Do You Hear Water Dripping When Faucets Are Off?
If you’re reading this at midnight with a flashlight in one hand, you’re in good company. A lot of the calls I get about water dripping start almost word for word the same way. The faucet’s off and the sink’s bone dry, but I still hear the water running. So let me walk you through it like I would on the phone, in the order I’d actually check.
First, Rule Out the Faucet
Grab a dish towel and dry the sink out, spout and all, then leave it alone for a couple hours. Go watch something. Seriously, don’t touch it. If there’s fresh water in the basin when you come back, the water dripping is coming from the faucet and your walls are probably fine.
(One or two drops right after you shut it off don’t count. That’s just water that was sitting in the spout.)
A steady drip with the handle all the way off is different. On a single-handle faucet it’s usually the cartridge, and on an older two-handle it’s usually a washer. Either one’s a reasonable DIY fix if you’re handy. The one catch is that some faucets are old enough that nobody carries the cartridge anymore, and I’ve had customers spend more on gas going store to store than a new faucet would’ve run them.
Then Pay Attention to When You Hear It
This sounds too simple. It isn’t. Timing tells me more than almost anything else.
Drain lines carry sound a lot better than people expect. When somebody upstairs gets out of the shower, water keeps running down the stack for a few minutes, and if that stack happens to run behind your kitchen wall, it sounds like the sink is dripping.
I had a woman in Church Hill who swore her faucet was going bad. She only ever heard it in the mornings. We figured out pretty quick it was her teenager’s shower, and she was relieved, and then a little annoyed at him for reasons that had nothing to do with plumbing.
So if the water dripping only shows up after showers or laundry, it’s probably the drain. If it’s 3 a.m. and nobody’s run water in hours, keep reading.
Check the Pressure If More Than One Faucet Drips
I see this one a lot. Somebody fixes the kitchen faucet, then the bathroom starts going, then there’s water dripping in the tub too, and they figure the house is cursed.
It’s usually pressure.
Virginia’s plumbing code follows the International Plumbing Code, which requires a pressure-reducing valve when static pressure in the house goes over 80 psi. Not every older Richmond home has one. And the ones that do sometimes have a valve that gave out years ago and nobody noticed, because why would you.
You can check this in about thirty seconds with a gauge from the hardware store. It screws right onto an outdoor spigot. Over 80, give us a call. Swapping a PRV usually takes us an hour or two, but it means shutting off the main and cutting into your service line, and honestly, that’s not the job to learn on.
What If Nothing’s Wet Anywhere?
Then go find the water meter. Shut off every faucet, and make sure the dishwasher and washing machine aren’t mid-cycle. Now watch the little leak indicator on the meter for fifteen minutes. If it moves even a hair while you’re hearing water dripping in the wall, you’ve most likely got a hidden leak.
I wish that were rarer than it is in the Fan and Church Hill. Plenty of older houses there still have some galvanized supply pipe in the walls, and it rusts from the inside where you can’t see it. Usually the sound comes first. The ceiling stain comes a few weeks later.
That’s the point where guessing gets expensive. With leak detection gear, an acoustic listening device and a thermal camera, we can usually find the spot without opening more wall than we have to.
Don’t Wait for the Stain
By the time a wall leak shows itself, the drywall’s usually been soaking for weeks, and it doesn’t dry out back there. We’re stubbornly honest plumbers. If it’s a cartridge, that’s what we’ll tell you. If it’s a pipe, we’ll find it before anybody starts cutting. Call Five Star Services Benjamin Franklin Plumbing for leak detection in Richmond.
FAQ
Is a little water dripping after I turn off the faucet normal
A drop or two, yeah. That’s just water left in the spout. If it’s still dripping ten minutes later, the cartridge or washer’s on its way out. It won’t fix itself, though it might take its sweet time getting worse.
Why is water dripping so much louder at night
It isn’t, really. Once the HVAC and TV shut off, there’s just nothing left to cover it up. I still wouldn’t brush off a drip you only hear at 2 a.m., though. Do the meter test first.
Does a drip really waste that much water
More than you’d think. The EPA says a faucet dripping once a second wastes over 3,000 gallons a year. Here in Richmond you pay for that twice, since the sewer part of your bill is based on water use.
Can I fix a leaky faucet myself
Often, yes, if the drip’s from the spout and you can find the right cartridge. Most swaps take under an hour. Call somebody if the shutoff valves under the sink won’t turn. Forcing an old valve is how a small job turns into a wet cabinet.
I hear water dripping in the wall but my bill is normal, should I be worried
I’d check anyway. A slow hidden leak can run for weeks and waste a lot of water before it shows up on a bill. Turn everything off and watch the meter. If that little indicator moves, have someone look before your drywall tells you about it.
And hey, if it turns out to be somebody’s shower upstairs, that’s about the best news a plumber can give you.
