Faucet Constantly Dripping?

A faucet that drips after you shut it off is telling you a worn part inside is no longer sealing. The specific part depends on what kind of faucet you have, and Tampa’s hard water (12 to 18 grains per gallon) speeds up the wear by grinding mineral grit against the seals every time you turn the handle. A steady drip is not just annoying, it can waste hundreds of gallons a month and stain the basin. Here are the causes by faucet type.

1. Worn cartridge (most common on modern faucets). Single-handle and many two-handle faucets from Moen, Delta, and Kohler use a cartridge. When it wears or scales up, it can no longer shut off cleanly and the faucet drips.
2. Worn washer and valve seat (older compression faucets). Two-handle faucets with separate hot and cold knobs use a rubber washer that presses against a brass seat. The washer hardens and the seat corrodes, especially in our hard water.
3. Damaged O-rings. Hard-water grit and age chew up the O-rings that seal the handle and spout, causing drips at the base or from the spout.
4. Worn ceramic disc. Disc faucets are durable but the seals and the discs themselves eventually scale and leak.
5. Corroded or pitted valve seat. The seat the washer or cartridge presses against gets etched by minerals so nothing can seal against it.
6. High water pressure. Pressure above 80 psi stresses seals and causes drips. Common in parts of Tampa Bay on municipal supply.

Here is where Tampa Bay pricing typically lands in 2026, with FREE diagnosis on every call.

• Cartridge replacement: $145 to $295 installed, more if the cartridge is seized and has to be extracted.
• Washer, O-ring, and seat rebuild: $145 to $275 for a compression faucet.
• Full faucet replacement: $245 to $495 installed. We install Moen, Delta, and Kohler, the brands with the best parts availability for future service.
• Angle stop (shutoff valve) replacement: $145 to $245 per valve when the old ones are seized.
• Pressure-reducing valve installation: $345 to $650 if house pressure is too high and damaging fixtures.
• Water softener (Rheem or Halo): the long-term fix that stops hard-water grit from destroying seals across every faucet in the house.

FREE estimates and FREE diagnosis on every visit. No diagnostic fee. We carry the common Moen, Delta, and Kohler cartridges on the truck for same-day repair.