It looked as good as new': readers share their tips for repairing household items

One of the best ways we can reduce our household's carbon footprint is to repair things instead of throwing them away... I look at everything that comes my way as potentially useful... My Dualit toaster is getting on for 30 years old... It's had a new element costing about 5 and is as good as new.

I eventually found a YouTube video showing how to replace it. I had nothing to lose so gave it a go... 30 for the parts but it saved me buying a new washing machine, and gave me a lot of satisfaction.

We had a Bosch dishwasher that I replaced the pump on (burnt out when blocked, 39), the manifold (hard water damaged... All done with YouTube videos and standard toolbox and no prior repairing experience. Extended its life to 13 years.

I have found a small workshop that sells generic spare parts for coffee machines and have conducted open heart surgery several times.

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