How to Fix a Leaking Shower Head
A shower that keeps dripping after you've shut the taps off is almost never the head's fault. The part letting water through usually sits deeper, in the mixer, and fixing it is a job for a licensed plumber. Working out how to fix a leaking shower head means finding where the water is really coming from before any parts get bought.
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Homes across Caboolture run from 1960s weatherboard to estates still filling the fringe, and area-level population grew an estimated 10.7 per cent over the five years to 2025. Older bathrooms here carry mixers with decades of use on them, so a drip from the wall side is a fault we see often.
Normal Drips Versus a Failing Seal
Timing separates a harmless drip from a failing seal. Water held in the head and arm empties out for a minute or so after use, then stops on its own.
A drip that goes on for hours once everything is shut off is not normal. The mixer is letting water through, usually past a washer or cartridge that has worn out of shape. The head simply shows you the leak.
Watch the pattern before you spend anything:
Drips that stop after a short while
leftover water emptying out. Harmless.
Dripping that continues overnight
a seal inside the mixer has failed.
Water appearing only mid-shower
a joint or connection at fault, nothing in the wall.
Head, Joint or Mixer Behind the Wall
A drip has three possible sources: the connection between head and arm, the mixer inside the wall, and, where a bath shares the mixer, the spout and its diverter. Each shows a different sign.
The connection to the arm
Seepage at that fitting while water is running means the joint is loose or its seal has perished. The head itself is usually fine.
The wall mixer
Dripping that persists after shutdown comes from inside the mixer, where a washer or cartridge has worn. The cartridge governs flow and blends hot with cold, so a failing one also shows up as a handle that's gone stiff or water at the wrong temperature.
The bath diverter
Water coming from the head while the bath fills, or from the spout mid-shower, means a tired diverter or a blocked spout rather than a head fault.
Scale in the spray face
Mineral crust can plug the spray holes and force water out through other openings, which looks like a leak but is really a blockage.
What Counts as Unregulated Plumbing Work
Yes, the QBCC treats replacing a shower head as work outside its licensing net, open to anyone with the right knowledge and skill for the job. No licence is needed, and neither the QBCC nor the council requires approval or a report. The finished job still has to reach the minimum standards set by legislation and the codes.
The line stops at the wall. A cartridge or valve inside the mixer belongs to a licensed plumber, because the QBCC's unregulated list covers the head alone.
A replacement head should carry a water rating label. Under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme, any head sold in Australia has to be registered. The stars and the water-use figures appear wherever it is offered for sale, online included.
Rentals get a small allowance. On a Queensland tenancy, swapping a shower head is among the very minor jobs needing no licensee, as are tap washers and toilet cistern washers. Queensland's tenancy rules put the owner or manager in charge of keeping the place in good repair, and the tenant in charge of reporting damage or repairs needed promptly.
When a New Part Does Not Stop the Drip
A drip that outlives a fresh washer or cartridge points to a worn valve seat or a damaged mixer body. Washers seal against the seat and cartridges seal inside the body, so a rough or damaged surface defeats any new part and the dripping continues.
A licensed plumber makes that assessment. Repairs inside the mixer are minor work: a QBCC licensee does them, with no permit and no Form 4. Buying another part on spec just wastes money when the seat or body is the real problem.
When to Call a Plumber
Ring a licensed plumber once the drip persists with the taps shut, the handle stiffens, the temperature drifts, or a new part has failed to cure the leak. Our shower repairs page covers the mixer, diverter and arm work this guide leaves alone. Water escaping past the shower recess is a different fault, and a full renovation runs to its own sequence.
The price hinges on whether the fault is in the head or the wall mixer, the part required, and how reachable that mixer is. A fixed quote before any work starts settles the figure first.
Dripping Shower Head Questions
Call (07) 3520 4094Why does my Caboolture shower keep dripping after I turn it off?
At first, that's just water emptying from the head and arm, which is normal. A drip that goes on for hours comes from the mixer, where a worn washer or cartridge lets water slip past its seal. The head is only the exit point.
What causes a shower head to leak?
Usually one of four things, and the pattern gives it away. A loose or perished seal where the head meets the arm leaks while water runs, and a failed washer or cartridge in the mixer drips after shutdown. Scale plugging the spray holes forces water sideways, and a tired diverter on a bath-shower combo sends water the wrong way.
Who can replace a shower cartridge in Queensland?
A licensed plumber. Swapping a cartridge is minor work, so a QBCC licensee handles it without a permit or a Form 4. The head is the unregulated item, never the mixer, so the cartridge stays licensed work.
What should a replacement shower head in Caboolture show on the box?
The WELS star rating and the water-use figures. Under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards scheme, any head sold in Australia has to be registered and display the rating anywhere it is advertised, online listings included.
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