A wet hose under the basin or at the shower

Introduction

A drip under the basin, or a shower hose that wets the floor, is found at the exact spot, not by wrapping the pipe at random. Dry everything first. Then see whether it is the joint, the hose or the wall. A swollen hose is not repaired: it is replaced.

How to tell it apart

Dry the basin, the joints and the floor with paper. Wait and see where the paper wets again: that is the leak, not “somewhere underneath”.

The paper wets at the hose nut: it is the joint. Tighten it with a limit, not until the thread strips.

The hose is swollen, green, rusty, or the metal braid is frayed: that piece is replaced. Cloth tape is not a repair.

Water leaves the wall or the wall mixer, not the hose in your hand: a plumber. A shower hose does not fix a mixer in the wall. A drop from the spout is a dripping tap.

Likely causes

• A loose joint nut.
• A tired or seated-wrong hose washer.
• A swollen hose, a broken braid or rust.
• A shower hose mistaken for the mixer’s supply pipe.
• A leak from the wall, upstream of the hose.

What to do now (€0)

1. Close both isolators under the basin, if they are there and they turn. If they will not turn, stop: do not undo anything with the water open.
2. Dry it. Lay kitchen paper on each joint and on the hose, one at a time. Watch which sheet stains.
3. If it is the nut, tighten it a little by hand or with a spanner, without forcing. Open the isolator and check. If it still wets, do not keep tightening.
4. If the hose is swollen, rusty or the braid is damaged, shut the water again. Do not wrap it.
5. Note the length and both ends before you buy. Do not copy them from memory.

A small DIY step

1. The spare is a whole hose, in the length and with the ends you wrote down. Many basins are M10 by 3/8, but not all of them: measure.
2. A shower hose is a different part. It does not take the place of the pipe under the basin and it does not stop a leak from the wall.
3. On refitting, PTFE only on the male thread, two or three turns with the screw. Never on gas.
4. The cards, if the quiz shows them, are category examples for the ends you measured. If the water comes from the wall, the quiz offers no parts: do not go looking for one.

Mistakes to avoid

• Cloth tape on a swollen hose.
• Tightening the nut until the thread gives way.
• Undoing it with the isolators open.
• Buying a hose with no length and no ends noted.
• Using a shower hose on a wall mixer.
• PTFE on a gas fitting.

When to call a professional

A plumber if the isolators will not shut, if the nut will not hold without stripping, or if it still wets after a new hose.

A plumber now if the water comes from the wall, if the plasterboard is soft or if the cabinet is flooding. Not a tutorial.

Safety

If the water reaches a socket or an appliance under the basin, cut the power at the main before you touch anything nearby, and only if you can reach the switch without touching the water. Do not open boards, sockets or appliances while they are live: an electrician.

Questions people ask