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

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

#71
post #11

I've seen two people replace dishwashers because the power cord wasn't connected well and failed. They don't include a power cord with the appliance, here; you buy your own and wire it up yourself, or the installers do it for most people I guess. So when this hurried connection made in an awkward place turns out to have been poor and breaks after a few years; "the dishwasher is broken" and a repair shop charges half…

out of interest, where is "here"?

USA, where almost everything else does come with a power cord.

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

#72

Dryers; a new heating element or new bearing kit are about an hour of a job and $30 of parts.

My parents had a dryer they bought in 1947 and my dad kept it running until the mid 1990s, so about 50 years. My dad replaced the bearings about every ten years and I think had to replace a switch once. I believe it was from Sears.

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

#73
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a relatively easy project for an average homeowner?

I’ve done it. It’s not a big job, but the issues I ran into were: 1. You need a specific and large socket wrench. (A big adjustable wrench wouldn’t work because the head was recessed.) 2. Mine was really stuck in there, so it took a lot of torque to get it loose. Had to get someone else to hold the water heater in place while I pulled on the wrench. 3. My water heater was up in the attic underneath the angled roof, a…

All that, plus you have to have a water heater that has replaceable rods (some today are not replaceable.) Some other brands also combine the rod with the water inlet, which means you need to do basic plumbing to disconnect the water supply piping before removing it.

The claims of extending the life of the heater indefinitely are dubious. There are also 2 heating elements that can burn out and 2 mechanical thermostats that can fail. Cheap parts, but the heating elements can become fused into the body of the heater from rust/corrosion.

In my opinion, tank water heaters are one of those things where tank failure can lead to catastrophic damage: you have 40+ gallons of water that can dump out, and then full water pressure behind it. You have no way of identifying the condition of the tank from the outside; it could fail suddenly. Basic electric models aren't particularly expensive, either (~$600.) It's generally accepted that 15 years of life is a good run. It's not worth the risk/expense of a leaking tank to squeeze another few years out, especially if it's in an area where even a small leak could cost thousands in damage.

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

#74
post #63

PSA if you're thinking of repairing appliances that run on mains power supply: A lot of you might be comfortable tinkering with breadboards or Arduinos and hobbyist electronics, but mains electricity can be lethal. Please consider hiring a professional electrician before you start replacing failing components or power cables if you're unsure about what you're doing. Stay safe :)

This person is smart. Please listen to them.

I did not listen to them, with the caveat that this anecdote is from 8 years ago, but it would have helped me if I had the capacity to accept their insights at the time.

In the United States (and other countries, but is it every country?) we can freely go into a supply store and purchase electrical components with no licensing or any other approvals. Simply go in, get what you think you need, and leave.

So when we were wrapping up the installation of our new kitchen some decade ago, I had recently completed a college Physics course, which I believe I had about a C- average in, and was very confident that I knew enough to wire the electrical connection on our steel range vent, with steel fume collection hood.

A year in, the little light bulbs that illuminate the range beneath had burned out from extreme heat. The metal base was still in the socket, but the glass was gone. "No problem, I'll turn the power off at the circuit and use a potato cut in half as a handle to force the base out".

Of course, a combination of shared neutral wiring, and my own errors, including that ground and neutral were 'the same' and I had tied the neutral into the hood, left me blown across the kitchen when I finally used the oven door handle with my other hand for leverage.

The headache lasted about a week. My chest felt like a couch full of old pennies. The first thing I remember was my wife sobbing, and the second thing I remember was that I am dumb and lucky. The third thing I remember was guilt for making my wife cry, and that's the one that finally registered within me that I should not be touching wires.

10 years later, I touch wires. I'm still not certified to do it, but there haven't been any more accidents. I will do only what I can convince myself I fully understand. Operations performed here are either very simple, or outsourced to professionals.

Hire an electrician.

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

#75
post #67

Some relatively simple things I've repaired around our apartment. Not all of these people would replace , but they might call a professional when it's quicker and cheaper to DIY: * Top-loading washing machine. If it spins really loudly, or stops spinning, pop off the front panel and check the belt. Ours had just slipped off. Just make sure you get it really tight when reattaching--I had to redo it a couple times unti…

If the material is compatible, a bath in ammonia gas will degrade the burnt on grease so that it just wipes off. For when the dishwasher doesn't cut it.

(so like put the item in a bag or container with a small amount of ammonia and let it sit overnight)

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

#76
post #7
post #2

Furniture

This especially. Glue ups are poorly done on a lot of Wayfare and similar tier furniture and the fascia falls off. The MDF fails when the legs support the weight at an angle. I just repaired a dresser that had both of these issues with wood glue and finish nails for the fascia and bondo and a drill for the failed MDF foot mounts. Cheap furniture will not stand up to many moves but you can definitely repair a lot of i…

I have this West Elm brand credenza in my office, with walnut veneer. Damned thing took 9 months to get delivered, but that's a covid logistics issue, not a company issue. I think.

So it shows up, and it's quite handsome - but then this random thing intersects the corner, was it a vacuum cleaner? A box? And now there's a blemish, and it no longer feels 'new', it feels like cheap veneered furniture I got as a hand-me-down. I was incensed with myself for causing the blemish so early in my ownership of this overpriced thing.

My wife heard me grumbling, and she came to see what the fuss was. A moment later she re-appeared in my office with a single walnut from our pantry. And then a moment after that, I couldn't find the blemish on my credenza, for the walnut had completely rubbed into it and covered it!

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

#77
post #72

Dryers; a new heating element or new bearing kit are about an hour of a job and $30 of parts.

My parents had a dryer they bought in 1947 and my dad kept it running until the mid 1990s, so about 50 years. My dad replaced the bearings about every ten years and I think had to replace a switch once. I believe it was from Sears.

My dryer from sometime in the 90s has parts commonality with dryers built in the 1960s.

I didn't try to figure out if it's also the case with any presently available models.

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

#78

Instead of disposable plastic razors (Schick, Gilette, etc.) I recommend getting a safety razor and a big pack of blades (I use Merkur). You will save yourself thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime - and avoid generating a ton of waste. Maintenance is pretty much just cleaning the razor with vinegar every few weeks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor If you have the time/desire for it, a straight…

I agree. I also remember seeing a photo from a microscope showing that a safety razor cuts the hair evenly whilst disposable multi-blade razors tend to shred the hair. That increases the likelihood of ingrown hair and it also makes the tip sharper on the touch, for example when kissing another person and rubbing them against another person’s skin. My experience confirms that is true.

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

#79
My proud repairs include:

A Samsung washer that would not detect that the door was closed. Bypassed it with a paper clip. You can open the door while the clothes are tumbling but I just don’t do that and all is good.

Many washers actually, bearings, belts, shocks.

A Hamilton beach electric kettle. To turn on you push down on a little lever that stays engaged until a bimetal gets hot and clicks off. It wouldn’t stay engaged. Disassembled and bent a contact a bit to give the lever a bit more range. Been working great for almost a year.

Apple Watch. Replaced battery. Sealing the screen again was a mess and didn’t last long, but it was good for a while.

A series of laptops

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

#80

I've seen two people replace dishwashers because the power cord wasn't connected well and failed. They don't include a power cord with the appliance, here; you buy your own and wire it up yourself, or the installers do it for most people I guess. So when this hurried connection made in an awkward place turns out to have been poor and breaks after a few years; "the dishwasher is broken" and a repair shop charges half…

For what it's worth, I can attest that installing a dishwasher is slightly less complex than installing a water-cooling system in a PC: if you can do one, you can do the other.
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