Passive Aggressiveness Hits New Level as Washing Machine's Door Vanishes

A woman sharing how the passive aggressiveness of her apartment roommate had "reached a new level" has captured viral attention this week.

Chiara Di Leone from Berlin, Germany, shared a picture of the apartment's washing machine after her roommate moved out... and took the machine door with her.

On Twitter she wrote: "[My] roommate left during the holidays and took the washing machine's *door* with her." With thousands of views and likes, the tweet captured attention as people asked: "Why?"

Di Leone told Newsweek: "The washing machine's door has been wonky for a while. My roommate moved out at the beginning of January and tried to sell the washing machine to me before leaving the flat. I said that I would not want to buy it for the price she suggested since it was not working properly. She did not reply to my messages and when I came home I was confronted with a doorless washing machine."

She and the departed roommate had only lived together for four months. She described their relationship as "rather amicable."

But when presented with the unusable machine, Di Leone was taken aback. Why would she do something like this?

"In one word: sadism. I think she did it to punish me for not wanting to buy the washing machine at the price she suggested," said Di Leone. "If I were to be charitable, I could interpret this as her wanting to sell the washing machine to someone else and taking the door because she was worried that me using it would cause further damage to the already precarious state of the machine. This is the most generous read I can offer. She has stopped replying to my messages."

Research from Save The Student's National Student Accommodation Survey asked 1,245 students in the U.K. in early 2022 what the worst roommate traits are.

The worst roommates are the ones that leave dirty dishes out, according to 51 percent of those surveyed, while 44 percent said it was not helping with cleaning.

Other annoying habits include not removing hair from plug holes, stealing food and taking long showers.

On Twitter, others were amused by the roommate's unusual move, with some sharing similar experiences. User @diet_judy said: "My roommate did something similar—took all the detachable power cables from appliances with her on holiday after we'd had (the last of many) arguments."

Meanwhile Twitter user @fgg23 said: "Reminds me of a former roommate who suggested I stop using hot water while she left for a 2-month holiday in the winter. She was not happy when I said no."

"That would just not wash in our house," joked @SecularVeganRep.

Di Leone said that she shared the picture to prompt discussion about roommate experiences: "That constant and relentless small acts of aggression like this one are experienced daily by people who live in flat shares," she said. "I think this is not discussed enough. Homeowners and people who live alone do not appreciate how trying it is to constantly negotiate your space with others—especially when living with people who tend to be controlling and want to impose their own ways of living on others or have a history of mental illness."

She described how her frustration comes from an issue many people face: "Walking on eggshells because of unreasonable and demanding roommates is, sadly, a very common problem. I wanted to share my frustrations and make others feel a bit less alone," added Di Leone.