) 3524 7163What causes a shower head to drip in a Carseldine bathroom?
Four culprits cover most cases. A worn or loose seal at the head-to-arm join leaks while the water runs, and a tired washer or cartridge in the wall mixer drips with the water shut off. Scale can choke the spray holes, and a failed bath-shower diverter sends water the wrong way.
Can I legally replace my own shower head in Carseldine?
Yes, the QBCC puts a shower head replacement in the unregulated category, so no licence, approval or report is needed. The condition is the appropriate knowledge and level of skill, and the finished job still has to satisfy the minimum standards. Anything inside the mixer stays with a licensed plumber.
Why does my shower still drip after a new cartridge?
The seat or the mixer body is probably worn. A washer seals on the seat and a cartridge seals in the body, so damage to either surface lets water past even a brand-new part. A licensed plumber assesses the mixer and quotes the repair.
Why does water leak where the shower head joins the arm?
Water seeping at that connection while the shower runs usually means the joint has worked loose or its seal has perished. Replacing the head is the part the QBCC leaves open to you; anything inside the wall is not.
Book a Plumber for That Dripping ShowerWe'll call you back.
Ring (07) 3524 7163 and tell us what's wrong. You get $0 call-out fees, a fixed quote before any work starts and same-day where we can, 7 days a week.
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