How to Fix a Leaking Shower Head
Sorting out how to fix a leaking shower head starts with one question: where is the water really coming from? A head that drips for a minute after you finish is just draining itself. A head that drips through the night is fed from somewhere else, and that somewhere is the mixer inside your bathroom wall, which is where a licensed plumber takes over.
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We put this guide together for Bongaree bathrooms, from mid-century timber cottages to the newer villa blocks, because a drip sounds identical in all of them. Salt air off the Passage doesn't help: it ages chrome fittings and o-rings well before their time.
Normal Drips Versus a Failing Seal
Water draining out of the head just after a shower is normal, but a drip that lasts with the water off means a seal inside the mixer has worn. Split the two before you spend a cent:
Normal
water held in the head, and in the arm above it, drains away on its own within a few minutes.
Not normal
the drip goes on long after the water shuts, which means supply water is creeping past a seal and finding the lowest exit.
The usual culprit
the mixer in the wall, where a worn washer or cartridge feeds the head overnight.
Watch the head for five minutes after a shower. A slow drain is nothing. A steady drip half an hour later is a job.
Where a Dripping Shower Head Comes From
A dripping head can come from the joint between head and arm, from the mixer in the wall, or on a combined bath set-up from the spout diverter. Each source leaves its own signature:
The arm joint
water shows there only while the shower runs, which points to a loose connection or a seal gone hard at that spot.
The mixer
the drip continues after the taps close, because a worn part inside is letting supply water through to the head.
The bath diverter
water dropping out of the head while the bath water runs means the diverter is worn or the spout partly blocked.
Scale
crust over the spray holes sends water out through other gaps, so the leak looks odd instead of steady.
The mixer is worth a second look. Its cartridge controls flow and the hot-cold blend, so the same wear can show up as a drip, a handle that drags, or a shower that never gets warm.
Can You Replace a Shower Head Yourself
Yes, you can: the QBCC classes a head swap as unregulated work, which anyone with the know-how may do. Know the fine print before you start:
- No sign-off is needed from the QBCC or the council, and there is nothing to report once you're done.
- Licence or not, the finished job has to come up to the standard set out in the plumbing code and its regulations.
- The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme covers every head sold in Australia. Its label carries the stars and water-use numbers wherever it's listed, online included.
The line stops at the mixer. Queensland's unregulated list covers the head alone. A cartridge, valve or washer inside that wall unit is a licensee's job, classed as minor work, needing no permit and no report.
Worn Seats and Bodies Behind the Wall
When a fresh washer or cartridge fails to stop the drip, the valve seat or the mixer body is the likely damage, and a licensed plumber checks both. A washer closes onto the valve seat, and the cartridge shuts inside the body of the mixer.
Score either surface and the new part has nothing to seal against. A licensee opens the unit, reads both surfaces, and says whether a repair or a replacement fitting is the honest fix.
When to Call a Plumber About It
Ring a plumber when the drip continues after the water shuts off, when the handle goes stiff, or when the temperature drifts. Renters should pass it on fast. Tell the property manager or owner as soon as you notice it, because Queensland tenancy law makes them keep the place sound and in repair for the whole tenancy.
The mixer, diverter and arm jobs sit on our shower repairs page. That page suits the older showers near the Bongaree Post Office as much as a fresh unit in a new villa block. Homes around the Bribie Island SES facility and the ambulance station ring us for the same jobs.
Cost comes down to a few drivers:
- Where the fault lives: head or mixer.
- Which part the job needs.
- How much wall has to come off to reach the mixer.
A fixed quote before any work starts puts the number in writing. Find the source first, then decide who fixes it.
Shower Head Questions Answered
Call (07) 3523 7121Why does my shower head drip after I turn it off?
Water held in the head drains out for a minute after you finish, which is normal. A drip that lasts past the taps being closed comes from the mixer, where a worn washer or a tired cartridge lets water slip past its seal. That mixer, not the head, is the usual culprit in a Bongaree bathroom.
What makes a shower head leak?
Most head leaks trace to four faults: a loose joint at the arm, a worn mixer seal, scale over the spray holes, or a tired bath diverter. Only the first shows while the water runs. A mixer seal drips once the taps shut, and a worn diverter sends water to the head while the bath runs.
My shower still drips after a new cartridge went in. Why?
Because the washer closes onto a valve seat and the cartridge shuts inside the mixer body: a rough seat or worn body leaves a new part nothing to seal against. A licensed plumber opens the mixer and checks both surfaces. That repair is minor work, so it needs a licensee but no permit.
Why is water leaking where the shower head joins the arm?
Water at that join only while the shower runs means a loose connection or a perished seal where head meets arm. Queensland lets you swap the head yourself: it's unregulated work when you have the know-how. The rule is statewide, Bongaree included, and the finished job has to come up to the plumbing code's standard.
Talk to Us About the DripWe'll call you back.
Phone (07) 3523 7121 for a licensed plumber in Bongaree. We work under QBCC No: 15024607, with flat-rate pricing, no hidden fees and same-day where we can.
To claim your $0 call-out fee, call (07) 3523 7121 today.