How to Fix a Leaking Shower Head
Drips from a shower head fall into two camps, and only one of them is a fault. Water held in the head and arm drains away briefly after you shut the shower off, which is normal. A drip that keeps running points to a worn seal inside the wall-mounted mixer, and that is where working out how to fix a leaking shower head really starts.
If we're late, $100 comes off your bill
- Licensed and InsuredEvery job done by a licensed plumber. QBCC No: 15024607
- Fixed Quote FirstFlat-rate pricing, agreed before any work starts
- Lifetime Labour WarrantyBacked by our Fix-It-or-It's-Free guarantee (T&Cs apply)
- $0 Call-Out FeesNo extra charge for nights, weekends or public holidays
This page sorts the harmless from the fixable. It covers what the QBCC lets you swap yourself, what belongs to a licensed plumber, and the signs that tell you which side of the tile the problem sits on. We write it from the jobs our Milton plumbers attend across the apartment towers and the handful of cottages that make up this suburb.
Is a Dripping Shower Head Normal
Partly: a short run of drips straight after use is normal, while a drip that lasts for hours is not. The head and its arm hold a little water after the shower shuts, and that water drains out on its own within a minute or two.
A drip that continues well past that, or one that starts up overnight, tells you water is getting past a seal it should be held back by. The culprit sits in the mixer behind the tiled wall, where a washer or cartridge has worn to the point it can no longer close properly.
Milton's housing stock makes that distinction matter. At the last census, 1,161 of the suburb's 1,513 dwellings were flats or apartments, so most showers here sit in tower bathrooms where the mixer hides behind tiles. Telling the two drips apart saves a callout for a problem that fixes itself.
Can You Replace a Shower Head Yourself
Yes, because the QBCC treats a shower head swap as unregulated work in Queensland. Anyone with the appropriate knowledge and level of skill may do it, and no plumbing licence applies.
The regulator's position is plain on what that means:
- no approval is needed from the QBCC or from local government;
- there is nothing to report once the job is done;
- the finished work still has to reach the minimum standards the rules require.
The line stops at the wall. A cartridge or valve within the mixer is licensed work, because the QBCC's unregulated list names the head alone and leaves everything behind it to a licensee. If you rent, the same list puts a head swap among the very few jobs needing no licensee, while your owner or manager still has to maintain the premises in good repair through the tenancy.
One check before you buy: a replacement head offered for sale in Australia has to be registered under the national water-rating scheme. Its star rating and water-use figures have to show wherever it is listed for sale, online included.
Signs Pointing to the Shower Mixer
Three parts can produce a drip: the join between head and arm, the mixer in the wall, and on a bath-shower set-up the spout with its diverter. Each shows itself differently, and reading the signs tells you which part is at fault.
Water at the join while the shower runs
the connection between head and arm has loosened or its seal has perished. Water appears only during use, because that joint is under pressure only then.
A drip with the taps shut
the fault sits in the wall mixer, where an aged washer or cartridge seeps past the seal. The cartridge controls flow and the hot-cold blend, so a stiff handle or water at the wrong temperature often travels with the drip.
Water from the head while the bath tap runs, or from the spout mid-shower
a worn diverter or a restricted spout on a shared mixer is sending water the wrong way. The head itself is fine.
Scale plays its part too. Mineral build-up can plug the spray holes and push water out through other gaps in the head, which reads as an odd leak rather than a steady drip.
Worn Seats and Bodies Behind the Wall
A drip that outlasts a new washer or a new cartridge points to a worn valve seat or a damaged mixer body. A washer closes onto the valve seat, and a cartridge seats within the mixer body, so once either surface is worn or scored, no fresh part can seal against it.
That diagnosis and the repair that follows belong to a licensed plumber, who assesses the seat and body and advises on the fix. Repairing, replacing or removing a fitting within the mixer counts as minor work, so it needs a QBCC licensee but no permit and no Form 4.
The price of any repair depends on where the fault sits, the part required and how easily the mixer can be reached. You get a fixed quote before any work starts. Our shower repairs page covers the mixer, diverter and arm work that follows from these signs.
When to Call a Plumber
Ring a licensed plumber when the drip continues with the water shut off, when a new head has not stopped it, or when the handle feels stiff. Those signs put the fault behind the tile, in parts you cannot legally touch and should not try to reach.
A wandering temperature belongs on the same list. A drip inside a wall is also not a wait-and-see job in a tower. Water escaping the recess travels down through shared walls and ceilings, and in a suburb where most homes are apartments, the unit below usually finds out first.
Milton Shower Drip Questions
Call (07) 3523 7172What makes a shower head leak?
A loose or perished seal where the head meets the arm, or scale plugging the spray holes. A drip that continues once the taps are shut comes from the in-wall mixer, where an aged washer or cartridge seeps. On a bath and shower combo, a worn diverter can also send water the wrong way.
Can I change my own shower head in Milton?
Yes, the QBCC allows it. A head swap counts as unregulated work in Queensland, open to anyone with the right knowledge and skill, with nothing to lodge and no approval needed. The finished job still has to reach the standards the rules set, and the mixer stays with a licensed plumber.
Who is allowed to change a shower cartridge in Queensland?
A licensed plumber. Work on a fitting within a mixer is classed as minor work, so it needs a QBCC licensee but no permit and no Form 4. The regulator's unregulated list names the head alone, so the cartridge behind the tile in your Milton bathroom is never a DIY item.
What should a new shower head show on the label?
The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) star rating and water-use figures. Australia's water-rating law requires every head offered for sale here or imported to be registered, and those details have to appear wherever the product is advertised, online stores included.
Talk to Us About Your ShowerWe'll call you back.
Ring (07) 3523 7172 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.
To claim your $0 call-out fee, call (07) 3523 7172 today.