REPAIR - TIP - Sticky Knobs

Oo-er, missus.

All through my ad career I always got my best briefings on the client's product not from the marketing guys in their ivory towers, but from those in sales. The ones dealing with the thing, and customers, day-in, day-out. Who I dubbed 'the sharp end'.

They knew the product backwards, its foibles and fabluousness. Plus, of course, the audience.

It's the same with the world of engineering repair.

For some reason, we are going through a spate of break-downs at Junkk Towers.

Age the primary reason. With which I can identify. But also poor design.

Luckily, our belief in repair has meant we have invested in insurances to cover such eventualities, even though I suspect we are paying more as a consequence over the lifespan of kit we're nursing things along.

And this means I have been happy to meet, and chat, with a bunch of cheery guys who know their kit backwards... faults and fabulousness both... as they sort 'em out.

I have just bid farewell to Dave who fixed our oven. A sticky fan was a fuse blow away. But in replacing that I also gleaned a ton of other useful snippets. Seems insurances don't cover self-tapping screws pulling out as 'rust' is excluded. On a device meant to create heat and steam in a steel box that seems quaint. But he was up for a quick bolt substitute.

In passing, he also noted the hob burner rings were now too old to be efficient and needed replacing. These are the metal plates that create the mini gas jets in a circle. Worth investing on new ones for more gas efficiency.

Sadly, with a fried circuit board in the microwave it was deemed easier and cheaper to buy a new one than replace. Good job we still had the 2-ton mechanical monster in the basement. And it works.

But today's tip concerns knobs. Specifically the on/off switch to the washing machine.

I thought it was broken and had booked a repair. Dave knew better.

And his solution...? Spray furniture polish. Worked a treat. I suggested WD40, but he said the polish was better, and smelled nicer.

I just put the phone down to the insurers. That's a van and man not having to come out Monday. And a little bit of planet eased along a smidge better as a result.

Mr. Sheen... we salute you in your new role.

BACKSCRATCHING #101 - Friends in Deed

What a nice email greeting to start the day:

Junk or treasure?

Before you bin anything, stop! Find out if there is another use for your junk, and save money, time and the planet. Or maybe you have some suggestions for what other people can do with their junk? Browse some wacky ideas at http://www.junkk.com/ - just click on the 'Ideas' tab. Best Wishes, Rita @ Friends of the Earth

The FoE daily tips are nice enough - free, fun and useful - in their own right, but when one becomes the subject... better still!

Well worth signing up for.

Also linked opposite>>>>>

GREEN TIP - Make your tumble dryer more energy efficient

From espares

'Course, not having one at all can be even better.

We are managing using a combo of dryer stands in the sun in the spare room and a new 'zone' created over the emmersion heater.