Repair Cafes

[czdt8m]

A phenomenon that started in The Netherlands to repair stuff rather than throwing it away, called repair cafes http://repaircafe.org/, seems to be growing in popularity.

In a news item about this on Belgian television some time ago, one person brought in a clothes dryer.
Guy at the repair cafe found that the thermal fuse had failed, removed it and bypassed it.
Not sure if he left it like that, or just did this for testing and then told the owner to go to an official repair center for the final fix. According to the site, that is what they are supposed to do.

Got me thinking though. Repair Cafes are fine for stuff like clothes and non electrical items, but what if that guys house burns down because of a dodgy repair job? And that's not limited to just repair cafes but amateur repairs in general.

Any thoughts?

[tszaboo]

There is nothing new here. People were repairing stuff for decades in the east countries, because there was no money to buy a new one, or (I know it is incredible) you had to wait for a new one, because of the government, or lack of stock (for months). Although Russian stuff was easier to repair, I've seen some doggy repair job, coat hanger keeping washing machine together grade stuff. Repair with what you had at home... It is not safe.

[madires]

Another problem is stuff which is built to be unrepairable  In former East Germany there were rules about the lifetime of machines, they had to be build to last x years and to be repairable. The result is that tons of old machines built in former East Germany still run fine, and East Germany is history since 1989.

If I've understood the idea of the Repair Cafe right, they wan't to encourage people to repair stuff by themselves or get it repaired by a professional shop instead of just throwing it away.

[wraper]

Another problem is stuff which is built to be unrepairable  In former East Germany there were rules about the lifetime of machines, they had to be build to last x years and to be repairable. The result is that tons of old machines built in former East Germany still run fine, and East Germany is history since 1989.

If I've understood the idea of the Repair Cafe right, they wan't to encourage people to repair stuff by themselves or get it repaired by a professional shop instead of just throwing it away.

IIRC fridges were built to last 25 Years.

[czdt8m]

If I've understood the idea of the Repair Cafe right, they wan't to encourage people to repair stuff by themselves or get it repaired by a professional shop instead of just throwing it away.

The idea is that a group of volunteers come together at a certain time at a certain place (usually a bar or cafe) and help people by repairing their stuff. So anyone can come to one of these gatherings and bring something broken. They will try and repair it.

So for me the difference is that they are repairing other people's stuff, and are not required to have any qualifications.

I like the initiative very much, and it's fine for anything that is not potentially dangerous. (like clothing) Electrical stuff is a different matter.

Someone correct me if I misunderstood.

[nctnico]

There was a gathering nearby (didn't visit) but from the article in the local newspaper I understood its also about bringing people from the neighbourhood together. I guess its also a good opportunity to meet other people for various reasons other than fixing stuff  / having stuff fixed. They actually found a way for techies who don't like beer, loud music, dancing, etc to be cool