Five Things Not Worth Repairing
‘œDon’t throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water.’ ‘“ Swedish Proverb
In the last year, my iPod died, my Blackberry broke, 8 (yes 8!) of our 12 new Riedel wine glasses shattered, Jeanine’s pricey camera lens cracked, and today the coffee maker seems to be on the brink.
When does it pay to fix things? Or should we toss and replace? Obviously, we can’t fix the wine glasses, but often things can be refurbished. But it’s not always worth repairing. AOL Money lists the Top Five Things Never to Repair. Check out the article to understand why. But here are the items:
- Computers
- Digital cameras
- MP3 players
- Microwaves
- Cell phones
Do you agree? Disagree? What else is on your list? Coffee maker is on mine. Before I can replace, I’m out the door for a Starbucks run this morning.
Photo credit: stock.xchng.
The only exception I’d take is about repairing computers. I broke my less-than-a-year-old laptop screen and successfully replaced it myself with a nicer screen I purchased online. The screen cost me about $100. Definitely a more frugal move than buying a new laptop.
I would agree with all except for computers. My only reasoning is that I wouldn’t have any idea how to do any of the repairs myself, except for a computer. Even then my knowledge is limited. I think you have to weigh your options. Would the repairs cost more than the item is worth? Would a replacement cost much more? What would be the expected lifespan once repaired?
Well, define ‘worth it.’ I recently had a DVD player die, and I chose to repair it rather than replace it — even though DVD players are pretty dirt cheap these days. I decided to go forward with a repair unless it was more than 120% of new — simply because I am sick and tired of the “everything’s disposable” mentality, especially with electronics (which can have toxic heavy metals, and are typically not disposed of properly). I also elected to replace my blender carafe when it broke — even though replacing the carafe was $25 and the blender only cost about $30 in the first place.
(In the end, the DVD player was replaced anyway — the model had been discontinued and the problem I had was endemic with that model anyways, so Philips just replaced it with a newer one. But at least I have the comfort of knowing I tried to conserve resources (and I hope the company disposed of it properly).)
A microwave, I suppose I can understand not repairing. I don’t think I’ve seen a “microwave repair” sign in any dusty shop windows any time in recent memory; it probably takes some skills to fix things that emit radiation by design. A cell phone… probably the same. But I don’t think I agree with a blanket moratorium on computer repairs. If all that’s gone wrong is a bad DIMM or disk, that’s just silly to throw the whole thing out. They’re modular for a reason.
Kitchen countertop appliances are something I would not consider getting repaired- except for maybe hubby’s super, top o’ the line mixer. Given that many go on sale for pennies on the dollar EVERY year at Christmas time, we’d probably limp along without for the months until sales hit. Things like: coffee makers, toasters, crock pot, etc. MAYBE the toaster would be bought new regardless of time of year- since toast, toasted bagels, and breakfast sandwiches are something we couldn’t go for long without.
And definately the microwave. I still step away from it when I use it- and I do not have a pacemaker.
I agree with Sabrina, though I’m not as good at acting on those beliefs as she is. And it bugs me that in many ways electronics are not ready for prime time. I had an electronic organizer/database once (the Revo), and I loved it, but I quit loving it the second time one broke beyond repair. I’m back to paper and pencil.
I apparently decided my swimsuit was not worth repairing because I just bought a new one. The elastic on my old one is shot, and I bought new elastic and started thinking about how to do it, but I haven’t done it yet.
Any clothing where the fabric itself is so weak that it’s wearing through or tearing easily is not worth fixing; most other ways clothes can break are worth fixing.
Anything that is suddenly considered broken even though nothing has changed (like lead pipes and margarine made from hydrogenated fats) probably can’t be “repaired.”
Of course anything ruined due to irreversible chemical, physical or biological reactions (such as rotting eggs and maybe such as electronics which have been rained on while turned on) can’t be fixed. But actually, stale bread can become French toast, burnt cookies can be rubbed against the cheese grater to remove the black parts, and overripe bananas can be used in baking.
I suspect I replace way too many things that could be repaired, but I just didn’t realize it. I’m trying to get better at figuring out ways to repair things.
Item #6. My relationship with my step-father
Well as far as the coffeemaker goes I bet it just needs and internal cleaning…run a pot of vinegar through it. These things get lots of mineral sediment/scale in them and stop functioning as the sediment acts as insulation on the heating element. Salvaged many a coffee maker doing this.
If you also have problems with your showerhead just heat a cup of vinegar in the nuclear oven and drop the shower head in and let soak…cleans all the lime and scale right off.
~ Roland
P.S. By the way..if you’ve ever wondered how Mr. Coffee and all the others make money selling coffee makers so cheap you must remember…they’re not in the business of selling coffee makers…they’re in the business of selling you the FILTERS that only fit the machines sold as loss leaders.
I’ve actually gotten a microwave repaired. But that was because my dad (an electrical engineer) was able to replace the blown fuse in it for free. The fuse blew due to a power surge from a very-nearby lightning strike. My garage door opener had issues from the same spike, and things would have been worse I hadn’t been home to unplug various electronics as the storm worsened. Moral of the story? I bought a handful of surge protectors and now have assorted semi-expensive items items hooked into them, not just the computer.
Oh, and when I shorted out the computer monitor (CRT type) with dripping ricotta cheese, I was able to disassemble the monitor, dry it all out, and render it usable again. Moral of that story? Don’t use the top of a warm monitor to defrost things, if the container has gotten cracked!
I would have to agree except the computer can be repaired depending on what needs to be done to it.
I have had a similar rash — dryer venting needing replacing, the wind taking away my porch umbrella and breaking it, my laptop remains a paperweight, etc etc…
I learned on a recent paddling trip from the leader that if you get your cell phone very wet (think, flipping your kayak) that she put it with the battery & back off …put all the pieces into the freezer and it worked again. Haven’t tried this myself…but hey, why not!
Okay, okay, who knew we had so many tech heads reading Queercents. The next time my Dell crashes, I’ll be contacting all of you – starting with Kem and working my way down the list – for your brilliant repair ideas. Stay tuned!
Sabrina: You bring up a great point about the “disposable” mentality with tossing things out. That said, if I can’t fix it, I wonder what actually happens when I pass the broken coffeemaker off to Goodwill. I can hardly imagine they’re going to refurbish it. In a way, it just prevents me guild from putting it in the trash, but I suspect it will wind up there anyway.
A.J.: Where have you been? I guess not hanging out with your family. I’ve missed your snark… thanks for smile.
Roland: It happened to be an electrical problem. I would turn it on and then it seemed to short out half way through the brew cycle. I hit Bed, Bath, and Beyond last night and bought a new one – using one of their 20% off coupons that seem to fill our mail box daily.
S: I’ve stayed away from cheese, but have experienced a soda soaked laptop more than once. Drying it out sometimes does the trick. Maybe next time, I’ll try the freezer trick as Paula suggests with the cell phone.
Another tip for coffee makers (esp for you Roland!)- you can usually find a non disposable filter that will fit. For the cost of one package of filters, we bought a metal screen filter. Once in a great while, there might be a few more particulates at the bottom of the coffee cup- but hubby likes her coffee so strong, crunchy is okay.
Depending on the problem, iPods can actually be relatively easy to fix. Though it’s often just a matter of how long you can prolong its life, I’ve only ever encountered one iPod I couldn’t fix and made myself a popular person by fixing around a half a dozen iPods for friends and acquintances. Perhaps add the caveat to search google forums beforehand.
DivaJean: Good point. Our new Cuisinart actually came with a reusable metal filter. You can search for you can search for versions that fit most brands here. And don’t forget, coffee grounds are good for your garden.
Elizabeth: How did you get so good at tinkering with things? I’ve had no such luck with my iPod repair efforts. When I can buy a Nano for about $150 and Apple charges a flat fee of ninety-nine dollars to repair… well, I do the math and it’s just less of a hassle to replace.