Replacing a part most often fixes broken items brought to a Repair Café. The second most popular procedure is cleaning, followed by stitching a seam. This is according to the latest analysis of the RepairMonitor, the online tool for data collection in Repair Cafés worldwide.
‘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:
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!
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