Toilets, faucets, fixtures, and garbage disposals in Tampa Bay

Most of what a plumber does in a week is small: a toilet that runs, a faucet that drips, a disposal that hums and does not turn, a shower valve that will not hold a temperature, a hose bib that sprays at the handle. On Tampa Bay water the small jobs come around a little sooner. Monochloramine, which both utilities use, is harder on rubber than chlorine is; flappers, seals, and supply-line washers here tend to need replacing early, and the hardness leaves scale on aerators, shower heads, and valve cartridges.

Call and get connected with an independent local plumbing contractor who serves your part of Hillsborough or Pinellas. Say what the fixture is doing and whether you want it repaired or replaced; a fixture you have already bought can usually be installed, but ask the contractor before you buy the one you found online. A call connects you to the contractor directly; the form gets you a call back.

The calls, and what usually fixes them

• A toilet that runs or refills on its own: the flapper, then the fill valve. A few drops of food coloring in the tank tells you in ten minutes. A toilet that rocks or has water at its base needs a wax ring and sometimes a flange repair, which is not a do-it-yourself job on a slab.
• A faucet that drips: a cartridge or a seat washer. On this water, a scaled cartridge is common; if the faucet is old enough that parts are gone, replacement is the honest answer.
• A garbage disposal that hums: something jammed, freed with the hex key underneath. One that is silent: the reset button, then the unit. Replacement is a common half-hour job.
• A shower valve that scalds or goes cold when a toilet flushes: a pressure-balancing cartridge, or on an older house, a valve that was never pressure-balanced and a code-driven replacement when the wall is open anyway.
• A hose bib that leaks at the stem: a packing washer, or a replacement. Where the bib feeds an irrigation system, see the backflow page; Tampa requires a tested assembly on that connection.
• Low pressure at one fixture: a clogged aerator or supply stop. Low pressure everywhere: the pressure-reducing valve or the service line, a different visit.

Replacing fixtures

A few things worth asking before the fixture arrives.

• Toilets: a 1.28 gallon-per-flush unit is the standard now; an older 3.5 gpf toilet replaced with one is the single largest water saving in the house. Rough-in (the distance from the wall to the bolts, usually 12 inches) has to match.
• Faucets and shower trim: match the valve body already in the wall, or plan on opening the wall.
• Water filters and softeners: a whole-house filter on this water should be rated for chloramine, not just chlorine; a softener is sized from the grains figure on the utility's report (10.8 in Tampa, up to 14.7 on Pinellas County Utilities). Where a softener or a filter is installed with a backflow preventer, the house becomes a closed system and the water heater needs an expansion tank.
• Permits: swapping a fixture in the same place generally does not need one; moving a fixture, adding a bathroom, or replacing a water heater does. The 2026 $7,500 exemption does not cover plumbing work, so the contractor, not the dollar amount, is the guide.

What the contractor does

A fixture visit is priced by the job or by the hour; ask which before they arrive, and whether a service fee applies to a visit that turns into nothing. Ask for the license number (CFC or RF) and check it on DBPR. Florida's licensing law has narrow exemptions for minor work and local rules add their own conditions, so a handyman swapping a faucet is not always outside the rules; anything that touches the drain, the supply beyond the stop, or the gas line is plumbing work under Florida law and belongs to a licensed plumbing contractor. When in doubt, the local building department answers the question.