Vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, and trousers/pants were the most popular items brought to Repair Cafés in 2024. The factsheet also lists the most common problems for each of these three items. For example, vacuum cleaners often had damaged cords or plugs, switches were broken, or there were motor problems.

Public dashboard with eight visualisations

The current results of the RepairMonitor can be viewed at any time via a public dashboard with eight visualisations. This dashboard provides insight into the most frequently offered products and brands, participating Repair Cafés, reasons why repairs are unsuccessful etc. Visitors can filter the results by indicators such as country, year, Repair Café and product category. They can also download the entire dataset for further independent research.

RepairMonitor is being expanded and improved

Repair Café International is taking a close look at the RepairMonitor this year. The system is being rebuilt, expanded, and improved in numerous ways. This should make it attractive for even more Repair Cafés to enter repair data and provide more information about the repairs they carry out. This should lead to a larger and better dataset.

This dataset will benefit all kinds of parties: repairers will be able to repair better, policymakers will be able to make better rules to promote repair, manufacturers will have additional tools to increase the repairability of their products, and researchers will have better data to analyse. The updated RepairMonitor is expected to be available in autumn.

More information

• Download the factsheet with the results of the RepairMonitor in 2024
• View the RepairMonitor dashboard
• Read background information about the RepairMonitor dashboard
• Check out our previous articles about the RepairMonitor
• Register your Repair Café as a RepairMonitor participant

Het bericht RepairMonitor factsheet provides insight into repair data for 2024 verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Introduction by Martine Postma and Martin Charter

Hosts Martine Postma (Repair Café International Foundation, Netherlands) and Martin Charter (Centre for Sustainable Design, UK) opened the session by outlining several developments. Martine, for instance, signalled that the right to repair directive which the EU adopted earlier this year, is already beginning to change the minds of product manufacturers. “They are beginning to really think about repairability of their products, and several of them have contacted us to identify ways to collaborate”, Martine said.

Martin Charter shared key learnings from a recent Repair Café conference that he organised in the UK. He noted, for instance, that several Repair Cafés are experimenting with online booking versus pure drop in for their events. He also said that Repair Cafés are wondering how they can measure the social value of their activities.

Repair Café perspectives from Australia and New Zealand

After these introductions, the focus shifted to Repair Café developments in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Leanne Wiseman, of the Australian Repair Network, talked about the diversity of repair activities in her country. “Our Repair Cafés take many different forms and play many different roles”, she said. Leanne also stressed the importance of repair data collection to show the impact of Repair Cafés to the local, state and federal governments in Australia.

Brigitte Sistig talked about the development of the Repair Network Aotearoa New Zealand, starting in 2020. She explained how repair appeared to be very likeable and how people are so passionate about it that there are now over 75 Repair Cafés in the country.

Data collection at Repair Cafés: how to do this and why is it important?  

Subsequently, the webinar focused on data collection at repair events. Martine Postma explained how the RepairMonitor works, the online tool which Repair Café International developed for this goal. Participants from the Netherlands, Germany and the UK shared their experience using the monitor.

The broader perspective: combining datasets for campaigning activities

Ugo Vallauri of the Open Repair Alliance shared how the RepairMonitor dataset and other similar datasets are being combined into one large dataset which is used in campaigning activities for the right to repair. He also explained that the combined dataset is being downloaded and used by policy makers, companies, journalists and many more people and parties.

Finally, Peter Mui of Fixit Clinics – another community repair initiative – provided repair perspectives from the United States. He said that close to a quarter of the American population is now covered under some sort of right to repair legislation. And that in the last couple of years also at a federal level the idea has developed that repair is critical to a resilient economy. Fixit Clinics also share data with the Open Repair Alliance.

More information

• View the entire webinar on YouTube
• read more about the programma on the website of The Centre for Sustainable Design

Het bericht Volunteers from 25 countries join 4th international Repair Café webinar verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Many Repair Cafés opt never to repair televisions because of the high voltage of these appliances. This is especially true of old picture tube televisions (pre-2000). Such picture tubes can carry a deadly high voltage of up to 30,000 volts. Unplugging it will not remove this voltage. Therefore, dismantling a picture tube television without sound electrical expertise is hazardous.

TV repairers must know precisely what they are doing

Despite this, banning televisions from the Repair Café is unnecessary. However, repairers must know precisely what they are doing. At Repair Café Delft in the Netherlands, they do. This is one of the Repair Cafés where visitors can bring televisions.

“We have had over a hundred TVs on the workbench since 2017,” says repairer Bart Jan van der Ceelen. “Almost all of these are LED or LCD TVs. These days, hardly anyone still has an old picture tube TV.”

Television supply capacitors contain dangerous amounts of electrical charge

LED or LCD TVs are no more hazardous than many other electrical devices, according to Bart Jan. “With one exception: the power supply capacitors. These can still contain a dangerous amount of electrical charge for quite some time, even after the main voltage is disconnected. So, safely discharge these capacitors first.”

Modern televisions have a circuit board with capacitors, fuses and other elements attached. The power supply capacitor is the circled part – it carries 450 volts.

Repair Café Delft has created a poster explaining why and how to do this. “Using that poster, we educate our repairers and explain the basics,” says Bart Jan. Meanwhile, Repair Café Delft has also made a discharge tool. “It is simple but safe.”

Impression of the discharge tool: The tool is the wooden block with the bulb, the cords and the grip clips that go into the amplifier. When you turn off the amplifier, the capacitors discharge through the bulb. With the voltmeter, you can measure the remaining voltage and determine when the capacitors are discharged. Foto: Repair Café Delft

You can safely test televisions after discharging the capacitors

After discharging the capacitors, repairers can safely test various things. “You can then inspect it,” explains Bart Jan. “Sometimes, you get some clues just by looking: you can reattach loose cables, measure a blown fuse for resistance and replace, replace a bulging electrolytic capacitor, measure diodes and transistors… And remember the toothbrush or paintbrush trick! Several repairers got a dusty television working again by brushing it off with a toothbrush or paintbrush.”

Working with voltage: always with one hand on the back and always with an isolating transformer

If the above does not result in the television working again, power must still be applied to diagnose the problem. “You then want to measure a few things. This usually involves comparing voltages with what it says in the service manual, electrical diagram, or what you know from experience.”

Repair Café Delft also follows some essential rules for this work. For example, repairers should always work with one hand on their back or in a pocket and always with an isolation transformer. “If you do that, you will be protected by the isolating transformer. We made a poster about this, too.”

Television repairs in the RepairMonitor

That not all Repair Cafés ban televisions is confirmed by the RepairMonitor. Repair Cafés worldwide keep track of their repair data in this online tool. By the end of 2023, the monitor contained more than 750 television repairs carried out at more than a hundred Repair Cafés in several countries. Thirty-three per cent of the repairs made were successful. In most of these cases, capacitors, fuses, LEDs or backlights were replaced (as in this video, recorded by a Repair Café Helmond-Oost volunteer)

 More information

• Watch this video in which a Repair Café Helmond-Oost volunteer replaces LEDs in a Samsung Smart TV
• For questions on this subject, please get in touch with Repair Café Delft
• Are you curious about the information on television repairs in RepairMonitor? Download the entire dataset via the RepairMonitor dashboard.

Het bericht Repairing televisions verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

The RepairMonitor is the online tool that Repair Cafes use to collect data about the repairs they carry out: products, brands, common problems, successful solutions… in the RepairMonitor, volunteers keep track of it all. In the system they also can, for example, give an approximate estimate of how old an item was, why the repair failed, and whether repair information was available to them.

Up-to-date results now always available

All this information is now open to the public via the RepairMonitor dashboard. There, eight visuals always provide up-to-date insight of the:

• number of registered repairs
• participating Repair Cafes
• most presented products (general and per product category)
• success rate
• most presented brands
• most active Repair Cafes
• reasons why repairs fail

The visuals can be downloaded in a pdf. In addition, everyone can download the current dataset at any time to also draw their own conclusions.

Dashboard is also accessible to policymakers, journalists and other interested parties

The RepairMonitor dashboard is open to the public. This means that policymakers, journalists, and other interested parties can also view the information and filter it as they please. Until now, they had to rely on the annual data analysis by Repair Café International. So, through the dashboard, the RepairMonitor’s unique dataset is much better unlocked!

More information

• Check out the RepairMonitor dashboard
• Register your Repair Cafe with the RepairMonitor and start collecting data!

Het bericht RepairMonitor dashboard provides insight into repair data verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Want to start the summer well-prepared? Then start checking that your summer gear is still in good shape. If not, you can visit a Repair Café in your neighbourhood. Our volunteers are ready to help you with all kinds of repairs.

Repairing sunglasses

Our volunteers can, for instance, help repair your sunglasses. Perhaps one of the temples is loose, the frame is broken, or the glass has fallen out. At the Repair Café, such problems are often easy to solve; our repairers successfully repair more than 60 per cent of the broken sunglasses brought in, according to the RepairMonitor, in which Repair Café volunteers keep track of everything they repair.

Most Repair Cafés have the right tools to tighten tiny screws, solder a temple or glue a broken frame.

Fixing faltering fans

You can also come to the Repair Café with faltering fans. Many fans run fine again after they have been cleaned or the moving parts have been lubricated. Sometimes a wire needs to be reconnected, a switch replaced, or the cable shortened. Fan repairs at the Repair Café are successful in over half of the cases. So, it is well worth bringing your fan.

Repairing parasols

With parasols, the problem is often in the pulley you use to open the parasol. This cord can snap when it is worn out. Fortunately, it is possible to thread in a new pulley. There are several videos on YouTube in which home repairers demonstrate this, such as this video with Dutch explanations or this video in English. Do you not feel like doing this repair on your own? Then drop by a Repair Café; our repairers will gladly help you.

Other problems with parasols are also easy to solve. A broken rib or hub can be mended (see the photo at the top of this article), sometimes a new bolt needs to be fitted, or some other creative solution is needed.

Maintaining and repairing sunbeds and other garden furniture

Repair Cafés also advise on maintenance and repair of sunbeds and other garden furniture. Is your garden furniture too big to bring to the Repair Café? Then take a photo and show it to the repairer.

Repair your summer items yourself

Want to repair your summer items yourself? Then find a repair guide at iFixit! Of course, you can also use these step-by-step guides to prepare for your visit to the Repair Café. This way, you will know what to expect.

Het bericht Repairing summer items verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

‘Magic touch’ of the repairer is sometimes all it takes

In the RepairMonitor, Repair Café volunteers indicate whether a repair was successful. If the answer is ‘yes’, they can also enter how the item was repaired. Glueing, soldering, greasing and grinding are also popular procedures. Sometimes, an item turns out not to be broken, or it is enough to explain its use or maintenance. In a few cases, the repairer’s ‘magic touch’ is enough; see word cloud below.

Main reason for repair failure: no spare parts

Replacement parts also play a significant role in repairs that fail. The main reason for unsuccessful repairs is that spare parts were unavailable. Repairers also indicate that spare parts are not on the market or are too expensive.

Electric heaters more popular since sharp rise in gas prices in 2022

The RepairMonitor clearly shows that developments on the world stage affect what we buy and how we treat our belongings. For example, electric heaters have become much more popular at the Repair Café since the sharp rise in gas prices in 2022. The fan heater was even the highest new entry into the RepairMonitor in 2022!

Vacuum cleaner repairs were most often entered into the RepairMonitor in 2022, followed by coffee maker repairs and trouser repairs. This makes the top three popular products almost identical to the lists in 2021 and 2020.

More information

Every year, Repair Café International compiles the most striking results from the RepairMonitor in a fact sheet. Do you, for example, want to know which common brand has the highest success rate of repairs at the Repair Café? And which products and brands we’re least able to fix? Then download the fact sheet:

• RepairMonitor factsheet 2022 English

Also, read the news articles on previous RepairMonitor analyses:

• RepairMonitor analyses 2021
• RepairMonitor analyses 2020
• RepairMonitor analyses 2019
• RepairMonitor analyses 2018

And view the entire dataset on which the analysis is based.

Would you also like to start collecting data through the RepairMonitor? Then sign up your Repair Café!

Het bericht RepairMonitor: replacing a part is most common procedure verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Is your fan heater broken? Or are you having problems with a radiant heater or electric radiator? No worries! The problem can most probably be fixed.

Electric heaters more popular since 2022

For years, we didn’t see many electric heaters at the Repair Café. But this has changed since the war in Ukraine. Since the sharp rise in gas prices in 2022, electric heaters have become much more popular. In 2022, the fan heater was even the highest new entry into the RepairMonitor, the online tool in which Repair Cafés worldwide keep track of their repair data.

Many Repair Café repairers have recently gained experience in repairing various types of electric heaters. The RepairMonitor shows that in 61 per cent of cases, fan heaters were repaired successfully. For radiant heaters, it was 58 per cent, and for electric radiators, 46 per cent.

Electric heaters with broken switches can be fixed!

Lately, Repair Café Eindhoven-Woensel has seen more electric heaters. Repairman Rens (pictured at the top of this article) even saw one during the tenth anniversary of his Repair Cafe on 3 March. According to its owner (pictured left), this heater is three to four years old.

The owner said: “I took it back to the BCC where I had bought it, and they said, ‘Just throw it away.'”

Rens offers other advice. He notes that the switch is slack. But it needn’t be a big problem as far as he’s concerned. “It’s a pretty standard switch. I know an address where they probably sell them. So, I sent the owner there to buy a replacement switch. When he returns with it, we’ll replace the switch.”

Other solutions to problems with electric heaters

Repairers indicate in the RepairMonitor that they can often solve the problems by doing one or more of the following:

– replace capacitor
– clean contacts, thermostat or other parts
– remove dust
– lubricate
– replace fuse
– repair or replace cable

Sometimes, a more creative solution is needed. According to data in the RepairMonitor, sometimes a broken base is glued or a backing plate is added. In one case where a fan heater stalled, spacers were put between the fan and the main housing. In a few cases, the on-off button is bypassed, so you can only turn it off by unplugging it.

Reasons why electric heater repairs fail

When electric heater repairs don’t succeed, it’s often because there are no spare parts, or the spare parts are too expensive. But the RepairMonitor also identifies other reasons. Sometimes, a heater or radiator was too worn out, there was no way to open the product, or the repair would take too much time. In some other cases, the repairer couldn’t find the problem.

Repair your electric heater yourself or bring it to a Repair Café!

Need help repairing your fan heater, radiant heater, or electric radiator? Then come to a Repair Café near you. Want to do the repair yourself? Then find a repair guide at iFixit! You can also use these step-by-step guides to prepare for your visit to the Repair Café. That way, you’ll know what to expect.

Het bericht Repairing electric heaters verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Fons Weijts started the Repair Café in his neighbourhood of Woensel in March 2013. The former Philips employee and technology teacher discovered his hometown did not have a Repair Café yet. That needed to be corrected, Fons thought. So, he called the office of the Repair Café Foundation in Amsterdam and announced that he would set one up himself. Repair Café creator Martine Postma recalls the incident in her book “Weggooien? Mooi niet!” (“Toss it? No way!”) published in March 2015 to mark the foundation’s fifth anniversary.

Meanwhile, Eindhoven has eight Repair Cafés, which means residents can always go for a repair at short notice and in their neighbourhood. For example, in the elderly club Andromeda, home of Repair Café Eindhoven-Woensel, visitors are welcome every Friday afternoon with broken items.

Volunteers have faithfully come every week for ten years

What does Fons remember most from ten years of Repair Café Eindhoven-Woensel? He immediately knows the answer: “The intrinsic motivation of the volunteers. They have been coming here faithfully every week for ten years. Most of our team has been involved in this Repair Café from the very start. I’m proud of that.”

Fons, therefore, tries hard to make everyone feel comfortable. “I think it’s important to give everyone attention, pay them a compliment now and then…” He also regularly organises something fun for the volunteers. “And I try to make sure we get publicity. An article in the newspaper is always nice; it brings in new visitors, and for the volunteers it’s a token of recognition to be in the newspaper.”

A large picture of the 12-member Repair Café team has hung in club Andromeda in Eindhoven since March 3

Repair skills of repairers have greatly improved in ten years

Has Fons seen any changes in the past decade in terms of repairability of products? “In product design, unfortunately, I haven’t seen any improvements,” he says. “In our team, I do see development. We now have a lot of experience repairing various objects, and I dare say: we can open anything. We can also trace back a lot in the RepairMonitor, where Repair Cafés worldwide keep track of their repair data.”

How does Fons see the future of Repair Café Eindhoven-Woensel? “That one is uncertain; we hardly see any young people here. But for now, our team isn’t going anywhere!”

More Repair Cafés have existed for ten years

In recent years, more Repair Cafés in the Netherlands have celebrated their tenth anniversary, such as the Repair Cafés in Delft, Houten, Groningen, Utrecht, Bilthoven and dozens of other places. Abroad, too, several Repair Cafés have been around for that long, such as Repair Café Klein-Brabant in Belgium, Cologne and Celle in Germany, and Palo Alto in the United States.

Het bericht More and more Repair Cafés celebrate tenth anniversary verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Het bericht Repairing laptops verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.

Het bericht RepairMonitor: spare parts crucial for better repair verscheen eerst op Repaircafe.