The 2021 Right to Repair Act was designed to force companies that make washing machines, fridge/freezers, dishwashers and televisions to make repair information and spare parts available, to stop 300,000 tons of electrical waste being thrown out by households and business each year.
Before this, many companies glued parts in, so you couldn’t repair them.
But this law excludes phones and laptops. And other companies try to get around the law, by offering expensive repair kits. It helps to buy a more sustainable smartphone (designed to last years, with repair services as standard).
In Norway, a one-man repair shop lost a 3-year battle with Apple (despite local people funding his court bills) after he repaired their goods ‘without permission’ nor using official parts.
The new UK law still lets makers charge for spare parts (and has not removed VAT for professional repairs).
So in many cases, it still costs more to repair goods than to buy new (which many people cannot afford). The new law also bans some volunteer-run repair cafes (below) from access to professional repair manuals. And all this in a country that produces more e-waste per person in the world, bar Norway.
Recently Apple signed up to the California Right to Repair Act. But reviewers note the new iPhone only has four components that can be replaced without impacting function. iFixit found iPhone 15 ‘riddled with software locks’, if parts were not replaced with Apple-purchased parts.
I was given a kettle, which now leaks. I could mend it. If only I could tighten the base. But one of the screws has a star-shaped slot with a spike in the middle, which is designed to prevent repairs, as no available tool will fit it.
So I will throw it away, and help to build an earthly paradise, by buying a new one. George Monbiot
A Book to Repair (nearly) Everything
How to Repair Everything is a good book that has an extensive table of contents – just look up what you need to repair – from sticky doors to broken straps, leaky washing machines and broken shoe heels.
Things you can repair with this book include:
- A hole in your shoe
- A broken heel
- Shrunken clothes
- Torn clothes
- Ladders in hosiery
- Holes in jeans
- Broken zips
- Broken umbrellas
- Broken watch straps
- Scratched watch face
- Scratched sunglasses
- Faulty vinyl records
- Broken computer keys
- Leaking washing machines
- Noisy washing machines
- Doors that won’t open
- Leaking refrigerator
- Broken plates & cup handles
- Battered chopping boards
- Rusty baking dishes
- Creaky floorboards
- Loose door hinges & doorknobs
- Damaged wall plaster
- Non-flushing toilets
- Dripping & stuck taps
- Trickling or leaking showers
- Cracked bathroom tiles
- Broken plant pots
Safe & Sound is a wonderful unique book, to help you make 50 simple repairs like fixing loose/broken doorknobs, fixing clogged sinks, safely hanging things on walls, patching holes in walls and repairing sliding doors.
Beginner DIY Courses in London
The Goodlife Centre (near Waterloo) offers ‘DIY courses for the terrified’, popular (and often taught by) women. Their popular ‘DIY in a Day’ short courses offer help on learning more on drills, plumbing, electrics, painting and tool sharpening.
The one-day Tiling Course (under £100, also available online) will have you sizing up, choosing and applying tiles. Not only will this mean you can tile your own kitchens and bathrooms for life, but you could earn money, doing the same family, friends or people in your local community.
Find Affordable Help for Small Jobs
If you only need small jobs done around the house, there are places that can do this for a small fee, by trustworthy people. Ideal if you’re older or disabled, or simply were not born with the DIY gene, no matter how many times you try!
TaskRabbit is a site where handymen and women offer their services. The rates are affordable, then you can leave a review, so other people can see who to trust.
Services include everything from mounting TVs, assembling modular sofas to working out complicated IKEA instructions!
TimeBanks are run by communities. Each person gives an hour of time to offer a skill or service (such as DIY). Then you can ‘buy’ other services with the hours earned.
Age UK offers a handyman service, just enter your postcode to find trustworthy affordable people to help with:
- Putting up curtain rails, shelves & pictures
- Fixing smoke & carbon dioxide alarms
- Fixing grab rails
- Fixing door/window locks & chains/viewers
- Installing radiator boosters & draught excluders
- Installing energy-efficient lightbulbs.
Adapt My Home is an online free self-assessment tool. If you qualify, you may be eligible for grants to help with:
- Ramps, stairlifts & floor lifts
- Ceiling track hoists & wider doors
- Walk-in showers & accessible toilets
- Accessible kitchen facilities & lower tables
- Improved heating & accessible controls
- Safety features & security lights
How to Start Your Own Repair Café
The Repair Revolution is an inspiring read by a woman who set up a New York repair café that fixes lamps to cleaners, clocks to chairs, clothing to dolls and even sharpens tools.
Their website says ‘Most items get fixed – but even when they don’t, we have a good time trying!’
Although you should throw out dodgy Christmas lights etc, repair cafes are great to mend most items. Some staff are paid (a good honest way to make a living) and others are run by volunteers.
- Find a low-cost starter kit at Repair Cafe International.
- Use the unique code to order a Repair Café toolkit and find tips to repair clocks to furniture.
- In London, The Restart Project runs ‘repair parties’ (fixes tablets to toasters and iPhones to headphones).
- Lewes Repair Cafe has volunteers who can mend zips to bicycles, broken china to garden tools. You even get tea and cake!
- If you’re skilled in DIY, sign up at Restarters to get involved in the worldwide effort.
(cool!) Heat-Activated Mending Sticks
Fixits are innovative heat-activated sticks made from nontoxic bioplastics that bond around small fibres, which melt in water, then harden when cool to mechanically bond to form a strong grip.
Ideal to mend tire punctures, broken wheel spokes, broken straps to cables, the reusable glue dots (also made from compostable bio-plastic) stick to non-porous surfaces (wood, metal, plastic, concrete, tiles, glass).
After removal, wash with warm soapy water, dry and use again. Avoid on painted/wallpapered surfaces.
Keep FixIt sticks away from children and pets. Do not use on electrical cables above 24 volts, nor where temperature will cause them to soften again (exposing live wiring).
Do not repair consumer electronics, when connected to a live electricity supply.
Fixits Reusable Tape
You can use the reusable tape to stick cables under your desk, mount objects on walls, or keep rugs and tablecloths in place. It’s super-strong and endlessly useful. It sticks to smooth surfaces, then peels off without a trace. Includes a bamboo pouch for easy storage.
Ensure surfaces are clean and dry before use. Do not use on porous materials (test in a discreet area first).
Zero Waste Vegan Glue (where to find it)
Animal collagen is still used in some glues, so look for versions made from tree sap and natural rubber. Conventional glues don’t biodegrade (eco protestors were recently criticised, when they stuck themselves to the road with superglue).
Keep all glue (even natural versions) away from children and pets (MDI-based and Gorilla glues can be fatal if ingested).
One dog almost died after chewing a ‘glossy leaflet’ (made with glue), so use a letterbox guard to help prevent accidents.
OkoNorm Eco Paper Glue is made from starch-based plant-based ingredients. It’s water-soluble and good for paper, cardboard and fibrous materials. Odourless and transparent.
For DIY jobs, Auro makes adhesive from latex milk and natural resins to bond bond lino, cork, textiles, carpet and ceramic tiles. Apply with the spatula, or use to glue carpet backing.
Wash tools after use, and dispose of according to instructions. Not for wet room floors (kitchens, bathrooms).
Where to Recycle Unwanted & Used Glue
TerraCycle runs a program where for around £100 (everyone can pitch in), your community can drop off empty/unused craft glues and packaging, to send off using the pre-paid shipping label to be made into other items.
It’s a one-off amnesty to get rid of toxic glue sticks in your town. Although some of their recycling programs are free (sponsored by industry) this one isn’t, so the charge covers the cost of recycling ‘items that can’t be recycled’.
