Lost art of fix-it
July 29, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Green Journal , trackback
This weekend my vacuum cleaner stopped working. It was humming beautifully before our vacation. Surely someone must have broken into our house to vacuum our floor when we were away. In any case, since I did part with a handsome amount of fund for an engineering degree, albeit from long time ago, I decided to open the chassis and fix it myself.
A couple of frustrating hours later, the chassis was jammed back on with some loose nuts and bolts scattered on floor. It was still not working!
Leafing through the yellow pages for repair shops, I managed to find a few within 25 miles from our house. Unfortunately most of them are not open on weekends. It’d probably cost as much as half the vacuum cleaner.
Is repair work a lost art?
During our trip to China, we found a few out in the rural areas. Want to fix the right heel of your otherwise wearable shoes? Here is the man for you:
Are your pots and pans all dented or rusted? These nice looking men can turn them into shining new cooking vessels again:
Dulled knives or scissors? This clever man powers his sharpener with a bike:
Unfortunately in the wealthier Chinese cities, repair shops are disappearing as well.
It’s the economics - with virgin material being undervalued (thus seemingly cheap), the labor cost of repairing an item is often close to or more than its replacement cost. Throw in the inconvenience of not having the item while it is being repaired and the almost instant availability of a replacement item, the choice of junking old and buying new seems perfectly rational, at least to most people.
I am not sure if the art of fix-it will make its massive comeback next year, though I suspect in time the cost of virgin material and cost of labor will shift the balance once again. The economics will tilt back to the side of repairing.
For me though, repairing an item as much as possible rather than chucking it has its elegance. Tossing out a vacuum cleaner without at least trying to figure out the problem is simply crass. Go ahead and laugh. But there is a universal beauty in maximizing the efficiency and usage of resources.
The elegance of maximizing resource efficiency is manifested in living creatures and man-made designs. Even in building computer chips, unnecessarily utilizing silicon space and power is considered to be sloppy and poor engineering.
So yes, to me, fixing things is not about the economics; it’s about aesthetics. You can call me a kook, but I am sticking to it.
This weekend, you will find me sitting on our driveway, with the vacuum cleaner manual and parts all spread out. I may tear my hair out again, but at least I feel elegant, maybe not Birkin bag sort of elegant.
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Also want to also pass on some good fix-it information from a bay area simple living group. Thanks Kathryn Benedicto.
- www.RepairClinic.com is a website that gives useful tips for fixing stuff yourself, plus resources for finding repair shops in your neighborhood
- www.recyclethis.co.uk is one of my favorite sites (though more for repurposing than repairing). Can’t figure out what to do with old socks? Let me count the ways.
Locally:
- Menlo Vacuum and Fix-It, 1179 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, (650-322-9333) - repair all sorts of small appliances and electronics, also recycles batteries
- West Bay TV, 3219 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, (650-368-3384) - repair TVs, stereos, cameras
- Rancho Grande Appliances, 2890 Bryant, San Francisco, (415-641-51390 - repair washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Comments»
I had this conversation recently with someone who didn’t realize that shoe repair places will often also repair luggage. Why throw out whole suitcase just because the handle broke? And some tailor shops will repair the zippers in luggage as well. I think there would be more of these shops if people would start thinking like you do. In stead we buy shoes that are almost disposable, as well as coffee makers, toaster ovens, etc. What a shame!
Back when my husband and I were dating, he shopped garage sales, fixed broken items, welded things back together and did his own automotive maintenance. Then, I thought he was cheap. Today I think he is brilliant. Some things get better with age, right? Awhile back my 10 year old plastic watering can sprung a leak at the seams. Now, to buy a new one would probably only cost a few bucks, but why do that? He simply grabbed a butane torch, lit it, heated the plastic, pinched it together a voila! Problem solved. I agree with your post so much, we are a nation of throw-awayers instead of problem-solvers. Thank goodness I married someone cheap and brilliant! ;o)
That’s funny. You must be on Kathy’s yahoo list too. Great list.
Don’t forget about Saucy Joe - who comes to local farmers markets to sharpen knives, garden tools, etc.
Another problem is that many product, including electronics, are made to last a couple of years only. I dare you to fix a laptop yourself. It’s made for replacing not for repairing.
The industries have to be responsible for the disposal cost, then they may begin thinking about durable products. I understand that aesthetic aspect of repairing, but economics has to work too.
Joyce: honestly I did not know that tailor shops might repair the zippers in luggage. Thanks for the info!
ebm: You married quite well
GB: you are on Kathy’s list too? How funny!
Rosie: totally agree with you. Industries and consumers are two sides of the same coin. I am not sure how industries can be encouraged to make their products more repairable. For that matter, I also don’t know how we as citizens can put the disposal cost on industries. Europe is doing some with electronics. Perhaps we can learn from them.
I dont mind being called cheap.
I recently repaired my Ikea couch, it cost me $9 in some pine boards, compare that with $299 for a new one, and $35 for one I found on craigslist. My wallet is happier with the repair.
Our vacuum cleaner broke recently, too. When we went to the shop to buy a replacement part, the man who sold it to us reminded me of my grandfather. He had a little nook with hundreds of boxes of little parts and he used a cash register that looked like it was from the ’50’s. It’s too bad that fixing stuff is a dying art. I expect it will make a little comeback as stuff gets more expensive.
Like ebm, I’m glad I married a guy who can take apart my son’s favorite cheap-o toy and solder the wires back together.
Cindy, GB: Yes, we are all interconnected and on the same email list. It’s all part of my plan for world domination. Hee hee…
Speaking of shoe/luggage repair shops, Aram’s Shoe & Luggage Repair in Cupertino is one that’s been recommended to me. Actually, I stopped by there for a backpack repair, but after he explained that it was cheaper to replace than repair, I was motivated to figure out how to fix my backpack myself! (And did a decent job!)
replace or repair? when my lower end sony digital camera brought me to an impasse, the cost of just sending it for evaluation of what repair might be needed was cheaper than buying a new digital camera with far more features.
i loved that sony. it changed my life. was a wonderful way to avoid using film, printing pictures that were not wanted, and saving what i didn’t want. it also helped me do wonderful things for people…like the time i took pictures of a group of disabled people at their christmas party. the pictures came out so beautiful that everying thought i was a pro photographer, but really all i am is someone who loves people and loves taking their pictures.
anyway, the camera lens which pops out when you turn it on, decided it was not going to cooperate any longer. i tried troubleshooting but the final conclusion was i had to send it to sony for evaluation (not fixing). the cost to send for evaluation was almost 200! i only paid 300 for the camera. so my sony bit the dust even th ough it’s still in my possession. anyone know how to fix that problem?
thanks…love your newsletter.
linda