You are kind to ask about this Matt
It seems to be a fascination one is born with. It has to do with motion, watching repetitive motion, water motion & play, repetitive sounds/rhythms, light, appreciation of both brute and harnessed power and other things and how they impact our brains. I don't ever remember not being attracted to large pieces of equipment. I love the motion of the driving and connecting rods in steam locomotives as well as the steam, the fire, the sounds and the way it all works to make the engine move. It is said that late 19th and all 20th century composers were influenced by the rhythm of trains; it's discernable in the "beat" of the music. I guess before that it was the sounds of horses hooves, so sound affects all who are open to perceiving it whether you are composing music, tuning an automobile or musical instrument or using an appliance. There is an interrelatedness to all of this stimuli. Operating a dishwasher, a clothes washer or using a coffeemaker or a pressure cooker are different yet related in certain ways and I guess it would be rooted in manipulating energy: heat, water and electricity. Maybe this is also present in playing or listening to a pipe organ with an awareness of all of the mechanics and power involved. I love watching You Tube videos of organs being played and with tracker instruments, the coupling action is fascinating.
So mechanics, mechanisms, machinery, using them, controlling them, watching and listening to them, using a male's instinct for analysis to figure out how to modify them like Tim The Toolman Taylor on Home Improvement (a TV show) to get more power out of them or make them work more efficiently figures into this also. Car entusiasts do this also; it's just a more common interest.
There is the appeal of certain types of styling; certain brands of appliances just never had the styling of others. This goes for major appliances as well as small appliances. There is no confusing Sunbeam, Westinghouse and Presto small electrics from the golden age of the 50s into the 60s. Even as a young child vaccuum coffeemakers caught my eye, just the shape, before I even knew how they operated.
You are to be commended for wanting to try to understand and share. Maybe through love you can come to share an appreciation for machinery if not the affection. One thing is for sure, you will hear about appliances constantly and if a fellow appliance lover comes to visit you can either listen and hope to learn or just give up and leave, but finding someone with whom to discuss equipment is such a treat it precludes the discussion of much else. It is not much different than car buffs or electronics geeks talking; it can be a foreign language to those outside the circle.It is not meant to exclude you or devalue you as a person or partner. It just happens.
If you can share a love for things your partner loves and vice versa, if you have ever enjoyed cooking or doing laundry or using any type of mechanical equipment, if you have enjoyed going to estate sales, flea markets, "junque" and second hand stores, if you appreciate certain elements of style like Streamline, Machine Age, Art Deco, Modern, if you like to clean and restore things to their original beauty, there are grounds for your development into a wonderful partner who will be able to work & play with the man you love and be able to validate his interests to others. You can be an extra pair of eyes spotting things, too.
You have not told us of your interests. What are they? What can he learn from your interests to bring enrichment to his life in exchange for all you are attempting to learn about his interests? Are there shared interests that can form a bridge between his major interests and yours? You probably did not meet while looking at appliances or at a convention of washer collectors. Best wishes to you both.
