Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly I can bring?
Any small household electrical item (e.g. kettle, radio, hi-fi, lamp, etc.). Please don’t bring anything you can’t carry. You can also bring toys and mechanical items. We probably won’t have spare parts, but hopefully the repairer will be able to recommend what is needed.
You can bring any broken item that needs glueing – e.g. China, plastic toys etc. We will have various kinds of glue such as araldite, super glue etc. Depending on the glue we use, you may have to leave your item for a couple of hours.
You can bring clothes or textiles – we can help with buttons, simple patches, replacing zips, etc
Note: we cannot fix the following items:
- White goods
- Microwaves,
- TVs and Cathode ray tubes,
- Anything petrol;-driven or flammable
- Any safety related item (smoke alarm etc.),
- Weapons of any kind.
- Also anything that is still under warranty.
- Mechanical clocks
- If you are unsure, please contact us.
Does it cost anything?
• No, there is no charge to enter or to fix anything but we are very happy to receive a donation to cover our running costs. We do request refund of the cost of materials or parts if the repairer is asked to get them to do the repair
Do I need to let you know in advance, or just turn up?
• There will be a booking form which will go up on our website 2 to 3 weeks before the Repair Café. This gives us an idea of what is coming in. However, you don’t need to book. Feel free to drop in anytime, and our volunteers will help diagnose what’s wrong and fix your items. If it gets busy, we may ask you to wait a short while until a fixer becomes free -that’s when you can use the café.
Will you definitely be able to fix my item?
• Our fixers are all volunteers and we can’t guarantee to fix everything – some things may require spare parts, or be outside of our expertise (or just be too complicated to fix). In this case we will to advise you what needs to be done, or suggest someone else to go to.
If my item is unfixable, can I leave it with you to be recycled?
• No. please take it away and recycle it yourself.
Can I drop off broken items that might be fixable, but that I don’t want back?
• No, that is not a service we offer
Do I need to bring something to repair or can I just come to see what its about?
• Feel free to pop in for a chat and even if you don’t have something for us to fix!
Can I leave an item for repair and collect it later?
No. we like you to be present in order to describe the item’s perceived fault or problem to the repairer who will then examine it and make his own assessment. The possible reasons for the fault will be explained and each step of the repair clarified as the repair is undertaken. This is done to help the customer pick up some new practical knowledge and skills. Sometimes, the customer will be invited, and even needed, to assist with the repair.
We will not be able to look at any item that cannot be safely started indoors.
Where are there other Repair Cafes nearby?
Repair Cafes are held regularly in Ludlow, Ledbury, Hereford, Dinedor, Marden ,Golden Valley, Malvern and Presteigne and more are being added to this list all the time. See
Repair Café – Fix Your Broken Items (repaircafe.org)