I have a leak under my sink
The leak from your sink could be from the pipework to your taps or the waste pipe.
Check underneath your sink and run your hands along the waste pipe and see if you can feel any water on the pipe or along the U-bend.
To check if it’s from the pipes or taps, start at the top of both the hot and cold pipes, around where the taps are connected underneath, and feel all the way down them. If it feels wet at the top of these pipes, it’s likely to be from the washer that connects the tap to the pipe. This is a very common fault, and we will need to attend to repair it. You should be able to isolate the leak until we can attend.
It’s leaking from the pipework to the taps or washing machine connection.
You can watch a handy video here to find out how to isolate a leak under a sink when it’s from the hot or cold pipes.
Check under the sink to see if you can find a service valve or stop tap on the pipework before the leak. These will either be in a horizontal or vertical position and could be anywhere on the pipework below each tap.
The service valve will have what looks like a screw head in the middle. When open, this will be parallel with the valve and pipework. When closed, it will be horizontal to the valve and pipe.
To close the valve, use a flat headed screwdriver and turn the slot a quarter turn. This will isolate everything above the valve, including the pipework and the tap or fitting and should immediately stop the leak.
If you can’t isolate the leak, put a bowl or towel underneath to catch the water. If there’s a shelf in the cupboard, these normally slide out, which will give you more room to look and to catch the leak in a bowl.
If the leak is coming from the washing machine connections this is your responsibility to fix.
The washing machine hose will be connected to a washing machine isolation valve. You should be able to isolate this supply by turning off this valve. We only attend if something is leaking on the mains water side of the valve (not where the hose is connected).
It’s leaking from the waste pipe
If the leak is from the waste, put a bowl underneath to catch the leak and tip the water down another drain until the repair has been completed, or do not use the sink or basin. Turning off a service valve or stop tap will not help in this situation.
How do I report a repair?
You can report a repair to us at anytime, anywhere using My Account or contact us via Live Chat. Let us know when reporting that you’ve followed the advice and what you’ve tried to get it working, this helps us to assess what to do next to get the right person for the job.
If your home is at risk of flooding or you can’t contain a leak, give us a call on 0300 456 2531 to report it so we can get one of our plumbers out as soon as possible.
