Start with the small isolation valve on the pipe right under the leaking tap or toilet. Closing it stops the leak without cutting water to the whole house. Turn it with a flat head screwdriver. The water is on when the slot follows the pipe, and off after a quarter turn, with the slot across it. If the leak carries on, turn the water off at the stop tap.
A leaking toilet often gives itself away. Listen for a steady trickle in the cistern when nobody has flushed, or look for ripples on the water in the pan. Put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern and leave it a while. Colour in the pan means it is leaking. The cause is usually a faulty flush valve or fill valve, most often a failed seal.
A dripping tap usually comes down to a rubber washer that has cracked, gone brittle or clogged with limescale. On a single lever tap, a worn or clogged cartridge can cause the drip.
Don't leave it, because a leaking toilet can waste between two hundred and four hundred litres of water a day. Call me if a tap is badly damaged or you are not sure what is causing the drip. I look after taps and toilets across Halesworth at Always Plumbing Services, and I'd rather you rang early than paid for water you never used. Here is how I handle plumbing repairs.
