On Vacuum Repair

My vacuum cleaner was broken.  It was an electrical problem.  The power kept cutting in and out as I was vacuuming the rugs in my apartment.  It's a common problem with these types of cheap machinery, they need a little tinkering every now and again.  So I took it to my local repair shop.

This is something a lot of people don't do today.  A few of my friends would look at me funny and say, "just get a new one."  Despite the efforts of many to recycle and reduce their carbon footprint we still live in a throwaway culture.  It's very wasteful to take a vacuum cleaner, or any other type of electronic household appliance, to the dump without giving a local repair shop the chance to fix it first.  Many of these things have a simple part that needs replacing and it won't take long or cost much.  My parents once found one of those very expensive Dyson vacuum cleaners in their local recycling center, out to be trashed, and all it turned out it needed was a simple part replaced that Dyson mailed to my folks for free.

The problem is a lot of these mom 'n pop repair shops are going out of business because the parts are getting harder to order, the machines aren't even built to last, and the demand is simply not there.  Luckily, New York still has a few of these stores left in each borough.

The place I went to was the Expert Appliance and Electronics Center on 293 Court Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (718.858.5444).  It took only a few minutes.  The proprietor new instantly that the connection was bad in the extension arm and needed a new part that he happened to have in the back.  I paid him $20 in cash.

So next time your vacuum, or Cuisinart, Osterizer, stereo poop out, don't throw it out.  Take it to your local fix-it shop.  You'll be glad you did.