The day I fixed 20 year old lights with a potato

Last Tuesday I was ready to throw out this string of fairy lights my grandma gave me. They'd been sitting in a box since 2004 and only half of them worked. I tried the bulb tester thing and that didn't work. Then my neighbor came over and said try rubbing a cut potato on the copper connections. I thought he was messing with me but I was desperate. It actually worked on 3 of the dead spots where corrosion had built up. I got about 80% of the string working again after that and some wire twisting. Has anyone else tried weird kitchen stuff to fix lights or am I the only one?

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

brooke4842mo ago

Respect the potato trick, that's actually genius. I had a similar moment with an old desk lamp where I used vinegar on the rusted contacts and it surprisingly brought it back to life. Sometimes the weirdest fixes end up working better than the actual tools you buy.

8

finleyk872mo ago

Honestly, @brooke484, was the vinegar an immediate fix or did it take a few tries? I've had rusted contacts laugh at a single pass sometimes. Like, I had an old radio that needed three vinegar soaks and a toothbrush scrub before it even flickered on. Did your lamp work right away or did you have to finesse it a bit?

7