I’ve never been one to buy umbrellas. I always seem to lose them or they break within the first couple of uses and I especially hate carrying the things around in my handbag and the space they take up. The problem with not owning an umbrella is not an easy one to overcome considering I live in Ireland and its always raining. If its light showers, I take it like any self respecting Irish person would and I pretend its not happening or I wear a hat to cover my unruly curls. This Winter though, I saw the nicest umbrella ever, fickle much eh! and I bought it. I didn’t even mind carrying the blasted thing about because I liked the print so much and surprise, surprise I didn’t lose it, but yesterday when I went to use it in the heavy downpours that is April in Ireland the thing was broken. I was determined that I was not going to throw it away and instead I set out to learnt how to fix a broken umbrella.
1. The most common problem with umbrellas is problems with the rivet holes, or the little holes that keep the poles together, usually with tiny screws. It commonly happens that the screws fall out and then the umbrella loses its shape. If this happens to your umbrella it is really easy to fix. You should buy some enameled wire from your local hardware store. The enamel on the wire will protect it from rust in the rain. You should thread the wire through the rivet hole repeatedly until you have wrapped it enough that it looks sturdy then you should tie it off by forming a solid knot. This will keep the rivet holes in their place and the umbrella will continue to hold shape.
2. If your umbrella has broken along the pole, this is the metal or wood parts that basically hold the umbrella in place and give it shape. Then you can mend it with the use of glue, choose the correct type and glue the two pieces together, when dry add another layer of glue around the mended part to give it further reinforcement.
Most umbrellas will have one of these problems eventually so when you purchase an umbrella, also buy enameled wire and the correct glue type for the poles so that you have them on hand.