Broken appliances are annoying and costly, but nothing's worse than an appliance that breaks halfway. When a stove or dehumidifier shuts down completely, you fix it or replace it and that's that. But appliances that stall and then start up again cause no end of aggravation, costing money, time, and sanity. 
Broken Appliances by Jessie Lynn McMains via Flickr
Then, two weeks later, the dryer acts up again and you call the repair guy back and he sends another bill.
Sometimes I suspect a conspiracy. On Tuesday the dishwasher overflows, on Wednesday the refrigerator gurgles, and on Friday the microwave pings. And pings. And pings. They do it on purpose.
"Why don't you replace them?" the tenants want to know. "What kind of landlady are you?"
How can I explain my uneasy relationship with mechanical devices? The washing machine and the stove and the trash compactor are like lingering love affairs. All they really need is a kick and a shake.
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