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Repair Café offering free repairs in Houston
Do you have a broken microwave of appliance you need to get fixed? It can be costly, but FOX 26 Consumer Reporter Heather Sullivan has some Smart Sense on how you can get it fixed for free.
HOUSTON - Do you have a broken gadget, small appliance, furniture, or even clothes that need mending? You can get them repaired at a free Repair Café on Saturday
Repairing an appliance like a microwave or a coffee maker can cost hundreds of dollars, sometimes as much as the cost to replace it. A Repair Cafe can save you money and help keep items out of landfills.
TXRX Labs calls itself Houston's Non-profit Makerspace. On June 24, it's hosting a Repair Café with the City of Houston and several environmental and community groups.
You can bring broken electronics, small appliances, furniture, bicycles, jewelry, tools, blades that need sharpening, and clothes that need mending.
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"We do a lot of furniture repair in our wood shop and our welding shops. That’s always pretty popular, a lot of small appliance repair," explained Roland von Kurnatowski, President of TXRX Labs.
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People with experience in skilled trades, and handy people who like to tinker, volunteer to help you fix your stuff and learn how it works. You may need to purchase some parts, but they can also fashion some.
"We have a lot of 3-D printers and other sorts of equipment that allow us to very rapidly make small replacement parts. We’re also pretty handy, so we can often wing it," said von Kurnatowski.
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A Repair Café is similar to a movement of Fixit Clinics held around the country, that can help you save money.
"Repairing items is way cheaper than buying new ones," von Kurnatowski stated.
These events also emphasize the value of knowing how your stuff works and keeping it out of landfills.
"There are piles and piles of electronic garbage generated every day, and we can save a little bit of that," said von Kurnatowski.
TXRX Labs is a 501c3 that also offers classes, so you can learn to make your own repairs, as well as job training in the trades for at-risk youth.
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"Welding, machining, laser printing, 3D printing, CAD, sewing, jewelry, ceramics, powder coating," von Kurnatowski says. "There's a long list of them, they're on our website."
The Repair Café is Saturday, June 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. at TXRX Labs, 6501 Navigation Boulevard, Houston, 77011. The event is free, but donations are welcome.
Click this link to learn more or to volunteer to make repairs. Repairs are made at your own risk.
The organizations involved include the City of Houston, TXRX Labs, Houston Public Libraries, Green Building Resource Center, Houston Complete Communities, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, Texas Campaign for the Environment, KW Solar, Repurpose Depot, the Houston Tool Bank, and the Houston Peace and Justice Center.