Kitchen Plumbing Leak
Work out whether it leaks all the time or only when you run water. Constant means a supply line under pressure and it needs shutting off now. Only when draining means a waste connection, which is messier but far less urgent.
What to do right now
Do these first. None of them need tools or plumbing knowledge, and they limit what this ends up costing you.
- Shut off the valve at the fixtureMost toilets and sinks have their own shutoff on the wall or under the basin. It turns clockwise. That isolates the problem without taking water off the whole house.
- Contain what you cannot stopA bucket and towels buy time. A contained drip is a very different problem from an uncontrolled one, and it often moves the job from tonight to the morning.
- Move what water can ruinLift boxes, rugs, electronics and anything sitting on a basement floor. Most of the cost of a plumbing emergency is damage to belongings rather than the repair itself.
- Photograph everything before you clean upPhotos and a short video of the water, the source and every damaged item. If you claim on insurance this is the evidence, and it cannot be recreated once the area is dry.
Does this need a plumber tonight?
- Water spraying or running constantly under the sink
- Water reaching an outlet, a dishwasher or the base of a range
- A supply line you cannot isolate at its valve
- Water that has spread under cabinets or flooring
- A drip that only appears when the sink drains
- A trap connection you have caught in a bucket
- A slow seep you have isolated at the shutoff
The five places a kitchen leaks
Supply valves and their connections, the tap body itself, the waste trap, the dishwasher connection, and the fridge water line. In roughly that order of frequency.
Supply side leaks are constant and under pressure, so they do the damage. The compression fittings on the small shutoff valves under the sink are a common failure point, particularly if the valve has been operated after years of sitting still.
Drain side leaks appear only when water runs through, because the waste line is not pressurised. A slip joint on the trap that has worked loose is the usual cause and it is a small repair, although it can have been soaking the cabinet base for months.
- Shutoff valve and its compression fitting, constant
- The tap body or its base, often only when running
- Trap and slip joints, only when draining
- Dishwasher supply and drain connections
- Fridge water line, often a slow seep behind the unit
The damage under a kitchen
Cabinet bases and subfloor absorb a great deal before anything shows, so the visible drip is usually the end of the story rather than the start.
Pull everything out from under the sink and look at the cabinet floor. Swelling, dark staining or a soft edge means it has been going on longer than the leak suggests. Tell us that when you call, because it changes what needs checking.
What kitchen leak repairs cost
[PLACEHOLDER: PRICING] Pending from the client.
Most kitchen leaks are small repairs. What raises the cost is damage that has already happened to the cabinet and floor, which is not plumbing work.
Questions people ask about this
It only leaks when I run the tap. What is that?
A drain side leak, almost always. The waste line only carries water when something drains, so a leak that follows the water is a trap or a slip joint rather than a supply problem.
Can I tighten it myself?
A slip joint on a plastic trap can often be hand tightened and that is a reasonable thing to try. Do not put a wrench on a compression fitting on the supply side unless you have shut the valve first.
My dishwasher leaks only sometimes.
Usually the drain hose connection or the door seal rather than the supply. Note whether it happens on fill or on drain, because that tells us which.
If that is not quite what you have
Not sure how urgent this is?
Describe what you can see and hear. We will tell you whether it needs someone tonight, and what to do in the meantime either way.
Or send it over
Four things and a photo.