When my aunt passed away, family gathered at her home and took away the things of hers that were important or useful to them. Pictures were cherished. Furniture divided up amongst brothers and sisters. Kitchenware and appliances given to the nieces and nephews who needed them. When it was all said and done, I noticed a Dyson V6 vacuum siting in corner of the closet. When I asked why no one was taking it they all said the same thing. It was broken.

My aunt loved her vacuum. She loved it so much she managed to convince my mother in law to buy the same one. And my mother-in-law loved hers as well. Now, my aunt’s vacuum sat broken in the closet, ready to be taken to the dump. I didn’t want to leave it there so I decided to take it with me and figure out what “broken” actually meant.

What happens when we have an appliance that is broken? How often do we take broken things to get fixed? Repair makes sense when it comes to large appliances like a fridge or a washing machine because the cost of a new one is higher that the cost of the repair. But what about smaller appliances? That’s when the decision to repair versus replace is not so cut and dry. When you factor in the time it takes for repair, often it’s simpler to just buy a new one.

That’s was one of the concerns I had when I decided to repair the Dyson V6 vacuum. What would the cost be? Can I do it myself? Is there going to be difficult electronics involved? I knew nothing about vacuums. Or about appliance repair.

The first step in repair is diagnosis. The family said the vacuum didn’t work. What they really meant, I came to understand after a little trial and error, is the battery wouldn’t hold a charge. A quick internet search lead me to the Dyson website. There they had every part you need for your Dyson vacuum. I ordered a new battery and a filter for good measure. When they finally came, all it took was a screwdriver to install the new parts.

Due to the way Dyson vacuums are designed, you can replace every part. So, there is no reason to throw it away and buy something new. The Dyson V6 I repaired is working fine eight years after it was released in 2015. Will it need more repairs? Sure. An appliance that gets used as often as a vacuum undergoes a lot of wear and tear. But the power to repair it is in my hands. And when I pass it along to my kids, with all the parts that get replaced, it won’t be the same vacuum I got from my aunt. But it will still be running.