If you have children, chances are you have a lot of toys in your home. Unfortunately, some toys will break after a while. The good news is that you don’t have to buy new toys, you can fix them if you know how.
This article will show you how to repair a wide variety of toys. Of course, every toy is different. However, if you have a basic understanding of how to fix them, you’ll be less likely to spend money on new ones.
What can go Wrong With Toys?
The difficulty with toys is that they can have many different parts. In addition to this, they may contain batteries that can run out after a while. Toys can lose their wheels, balls can begin to deflate, and plastic toys can break.
How to Identify What’s Wrong
If you have a battery-powered toy and it does not work, it’s worth checking the battery or its charger. If you have a broken plastic toy you should be able to fix it. Make sure you choose the right epoxy to get the best result.
Plastic Toys
Plastic toys can come loose from bits of metal or wood. The best way to remedy this is to drill a hole or two in both of the surfaces. These holes can then be fastened together with rivets or bolts. If you would rather not drill a hole in the surfaces, you could use glue. It can work with all kinds of toys.
Toys with Wheels
If you have a toy with wheels, there is always a chance that the wheels will break. They have to put up with a lot of strain and occasionally being crashed into things. Wooden or metal wheels can be replaced. You can usually find replacements online. However, if they are not broken, they can typically be glued back on.
Be sure to glue both of the surfaces. This is especially important if you would like the bond to be strong. You might need to hold the wheel in place until the glue is dry.
Balls
When balls deflate they can usually be re-inflated. Use a hand pump to do this. If the air does not stay in the ball, heat an old knife’s blade and stick it to the leaking area. This will make the vinyl melt. Leave the vinyl to harden for 6-10 minutes. Now inflate the ball once more with a hand pump.
If you don’t want to fix the ball using this method, you could buy a bicycle tire repair kit. Use the patch kit to fix the leak in the ball.
Stuffed Toys
Sometimes stuffed toys simply need to be re-stuffed. You can usually buy stuffing material online or in stores that sell fabrics. Make sure you buy enough stuffing to adequately stuff the toy. If you’re not sure how much stuffing material to use, look at new toys and try to determine how much they contain.
Don’t forget, you will need to sew the toy back up again.
You don’t have to replace broken toys. With a little bit of work, you can fix them so they’re as good as new.