When I first met the sellers of my new apartment at closing, they came across as a polished, well-put together couple. Unfortunately, that illusion of refinement was shattered well before I was forced to trash my fourth sponge during an epic three-hour cleaning of the range I inherited from them.

How was it, I thought, that such a seemingly well-adjusted and affluent couple would never even have bothered to clean their $4,000 oven?