It surges, then thins out
A shower that pulses between full force and weak, in a house on a well, is usually the pressure tank or a tired pressure switch. That’s a plumbing call, not a valve, and we’ll say so before anything comes apart.
Fairfax Station, Virginia
Shower repair in Fairfax Station.
For shower repair in Fairfax Station, the plumbing visit is $49, or $250 after hours. Call SwiftPro, rated 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews, at (703) 997-9757, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SwiftPro’s plumbers in Fairfax Station are rated 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews and work under Virginia Class A contractor license 2705192276. Shower repair in Fairfax Station: a loose handle, a drip or a sputter. With so many wells out here, we check the pressure tank before we blame the valve. A cartridge, stems or a diverter usually lands at $250 to $450. A whole new valve, trim included, runs $950 to $1,400, and a new tub spout runs $200 to $400.
- The worn part shown to you before the price
- Our own licensed plumbers
- Run hot and cold, with a toilet flushed, before we leave
5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews
Two of our plumbers in a Northern Virginia basement, beside the water heater and the supply lines that feed the bathrooms upstairs.
Get your price in writing
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Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276
24/7 emergency serviceWe answer day or night, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Our own plumbers, our own trucksNobody here is a subcontractor with a magnet on the door
The price is settled before the workYou see the number in writing before anything is taken apart
What it costs
What shower repair costs in Fairfax Station.
These are the same numbers on our shower and tub repair page, from jobs we’ve billed. The visit fee matches our plumbing price list.
Plumbing diagnosis visit
$49
Plumbing diagnosis visit, after hours
$250
Shower valve repair (cartridge, stems, handle, diverter)
$250 to $450
Shower valve replaced, new trim included
$950 to $1,400
Tub spout or diverter spout replaced
$200 to $400
Prices checked .
Where a repair lands in that range depends on the valve brand and how stuck the old cartridge is. You see the number in writing before anything comes apart.
A dripping sink or kitchen faucet is a different repair, with its own prices on our faucet repair page.
What’s different in Fairfax Station
In Fairfax Station, a shower that surges is often the well, not the valve.
Start with the handle. Pull the cap and look for a small screw. If it turns and the handle firms up, that’s the fix. If the screw is snug and the handle still swings loose, the teeth inside the handle, or on the cartridge stem, have worn round, and one of those two parts gets replaced.
The county’s Health Department shows about 1,700 properties with a Fairfax Station address on an active well permit, nearly all of them west of Ox Road, around Hampton, Henderson and Yates Ford Roads. A well house has a pressure tank, and when the tank loses its air cushion, the pump kicks on and off. In the shower that feels like a surge, then a thin spell. Plenty of people blame the valve. We read the gauge first.
Well water can also carry sand and iron, and one grain under a cartridge seal is enough to make it drip after the handle’s shut. A shower that only drips after the house has sat empty for a few days is a good clue that something is loose in there.
Across 22039, eight in ten owner homes went up between 1980 and 1999, and nearly all are detached. Those showers usually have a single handle, and a drip or a wobble is almost always the cartridge. Crosspointe barely shows up in the well records, which points to public water, and there scale is the likelier culprit.
Neighborhood by neighborhood
What wears out in showers across Fairfax Station.
Census figures for the owner-occupied homes in each place, and what usually wears out in the showers of houses that age.
| Place | Median home built | Most homes are | Heated with | What usually wears out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax Station | 1982 | single-family houses, about 9 in 10 | gas, about 5 in 10 | A worn cartridge in an older single-handle valve. |
| South Run | 1988 | single-family houses, nearly all | gas, about 9 in 10 | A worn cartridge in an older single-handle valve. |
| Crosspointe | 1993 | single-family houses, nearly all | gas, about 8 in 10 | A worn cartridge or a loose handle on a pressure-balancing valve. |
By the numbers
Fairfax Station houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
Fairfax Station
ZIP 22039 as a whole: every Fairfax Station address. The Fairfax Station Census place in the table also takes in streets with Fairfax mail.
- Median home built1988 Census
- Built before 1980about 1 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 1 in 10 Census
- Most homes aresingle-family houses, nearly all Census
- Heated withgas, about 6 in 10 Census
- Rentedhardly any Census
- Most homes here are detached houses, where the shower valve can often be reached from a closet or a panel behind the wall.
The signs
When a shower in Fairfax Station needs a plumber.
The handle is loose or spins
Usually a set screw under the cap that backed out, or worn teeth where the handle grips the cartridge. Tightening the screw only lasts if the teeth are still good.
It drips after it’s off
On a single-handle shower that’s the cartridge. On an older two-handle or three-handle shower, it’s the washers or the stems. Either one comes out the front, and the wall stays closed.
Need shower repair in Fairfax Station?
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Choosing who does it
How to pick who fixes a shower in Fairfax Station.
Questions to ask anybody who pulls your shower handle off, us included.
Do they check the well’s pressure before quoting a new shower valve?
A gauge on the tank takes a minute. If the needle swings, a new cartridge won’t cure the surge, and the plumber tells you that before you pay for one.
Did they pull the handle before quoting a new valve?
Most loose handles and drips are a cartridge or a screw. A plumber who prices a new valve without looking inside first may be selling you a wall you didn’t need opened.
Did they test it with a toilet flushed?
A shower that runs fine on its own can still jump hot when someone flushes. Ask them to run it both ways before they pack up.
Two of our crew going over a work order before the day's calls.
From our Google reviews
What our customers say.
5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Tyson quickly/painlessly removed a broken shower nipple and installed a new shower arm and nozzle. Work was neat and efficient!
- 5.0stars across 1,130 reviewsHow we count them
- ABBB Accredited, A ratingCheck it on bbb.org
- 2026Voted a Nextdoor Neighborhood Faves winner two years running: 2026 in 30 Northern Virginia neighborhoods, 2025 in Emerald Chase (Herndon) and Hunters Run (Chantilly)See it on Nextdoor
- #1BusinessRate Best of 2026: the top-ranked heating contractor in Fairfax, VirginiaSee our BusinessRate score
- Class AVirginia contractor, license #2705192276Look it up with DPOR
Where we work
Shower repair in every Northern Virginia town we serve
Next door to Fairfax Station: Burke, Clifton, Springfield, Annandale and Lorton.
Fairfax County
Arlington County
Loudoun County
Prince William County
Fauquier County
Stafford County
Every town on one page
Questions
Shower repair questions from Fairfax Station.
My Fairfax Station shower only drips after we’ve been away. Is it the valve?
Often it’s grit or scale under the cartridge seal that works loose once the water moves again. A new cartridge, at $250 to $450, usually ends it. If it keeps coming back, ask about a sediment filter at the tank.
Can you fix a shower on a well, or do I need a pump company?
We do both. Well pumps and pressure tanks are plumbing work for us, so the tank and the shower get looked at in one visit. The visit is $49, or $250 after hours, and a cartridge, stems or a diverter runs $250 to $450.
How much is shower repair in Fairfax Station?
Most shower valve repairs we do run $250 to $450, with the visit at $49, $250 after hours. A whole new valve with trim runs $950 to $1,400, and a tub spout runs $200 to $400.
Will you have to open the wall or break tile?
Not for a cartridge, a handle or a diverter. Those come out the front. A valve replacement goes in from an access panel when there is one, and when there isn’t, a larger trim plate can usually cover the opening so the tile stays.
Ready when you are
Get the shower back to normal.
Call, or send the form at the top. We pull the handle, show you the worn part, and you get the price in writing before we fix it.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
SwiftPro Plumber & Water Heaters
4200 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Fairfax Station and the rest of Northern Virginia. Virginia contractor license #2705192276. 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook. SwiftPro maintains a dedicated HVAC team and a dedicated plumbing team.
From SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing in Chantilly. Housing figures are the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024, for each place named; permit, water and sewer facts link to each office’s own page and were checked in September and October 2026.