Why We Must Break Things — Ideally, Our Things, Not Somebody Else’s

This isn’t an article about boilers

a group of innovators work around a table unaware of the exploding boiler behind them, sleek, futuristic, digital art — by DALL·E

Our boiler is a wreck. More than that, it is the worst kind of wreck: the one that is still functional. When we first moved into the flat, I was shocked that I could submit to such daily torture: the water would only be scalding or freezing, with intermittent spells just below or above those inhuman temperatures. These glorious spells would never last long enough to wash oneself. Eventually, it gave up on us, and we were stuck with cold water for weeks. When the agency found within itself enough mercy to send a maintenance worker our way, the boiler reverted to its murderous semi-functional state until it broke down again, at which point our equally baleful communication had the desired effect: someone who knew about ancient boilers came, saw and won us over by replacing the correct piece and relieving us from the bane of our privileged, first-world existence.

The reader will no doubt be able to imagine my rage when, a year of consistent hot water later, a couple of maintenance people showed up, unsolicited and unannounced, to do some routine boiler cleaning. Unsurprisingly, they messed it up again and had to come back to fix the damned thing. However, fret not: this isn’t (entirely) a rant about dysfunctional boilers! While despairing and…