A leaking outdoor tap in Calpe needs a plumber who will work out where the leak is before replacing anything: the tap itself, a worn washer or valve, the connection, or the supply pipework behind the wall.
100% Plumbing repairs and replaces outdoor taps, connections and external pipework across Calpe and the Marina Alta.
First, work out where it is leaking from
You can narrow this down yourself in thirty seconds, and it makes a real difference to what the job turns out to be.
Dripping from the spout with the tap closed
The problem is inside the tap — a worn washer, an internal seal, or a failed valve or cartridge.
Usually the cheaper outcome. Often a repair rather than a replacement.
Water at the base, or where it enters the wall
The problem is the connection or the supply pipe, not the tap.
Changing the tap will not fix this, and it is the version worth getting looked at sooner.
Tell us which of the two it is when you call. It changes what we bring.
In this article
What causes an outdoor tap to leak?
Outdoor taps lead a harder life than anything indoors: sun, salt air, hard water, and months of either constant use or no use at all. The usual causes:
- a worn washer or internal seal;
- a faulty valve or cartridge;
- corrosion inside the tap;
- a loose connection;
- damaged external pipework;
- deterioration around the wall connection;
- water pressure higher than the fitting is built for;
- plain age, and wear from regular outdoor use.
Is a leaking outdoor tap serious?
A small drip is not an emergency. It is also not nothing.
Can wait for an appointment
- a slow drip from the spout when closed;
- a tap that seals if you turn it hard;
- minor staining on the wall below it.
Worth calling sooner
- a leak you cannot stop by closing the tap;
- water coming from the pipework rather than the fitting;
- wet ground or damp spreading up an exterior wall;
- a drop in pressure elsewhere in the property.
Left running, a continuous drip wastes water and brings damp and staining to exterior walls and terraces, and corrosion to whatever the water keeps running over.
Can an outdoor tap be repaired, or does it need replacing?
Repair is often enough when the fault is limited to a washer, a seal, a valve or a connection. Replacement is the better call when the tap is badly corroded, physically damaged, leaking again after previous repairs, or simply no longer working properly.
Either way, the pipework feeding it is worth a look at the same time. If the fitting failed because of what is behind it, replacing the tap alone buys a few months. That is general plumbing work rather than a tap swap, and it is better to find that out before the job than after.
What if the leak is behind the wall?
Then the damp you can see may be nowhere near the actual leak. Water travels inside walls and along pipe runs before it surfaces, which is why opening the wall at the wet patch so often finds nothing.
Signs the leak is behind the wall rather than at the tap:
- damp or staining around the wall where the pipe enters;
- water appearing somewhere else whenever the tap runs;
- wet areas with no obvious source;
- reduced water pressure;
- water still being lost with the tap fully closed.
That last one is the decisive test: close every tap in the property, inside and out, and watch the water meter. If it keeps moving, water is escaping somewhere you cannot see.
Read next
Hidden water leaks and high bills: how to spot the warning signs early
Why this matters more in Calpe than it looks
Outdoor plumbing is everywhere here — villas, townhouses, apartments with terraces, gardens, irrigation, pool areas. A tap on an exterior wall is normal rather than unusual, and so is a leak on one.
The case worth taking seriously is the empty property. A dripping outdoor tap in a holiday home or second residence runs for months with nobody there to hear it. Nothing dramatic happens: no flood, no call. The first anyone knows is the bill, or a damp patch that has been spreading since spring.
If the property is only occupied part of the year, the outdoor taps are worth checking at the start and end of every stay — along with the rest of the holiday home plumbing checklist. It is also worth knowing where the stopcock is before you lock up and leave.
A local plumber can also tell you whether the fault is isolated to that tap or part of something wider in the supply — which matters if the pipework outside is the same age as the pipework in.
How 100% Plumbing can help
We check the fitting, the connections and the pipework around it, then tell you which of the two problems you actually have before anything gets replaced.
Locating the leak first avoids replacing a tap that was never the problem.
We offer our own comprehensive guarantee for the work we carry out.
Verified reviews from customers across the Costa Blanca.
Depending on what we find, the work may be repairing or replacing the tap, remaking the connection, repairing external pipework, or tracing a leak before anything is opened up. See general plumbing and our full range of plumbing services. If the supply pipe itself has failed, who can repair a broken water supply pipe in Calpe covers that case.
Related Services
Calpe · Benissa · Moraira · Teulada · Benitachell · Javea · Denia · Jalon · Pedreguer · Ondara · Pego · Orba · and the rest of the Marina Alta
Outdoor tap leaking?
Tell us whether it drips from the spout or comes out at the wall, and we will know what we are dealing with before we arrive.
24h emergency help line · 607 415 520
