Got a Broken Household Item? Get it Fixed at Repair Cafe
Free meetup at Duke on April 7 lets you work with a specialist to repair items
After weeks of watching her clothing colors fade in her washing machine, Sophia Santillan had decided enough was enough. She was going to fix the machine herself.
After tinkering with the knobs on the machine for about 30 minutes, Santillan removed the front plate of the washer and discovered the thermostat had broken off. With online research, she reattached the thermostat and the washing machine was working again.
It is that feeling of success that Santillan hopes visitors receive at Duke’s Repair Café on April 7. The Duke Repair Café will be from 1 to 5 p.m. at Duke Engineering Design Pod on the ground level of the Levine Science Research Center. Anyone in the community can schedule a time to bring in an item by signing up online.
“It’s neat for people to courageously take things apart without thinking they might not be able to put it back again,” said Santillan, assistant professor of the practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science.
Repair Cafes are pop-up shops where people can bring in broken items to work with volunteer specialists on repairing their common household items for free. A North Carolina chapter started in February 2017 and has already hosted eight events, mostly in Cary.
Don Fick, one of the founders of the North Carolina chapter, has seen items like vacuums, jewelry, microwaves, clothing and tents come to cafes for repair.
“Our goal is to give folks the opportunity to learn and be more engaged in repairing the things that break down in everyday life,” he said. “We’re trying to bring an ethos of ‘there’s a lot you can do yourself if you’re willing to pick up a screwdriver and take a chance.’”
Santillan connected with Fick after seeing an NBC News story on Repair Cafes and thinking the Engineering Pod would be a great place to host the event since it is already stocked with tools.
She said her desire to tinker and repair stems from an environmental standpoint.
“I don’t like the idea of things just sitting in a landfill for the rest of my life,” Santillan said. “Like with my washer, it would have been horrible to spend money on a new one, but I would have felt worse that it would have just been dumped somewhere. That seems so wasteful.”