I wanted to make sure building management was aware of the problem.

[kadioguy]

[From a TOEIC test]

Hi, Mr. Reynolds? This is Roberta Heinz from apartment 4B. I’m doing my laundry in the basement right now, and the washing machine doesn’t seem to be working properly. I wanted to make sure building management was aware of the problem.
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I know that "wanted" here is meant to be softening (distancing in directness). But does "was" here (rather than "is") also mean the same as "wanted", ie., meant to be softening?

 

[tedmc]

I think that's backshifting of tense for the second verb, as commonly used in reported speech.

 

[kadioguy]

I think that's backshifting of tense for the second verb, as used in reported speech.

If so, this is an interesting case. "Wanted" here is meant to be softening; however, it hence has an influence on "was", making it backshifting.

 

[kadioguy]

I just wanted to see if you have any questions or comments.
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Interestingly, in this case we can see that there's no backshift for "have", so I assume that in this kind of case the writer can choose whether or not they use backshift for the second verb.

What do you think?

 

[kadioguy]

For the “wanted”, a friend told me:
You're stating that it happened in the past (because it did) as a form of softening. That doesn't change the fact that you still “wanted” - the perceived "softening" here doesn't change how it sounds like an older idea. People almost always use this when they're talking about a lingering situation, anyway.

Me: So the "wanted" here can mean both "it happened in the past" and "being softening", right?

Friend: Yes, those aren't exclusive. If something happened in the past and still happens now, you can choose to talk about the past part because the past is more distant than now, so more distant means less urgent.
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As for the tenses used in the two pictures, the friend said:

I want = I want to know now.
was aware = if they were aware then.

Therefore,
1. I wanted/was aware → this is fine because they're both past.
2. I want/is aware → this is fine because they're both present.

3. I wanted/is aware → this is fine IF you mean they're aware right now, a different time from when you thought of the question.

4. I want/was aware → this is fine IF you mean they were aware back then, a different time from right now.

The two pictures are talking about the structures of 1 and 3, and the "IF" is true so both are good.