Ask HN: What are household items that can be repaired but people often replace?

Tangential, but I’ve found this type of thing occurs pretty regularly. Where the economics of the industry have pushed the maintenance cost down to only a bit over the labour, and the actual equipment cost is somewhat negligible, so for an enterprising homeowner you get do the work yourself and end up with some equipment that you can use in the future for effectively nothing.

Most recently, I bought a house with an irrigation system. Learned that in our cold climate they need to be blown out before winter to avoid freezing. Called around and was quoted $250. Went on YouTube and learned the general concept, went to Home Depot and bought an air compressor and an irrigation system adapter for $275, and did it myself in an afternoon.

Also, what about the time spent learning all the info and knowledge necessary to be able to do the above?

There is always more to the cost equation than immediately obvious.

There are still vacuum cleaner repair shops in many cities. But they're often hard to find because they don't have the money to advertise or a web site.

If you're a DIY person, look at Dyson. People on HN like to complain about Dyson vaca because they're expensive. But they're also a good example of right-to-repair.

Mine recently had a problem and I found out that almost every part of it can be ordered online, even though it's older. And when my part arrived, disassembly was simple, and the instructions clear. It even came with new screws.

My mother had a washing machine for 25 years and it had only had a couple of belts replaced.

Her new washer failed within a year, and has been replaced by a washer that has also failed within a couple of years.

Electronics failure in both. The control board is expensive. Not like a $25 belt.