As someone who has ranted about things breaking too often for the last 10 years, I’m always interested when I hear about innovative fixing solutions. FixIts claim they can come to the rescue when super glue, sticky tape or needle and thread just won’t do the trick.
A kind of mouldable plastic, you melt the sticks in hot water, shape it to suit you, and it hardens to rock-solid plastic. We started selling them last month and they are fast becoming one of our most popular products.
Our team was impressed, but I was keen to try them out personally. While the ideal solution would be for manufacturers to make sturdier products, what if you already have something that’s broken? Can FixIts really help?
Fix Number One
I had something in mind… The frayed Apple cable is perhaps the poster child for e-waste. It is such an obvious design flaw, and yet they have done nothing to fix it for the last decade.
This is my laptop charger… a perfect test for the FixIt sticks.
I chose a beautiful teal colour. Boiled a kettle. Melted a stick in a cup. And wrapped the blob around the wire.
Warning - it solidifies quite fast - and the first time I did it, I faffed around taking pictures so it went a bit blobby. I added a bit more, so that I was happy with how it looked.
The result. I defy even my toddler to chew through this! It will probably last me much longer now… in fact I might even do some of my cables that are not frayed yet.
Fix Number Two
Emboldened by my fixing, I started to think about what else I could do with my FixIts and it struck me that they could solve a problem that I’ve had for a long time. Losing pens around the house.
There is never a pen when I need one and too often I find myself scrambling to take notes with a broken crayon or dried-out highlighter because all the pens have mysteriously disappeared.
I looked into getting reception desk pens, but apparently, the chain breaks easily and the pens themselves are of poor quality. So instead, I thought I’d make my own reception desk situation with refillable pens I already use by attaching a string to the cap and end of the pen.
I then used a FixIt glue dot to attach it to the desk.
I think I could do a neater job, with a bit of practice, but I’m really pleased with this solution.
With luck it will save us from losing (and therefore rebuying) more pens).
My Verdict
The FixIt sticks were very easy to use. I’d just say, get it into the shape you want quickly so it doesn’t dry in a shape you’re not pleased with.
I’m particularly excited to try them out on my son’s toys. He is not the gentlest, and likes to throw them about, especially his favourite ones, (I guess it’s how he shows love).
In perfect world, products wouldn’t break… but until then… there’s FixIts!
Browse our collection of FixIts products here.
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