Small Repairs in Brussels : a guide for quick fixer-uppers

Broken, but not down for the count

Too often, the moment we get a hole in our shoes, a flat tire or a microwave up in flames (not as unlikely as you think), we tend to throw our less-than-perfect objects away and head over to City 2 Shopping Centre for something brand spanking new. Little do we know that in Brussels, several initiatives or services exist that can help us get our daily accesories back in order in no time and at very little cost.  

To help you fight the urge to throw away that broken appliance or shoe, The Bulletin has put together this small guide. 

Where to repair?
The first assessment you need to make is what type of product is broken. Is it a brand appliance? If that is the case, it is worth investigating the product’s guarantee policy or simply its repair services.

If this is not the case, you will need to proceed to scouring Brussels’ variety of repair shops. Brussels, like most European cities, is packed with hundreds of specialty shops. Whether it’s a broken heel, a ripped t-shirt or a malfunctioning washing machine, there’s a shop nearby that can help you make it look or work like new again.

To get an idea of what stores exist in your neighbourhood, check out ShopinBrussels, the Yellow Pages (Pagesdor.be) and – not to toot our own horn or anything – The Bulletin’s small ads page, where you'll find many English-speaking repair outlets.

However sometimes the easiest method is taking a walk around your neighbourhood and keeping your eyes open to store fronts; you would be shocked at how many shoe, clothing, IT and electronic repair shops are in the same street as your local supermarket. 

Once you’ve found your shop, bring in your item and get an opinion and estimate to fix it. Most shopkeepers are very up front with the cost of the repair and even if the object is worth repairing.

Many will even tell you how much the parts cost and will sell them to you if you want to try the repairing yourself. Still, for good measure (and if you have the luxury of time), try consulting at least one other shop for a second opinion. You can also use The Bulletin’s forum on repairs or other online web chats to compare services and prices.

Do it Yourself
While nothing beats a quick repair, learning how to repair your faulty objects yourself is invaluable. Lucky for you, several initiatives in Brussels agree that knowledge is priceless and propose regular repair workshops so you can perform your own fixer-uppers in the future. 

Repair Café: This initiative originated from the Netherlands has come to Brussels (and the rest of Belgium) and does exactly as the name says: teach people how to fix their broken objects while drinking a cappucino. You bring your object to a cafe or other venue in Brussels, have a coffee and get have someone show your how to repair your object for free. Each Repair-café session tries to incorporate some 25 volunteers around five different areas of repairs: electronics, IT, textiles, carpentry and bikes. Larger appliances – fridges, washing machines, - are not for Repair Café however, so don't go through the effort of lugging them there.

Concerning bike related repairs, organisations like Atelier Vélo Papa Douala , CyCLO, ProVelo and Petit Riens Bike Paradise propose bike repair workshops that teach you how to make your own basic bike repairs. Use this knowledge then to benefit from Papa Douala’s three public bike repair stations placed throughout St Gilles.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Cesar Harada