42% feel comfortable repairing vacuum cleaners. 20% would try patching up a broken toaster. and only 4% would try to fix a gas cooker. in all the statistics, men consistently reported feeling more confident in trying to repair household items than women. but does that mean they do a betterjob? no, not when you ve got a partner like me, no. he attempts it but for me, if you ve had something for six years, off you pop. and get a new one. it s removable, you can separate it. it s cheaper to make it in one piece. but we make it like that. the uk s only white goods manufacturers say they knew the legislation was coming, and have already made their machines simpler to mend. the secret of products that are easy to repair and last longer is in the design. you ve got to start off by saying,