The guest shower that drips on first use
A shower that sits for months can dry out its seals and gaskets. When a guest finally runs it, it drips afterward. That is a cartridge job, and it is better found before the visitors arrive.
McLean, Virginia
Shower repair in McLean.
For shower repair in McLean, 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 McLean are rated 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews and work under Virginia Class A contractor license 2705192276. Shower repair in McLean, from large family houses to Tysons towers: we pull the handle, show you the worn part, then give you the price in writing. 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
Send this and the office calls or texts you back to set a time.
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Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757
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 McLean.
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 McLean
McLean is two places for showers: big houses with many baths, and towers in Tysons.
Pop off the cap and check the screw. If it is tight and the lever still turns without the water responding, the inside of the lever has gone smooth where it grips the stem. The fix is a new lever or a new cartridge, depending on which one is smooth.
ZIP 22101 is 80 percent detached houses, and the Census puts the median home at nine rooms or more. A house that size can easily have half a dozen showers. The ones used every day wear in step, and each one is its own valve, so tell us which bathroom it is.
ZIP 22102 around Tysons is the other half: 46 percent of homes are in buildings of 50 or more units, and more than half are rented. In a tower, ask the front office how a maintenance request gets approved. A renter should pass our written price to the property manager before anything is booked.
Most of McLean’s water comes through Fairfax Water from the Washington Aqueduct, which ran 5.6 to 10.9 grains per gallon in 2025 and was hardest in December. Winter is when a sticky cartridge often gives up.
Neighborhood by neighborhood
What wears out in showers across McLean.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLean | 1977 | single-family houses, about 8 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | A worn cartridge in an older single-handle valve. |
| Tysons | 1985 | condo and apartment buildings, about 7 in 10 | electricity, about 5 in 10 | A worn cartridge in an older single-handle valve. |
By the numbers
McLean houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
McLean
ZIPs 22101 and 22102 as a whole: every McLean address, Tysons included.
- Built before 1980about 4 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 3 in 10 Census
- Most homes aresingle-family houses, about 5 in 10 Census
- Heated withgas, about 7 in 10 Census
- Rentedabout 4 in 10 Census
- Most homes here are townhouses or condos, where the shower often sits over somebody’s ceiling, so a drip behind the trim gets fixed before it shows up as a stain below.
The signs
When a shower in McLean 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 McLean?
A person answers day and night. See this month’s deals before you call.
Choosing who does it
How to pick who fixes a shower in McLean.
Questions to ask anybody who pulls your shower handle off, us included.
Can they work with a Tysons property manager’s rules?
Ask about the building’s work-order process, insurance paperwork and loading dock. A plumber who has done towers won’t be surprised by any of it.
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.
Zabi did a great job. Fill valve, flush valve and gaskets replaced on this 30-yr-old toilet. No leaks, no run-on.
- 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 McLean: Dunn Loring, Vienna, Falls Church, Arlington and Great Falls.
Fairfax County
Arlington County
Loudoun County
Prince William County
Fauquier County
Stafford County
Every town on one page
Questions
Shower repair questions from McLean.
I rent in a Tysons tower. Do I call you or my landlord?
Your landlord or property manager first, since they approve the repair and issue the work order. If they send us, we put the price in writing for them. If you own the unit, call us, and we work around the building’s rules.
Our McLean shower has a rain head and a handheld on one valve. Does that change the repair?
Often. Multi-outlet setups usually have a diverter, sometimes a second valve, behind the wall. Send photos of the trim first. A drip when only one outlet runs points toward the diverter.
How much is shower repair in McLean?
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 McLean 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.