We won't sell you a new faucet when a cartridge and twenty minutes of labor solves the problem.
Why is my faucet dripping?
A steady drip almost always traces to one worn part inside the faucet, and which part depends on the valve type. Compression faucets (two handles, older Norwalk homes) drip from a hardened rubber seat washer or a pitted valve seat. Cartridge, ball, and ceramic-disc faucets drip from a worn cartridge or a cracked O-ring. A single drip a second wastes roughly 3,000 gallons a year, so it's worth fixing even when it seems minor. We pull the handle, identify the valve style, and replace the exact worn component rather than guessing. After repairing faucets across older neighborhoods off the 605 for years, Anibal's found that the LA-basin hard water here (Norwalk sits in the 8 to 15 grains-per-gallon range depending on the block) chews through cheap washers and calcifies cartridges faster than the manufacturer's rating, so we set the repair with parts that hold up to scale.
Faucet cartridge replacement
The cartridge is the sealed insert inside a single-handle or modern two-handle faucet that controls flow and temperature. When it wears, you get a drip that won't stop, a handle that's hard to turn, or hot and cold that won't blend right. A cartridge swap runs about 20 to 40 minutes: we shut the supply at the angle stop, pull the handle and retaining clip, extract the old cartridge, clean the scale out of the valve body, and seat a matching OEM cartridge. The part number has to match the brand and model exactly, and this is where most DIY attempts stall, because a Moen 1225 and a Moen 1255 look almost identical but won't interchange. We carry the common cartridges for Moen, Delta, Kohler, and Price Pfister, so we match it right the first time and test hot, cold, and off before we call it done. If the angle stop under the sink is a corroded multi-turn valve that won't fully close, common on pre-1990 homes here, we'll show it to you and quote a quarter-turn replacement while the water is already off, so you're not paying twice for the same shut-down.
Bathroom faucet dripping or leaking
Bathroom lavatory faucets leak in two spots, and the fix is different for each. A drip from the spout is an internal seal, a cartridge or a washer, and it's the same repair as any other faucet. A leak from the base of the handle or from under the sink is usually a failed O-ring, a loose packing nut, or a cracked supply connection, and that one gets worse if you ignore it because the water runs down inside the cabinet and rots the vanity floor. We isolate where the water is actually coming from before quoting, because a puddle in the cabinet can be the faucet, the supply line, the pop-up drain assembly, or the P-trap, and treating the wrong one is a wasted trip. Widespread sets with separate hot and cold valves get each side rebuilt as needed, and we check the pop-up and tailpiece connections while the trap is open.
Leaky tub faucet & shower valve drips
A tub spout that keeps dripping after you shut the water off is the most common repair call we get, and it's rarely the spout itself. The drip comes from a worn stem washer on an older three-handle setup or a failed cartridge inside a single-handle pressure-balance valve. A constant tub drip is worth fixing fast: the water runs 24/7, and on the hot side you're paying to heat water that goes straight down the drain. We repair Moen, Delta, and Kohler tub and shower valves in place when the valve body is sound, which it usually is. If the valve body itself is corroded through or the brand is long discontinued with no cartridge available, we'll tell you that honestly and walk you through a valve replacement instead of charging you for a repair that won't hold.
Handle leaks, low flow & mixing problems
Not every faucet complaint is a drip. Water seeping from the base of the handle when the faucet is running is a worn O-ring or a loose adjusting ring, a quick rebuild. A faucet that's lost pressure on one side usually has a clogged aerator or a scale-blocked cartridge screen, and we clean or replace it rather than assuming the whole fixture is shot. A single-handle faucet that won't blend hot and cold, or runs only lukewarm, points to a failing cartridge or a crossed supply. We diagnose which it is on-site instead of throwing parts at it.
When you don't need us yet
If your only issue is a weak, sputtering stream from one faucet, unscrew the aerator at the tip of the spout, rinse the screen, and reinstall it. Nine times out of ten that clears the trapped scale and debris and you've saved yourself a service call. If a faucet drips only for a few seconds right after you shut it off and then stops, that's residual water clearing the spout, not a leak, and it doesn't need a repair. Call us when the drip is constant, when water is showing under the sink or inside the vanity, when a handle won't turn or won't shut the water off, or when hot and cold won't blend. Those don't fix themselves, and a leak inside a cabinet in particular does slow, hidden damage to the subfloor and the vanity before you ever see it.
When a faucet is past repair
Repair is the right call the vast majority of the time, but not always. If the faucet body is cracked, the finish is flaking and pitting off, the brand is discontinued with no cartridge or seat kit available, or you've already rebuilt it once and it's failing again in a different spot, replacement is the better value than chasing worn parts through an old fixture. If your outdoor hose bibb is the thing leaking, that's a different repair with its own freeze and backflow considerations, and we handle those separately. When we hit any of those situations we'll say so plainly and quote the swap, and we handle the full faucet replacement ourselves so it's one shop start to finish. We give you the honest number on both paths before you spend a dollar.
Got questions?
Frequently asked questions
Why is my faucet dripping even when it's turned off?
A faucet that drips with the handle fully closed has a worn internal seal that can no longer hold back the supply pressure. On a two-handle compression faucet that's a hardened washer or a pitted valve seat; on a single-handle faucet it's a worn cartridge or a cracked O-ring. The water is under constant pressure behind that seal, so it keeps weeping until the worn part is replaced. It's a same-visit repair, and we match the exact part to your faucet's make and model.
Can a dripping faucet be repaired, or does it need replacing?
In most cases it's a repair. A drip is almost always one worn part inside the valve, a cartridge, a washer, a seat, or an O-ring, and replacing that part fixes it for years. Replacement only makes sense when the faucet body is cracked, the finish is failing, or the brand is discontinued with no repair parts available. We diagnose which situation you're in and tell you honestly before we do anything, so you're not paying for a new fixture when a twenty-minute cartridge swap would have done it.
How long does a faucet repair take?
Most single-faucet repairs are done in one visit. A cartridge or washer swap runs about 20 to 40 minutes once we shut the supply at the angle stop. An O-ring or handle-seal rebuild is similar. A tub or shower valve cartridge takes a little longer because the access is tighter. If we find a corroded shut-off valve that won't close, we'll fix that in the same trip so we're not opening the wall or floor twice.
Do you carry parts for my faucet brand?
We stock the common cartridges, seats, and washers for Moen, Delta, Kohler, and Price Pfister, which covers most faucets in Norwalk-area homes. Cartridge part numbers matter: models that look identical often aren't interchangeable, which is why matched parts are worth a plumber's visit over a universal kit. If your faucet is an uncommon or discontinued brand, we identify the exact model on-site and source the correct part rather than forcing a near-fit.
Are you licensed, bonded and insured?
Yes. Nava's Elite Plumbing carries a current California master plumber registration, $1M general liability coverage, and workers' comp on every technician. A certificate of insurance naming you or your property manager is available on request before we start.
Do you give upfront pricing?
Every job is quoted in writing before any work begins. We price by scope, not by the hour, so the number you approve is the number you pay — barring scope changes you approve in writing.
Do you require money down?
No deposit on standard service calls. On larger projects (repipes, sewer replacements, gas line installs) we phase work into progress payments tied to city inspection milestones — you never pay ahead of completed work.