Is my landlord's weird appliance repair safe to use?
Landlords sometimes decline proper repairs and instead perform unconventional fixes, like unattaching air intake pipes. This leaves tenants afraid to operate their appliances, especially when they hear new rattling sounds or worry about their children's safety.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1leaving the appliance turned off despite the coldDid this help you?
- 2undoing the landlord's fix by reattaching the removed partDid this help you?
- 3Posting photos and descriptions of the completed work to online forums to get a second opinion from professionals.Did this help you?
- 4Testing the repaired item very briefly and shutting it off immediately if anything seems unusual.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“He contacted my landlord (I only rent) and he declined the intake drain and instead stopped by and unattached the air intake pipe to potentially stop the leaking issue by only drawing inside air into the pipe now?”source ↗
“Is this a safe fix? Will that cause any unsafe issues going forward?”source ↗
“I just have a child and am worried about it operating safely.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Last-minute home repair flagged by inspector before closing
- 4What to do when your landlord ignores essential home repairs
- 3Home insurance threatening cancellation over mandatory property repair list
- 3Does my lifted skylight need a professional inspection?
- 3How to repair accidental damage in my apartment before landlord inspection
- 6Landlords using cheap handymen and accordion drains