Most leaky faucets can be fixed with a $4 cartridge or a fresh O-ring. But sometimes — and this is what nobody tells you when you Google "faucet leaking" — the faucet itself is the problem. Replacing the cartridge fixes the symptom for a week, then it leaks again. Or worse, somewhere new.
We get this call a lot in Bastrop and across our service area: someone replaced the cartridge twice and the faucet still drips. Usually that means we're past the cartridge fix. After installing and replacing hundreds of faucets in Texas homes, we've learned to spot the signs that a faucet has actually reached the end of the road.
Here are the five clearest signs we see — and why each one usually means it's time for a new faucet, not another trip to the parts aisle.
1. The Drip Came Back After You Replaced the Cartridge
This is the #1 sign. A worn cartridge causes drips. Replace the cartridge, drip stops, life is good. But if you replaced the cartridge and the drip is back within a few weeks — that's the faucet body talking, not the cartridge.
Usually what's happening: the seat (the brass surface the cartridge presses against) is corroded or pitted. A new cartridge can't seal against a damaged seat any better than the old one could. You can sometimes resurface the seat with a special tool, but on most modern faucets the seat is integrated into the body — meaning to fix it, you replace the whole thing.
Quick test: If you've replaced the cartridge once and the drip came back within 2 months, replace it once more with a fresh cartridge and quality O-rings. If it drips again — stop. The faucet is telling you what it needs.
2. Visible Corrosion, Patina, or Mineral Crust
Look at your faucet right now. If you see green-blue patina, white mineral crust around the spout, or pitting in the metal — the faucet's been losing the battle with hard water for a while.
Texas has notoriously hard water, especially in Austin and parts of Bastrop County. Calcium and magnesium deposits build up on faucet bodies over years, and the corrosion eventually eats through the seals from the outside. By the time you see green or white crust on the outside, the inside is much worse.
What to look for: any visible corrosion at the base of the spout where it meets the body, around the handle base, or where the supply lines connect underneath. If you can see it, water is finding a way through it.
3. You're Finding Mystery Water Under the Sink
Open your sink cabinet. If the floor of the cabinet is damp, warped, or stained — your faucet is leaking somewhere it shouldn't.
The leak might be at the supply line connection, the base seal where the faucet mounts to the sink, or even inside the body of the faucet itself (yes, faucets can leak internally and dump water down inside). All three are bad. All three usually mean replacement, because:
- Supply line leaks often mean the threaded connection on the faucet is corroded — and there's no fixing the threads on a 10-year-old faucet
- Base seal leaks mean the rubber gasket under the faucet has failed, AND there's likely water damage where it sat for months unnoticed
- Internal leaks are the worst — water is getting somewhere it shouldn't inside the faucet body, and you can't repair that
Our recommendation: shut off the supply lines (twist the small valves under the sink clockwise), dry everything out, and call us. We come out, diagnose, and tell you straight up whether you need a fix or a replacement.
4. Low Water Pressure or Inconsistent Flow
If your faucet's stream went from "strong and even" to "trickle and sputter" — and cleaning the aerator didn't fix it — there's likely sediment, mineral scale, or corrosion inside the faucet body restricting flow.
Sometimes this is fixable: pull the cartridge, soak everything in vinegar overnight, reassemble. But on older faucets, the buildup is in places you can't reach without disassembling the whole body — and at that point, you might as well install new.
One important note: low pressure can also mean a problem with your home's main water line, not just the faucet. If only one faucet has weak pressure, it's the faucet. If all your faucets are weak — that's a different problem (and one we'd want to look at).
5. The Faucet is Older Than 12–15 Years
Most residential faucets are designed to last about 15 years with normal use. Cheap builder-grade faucets sometimes only last 5–7. High-end Moen, Delta, or Kohler can go 20+ if you're lucky and your water isn't too rough on them.
If you can't remember when you installed the faucet, and the house hasn't had any kitchen or bathroom updates in over a decade — assume the faucet is overdue. Even if it isn't currently dripping, the internal components are wearing out, and a sudden failure (one that floods your kitchen at 2am) is becoming more likely every year.
A new mid-grade faucet costs $80–$200 plus a couple hours of installation. A water-damaged cabinet from a 2am faucet failure costs much more. Replace before failure, not after.
The "fix vs replace" rule of thumb
Here's the simple version: if your faucet is under 8 years old and only has one symptom (just a drip, just slow flow), it's almost always a fix. If it's older than 10 years, OR has multiple symptoms (drip + corrosion, low flow + leaking under the sink), you're in replacement territory.
Anything in between? Send us a photo and we'll tell you straight up. We'd rather you save money on a $40 cartridge than upsell you on a $200 install if the cartridge is what you need.
We replace faucets across
Bastrop County and beyond.
Whether you're already shopping for a new one or just want a second opinion on whether you need to — we're a quick call away. Honest hourly pricing, transparent billing, no upsells.
Book Plumbing ServiceWhat to Buy When You Do Replace It
Quick guide to faucet brands we install most often, ranked by what we see hold up best in Texas homes:
- Moen — Their lifetime limited warranty actually means something. Easy to source replacement cartridges 10 years out.
- Delta — Solid mid-range option. Their DIAMOND seal technology resists Texas hard water reasonably well.
- Kohler — Premium fit and finish. Worth the extra cost on a kitchen faucet you'll touch 20 times a day.
- Pfister — Budget-friendly with a lifetime warranty. We install these regularly when budget matters.
Whatever you buy, make sure it's made in the USA, Canada, or Germany. The cheap imports from random Amazon sellers might save you $40 today, but the cartridge inside will be impossible to find in 3 years when it fails. We see this all the time — homeowners stuck with a faucet they can't fix and can't get parts for.
Should you DIY or call us?
Faucet replacement is one of the easier plumbing DIY projects — if everything goes right. Shut off supplies, disconnect old, install new, reconnect supplies. We've seen plenty of homeowners handle it themselves. But here's where it goes sideways:
- Old shutoff valves that don't actually shut off (very common in Bastrop and older Austin homes)
- Corroded supply lines that crack when you try to remove them
- Mounting nuts under the sink that won't budge
- The new faucet's specs not matching the existing holes
If any of those make you nervous — give us a call. Faucet replacement is one of the most common jobs we do, and we usually wrap it up in under an hour. Plus we deal with the unexpected stuff (corroded supplies, busted valves) without panicking, because we've seen it all before.
Got a dripping faucet, a mystery puddle, or a faucet that's just looked sad for too long? Call us at (512) 907-0702 or send us a message. We answer the phone, we give honest advice, and we don't charge for estimates.
