Why are Dishwashers so Rare in Thailand?

[SS1]

Coming from Northern Europe where even the cheapest little studio apartments have some kind of a dishwasher installed, I've always wondered why are these machines so rare in Thailand. I've only ever seen some installed in expensive super luxury houses in Bangkok. Even most of the +30k/month luxury condominium units don't have one, but instead they've stuck a clothes washer in the kitchen. Being someone who eats many meals per day at home, the dish mountain builds up quickly and I can't imagine living without one. Luckily my landlord is a good friend of mine, so she didn't mind me making a fist-sized hole in the wall for the diswasher's drain pipe to the balcony.. 

Why are dishwashers so rare and unpopular here?

 

First thing that came to my mind is the cost, but that can't be it. Most mid-range condo's are equipped with a front-load clothes washer, which costs roughly the same price as a dishwasher. I would actually understand if an apartment didn't have a clothes washer, since you mostly do laundry once a week and buildings usually have communal machines to use. If not, you can bring them to a laundry shop around the corner and get them back clean/ironed the next day for a miminal fee. Diswasher tablets are expensive here (I bring mine from Europe), but that's just because they are a rare due to low demand. Water is also dirt cheap in Thailand..

Next thing I thought about is that perhaps upper-middle class locals don't eat at home at all, but go to a restaurant for every meal. Or alternatively, they use a food delivery service eating straight out of the containers leaving only a couple of utensils and glasses to wash. Is this really the case - do Thais mostly eat out? For myself, I can't imagine going out for every single meal - I prefer eating at home. Even if using food delivery services, I still rather use real plates and the dish mountain starts building up.

Finally, I thought about the cheap cost of having a maid. Even if I could afford a full-time maid, I would find it very odd having someone (like a second mom) constantly cleaning after me in a two-bedroom condo. I prefer my privacy and a maid who comes once a week for basic cleaning/laundry is more than enough. I know Thais like to use human workers instead of machines whenever possible, but at the same time you see every mall promoting the latest robot vacuum cleaners like crazy.. A robot hoover would be the last thing on my shopping list when equipping a house or apartment. Do most upper-middle class families use a maid that comes multiple times a week? 

Can someone explain - why don't Thais accept these amazing inventions into their households? 

 

[lopburi3]

Perhaps because they do not work all that well with the deep soup type dish most Thai eat from, as well as all your reasons above.  Add vermin damage and it can become very expensive (rats love European electric wires from my experience).  Add most homes not designed for them so electric/water/drains have to be made.

[SS1]

5 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Perhaps because they do not work all that well with the deep soup type dish most Thai eat from, as well as all your reasons above.  Add vermin damage and it can become very expensive (rats love European electric wires from my experience).  Add most homes not designed for them so electric/water/drains have to be made.

I have yet to see any dishes that won't go (or get clean) in the diswasher, except some massive ones I got from IKEA and my commercial blender that's just too big. I think vermin damage is a bit far fetched for condominiums at least ????. They still put clothes washing machines in kitchens that require the same drains and water inlets as a dishwasher, so that shouldn't be the issue either. I think most kitchens have water coming in and out + electricity ready. 

Edited July 21, 2019 by SS1

[marcusarelus]

No hot water.

[SS1]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

No hot water.

You don't need hot water for a dishwasher! you just plug in a cold water pipe and the machine heats the water itself (same as a clothes washer). The fact that kitchens don't have hot water even pushes me more towards getting one (as washing greasy dishes is a PIA with cold water). 

Edited July 21, 2019 by SS1

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

No hot water.

correct, they don't install hot water in the kitchen normally.

I'm still trying to educate them that it's best to wash dishes in hot water to avoid disease.

I bought the Hot water system 4 years ago and it's still in the box.  

[steven100]

Just now, SS1 said:

You don't need hot water for a dishwasher! you just plug in a cold water pipe and the machine heats the water itself (same as a clothes washer). 

the most expensive way to get hot water ….  2 or 3 times normal cost.

[KhaoYai]

Why are Dishwashers so Rare in Thailand?

 

They're not rare, there's millions of them but you're probably better off with a machine - they don't nag at you ????.

Edited July 21, 2019 by KhaoYai

[KittenKong]

I cook at home most days but why buy a dishwasher when I can wash my dishes by hand in the sink in a few seconds? I do have a clothes washing machine because washing clothes by hand is a big job, and taking them to a laundry is not cheap when compared to the pittance it costs to run them through a machine. Also I would actually have to bundle them up and take them to the laundry and then go back later and collect them. That's a lot of work compared to just dropping them into a machine in my bathroom. Plus of course at the laundry I would run the risk of losing half of my clothes or having them damaged.

 

As for what Thais do, they probably just leave the dishes for the maid.

[Orton Rd]

They are for lazy people and waste a lot of water

[Salerno]

I agree, they're for lazy people but ... not so much nowadays as they can use less water than handwashing.

 

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-much-water-do-dishwashers-use/

[richard_smith237]

16 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

They are for lazy people and waste a lot of water

You hand wash all your clothes too, right? 

[bluesofa]

 

1 hour ago, SS1 said:

Why are Dishwashers so Rare in Thailand?

They're not, ours is called Noi. Does a smashing job - when she's drunk.

[ratcatcher]

I like the reply by Khao Yai and bluesofa.. I have two dishwashers and fortunately they multitask, not only do they wash, allow to drain and dry, but they put the dishes away when finished. No wiring required and the pots and pans are sparkling clean along with cutlery and crockery. 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by ratcatcher

[473geo]

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

You hand wash all your clothes too, right? 

Nope but many Thai still use a twin tub, start with the whites, you can save up to 70% water and also use a lot less energy vs an automatic  - same rewards as hand washing dishes - Europeans are lazy, and not near so eco friendly as they pretend

 

[bluesofa]

42 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Why are Dishwashers so Rare in Thailand?

They're not rare, there's millions of them but you're probably better off with a machine - they don't nag at you ????.

Does the 'mute' button not work on the remote for yours?

[balo]

I think the main reason is that Thais eat out all the time, breakfast, lunch, dinner, all of it bought from the market and maybe all they have at home is a few plastic bowls. 

 When your salary is around 10-12k baht , a dishwasher is the last thing on their mind. 

In my home country Norway, you will not find a home without a dish washer. But 90% of the population cook and eat at home. 
 

Edited July 21, 2019 by balo

[maikidmag]

3 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Not true. Unless you're really good at saving water when washing them by hand.

 

As for lazy people. They are a convenience. When you finish eating you can just put dishes in the box and there's not a mountain of dirty dishes that need to be washed immediately. When it's full you turn it on and it does the job. And given high temperature of water inside a much better job than by hand. But each to their own. If I was a retiree with nothing to do all day, I'd gladly do all by hand just to have something to do. But with lacking time for everything including sleep, anything helps, and if this one dies I'll buy another one the same day.

You're are absolutely right.

 

But there is no answer to the OP's question:

'Can someone explain - why don't Thais accept these amazing inventions into their households? '

 

There may be many different reasons, one of the problems might be different size

and form of the dishes. Especially if there is 'family nearby'.
 

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, SS1 said:

Why are dishwashers so rare and unpopular here?

Because Cambodian labour is cheaper.

[bluesofa]

Just now, Kwasaki said:

Because Cambodian labour is cheaper.

Is it still cheaper, allowing for P&P? Must take longer too.

[maikidmag]

40 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

They are for lazy people and waste a lot of water

Sorry, but wrong.

Twice.

[473geo]

9 minutes ago, maikidmag said:

You're are absolutely right.

 

But there is no answer to the OP's question:

'Can someone explain - why don't Thais accept these amazing inventions into their households? '

 

There may be many different reasons, one of the problems might be different size

and form of the dishes. Especially if there is 'family nearby'.
 

Used to be if a Thai electric bill was under 100 baht no payment was taken - perhaps the industrious Thai decided the power used on a dishwasher was unnecessary, perhaps having to purchase crockery to sit dirty in a dish washer didn't appeal to the frugal Thai

[Morch]

I think it's how things are now. And that it will change in time. Same thing with washing machines.

Asked the Mrs. if she wanted one in the new kitchen, and she declined - too expensive, can't always get the cleaning materials she likes, and mostly - she doesn't trust the machine to clean the dishes "good enough". Didn't get into the so-why-the-laundry..... argument, because I've been married long enough to know better.

 

Living a sort of a "slow life" nowadays, washing by hand is a non-issue, and having to deal with one less potential maintenance problem is good.

[Lacessit]

On her visit to Oz, my Thai GF saw a dish washer for the first time. She was quite incredulous people would wait 60 - 90 minutes for dishes to be washed, when she could do it in five.

[musiclover]

5 minutes ago, maikidmag said:

Sorry, but wrong.

Twice.

I Have a dishwasher installed in my kitchen.   I must say that in 16 years of installation it has never been used once. !!!  It seems that dish washing by hand is by far the best way to go in Thailand. 

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, SS1 said:

Can someone explain - why don't Thais accept these amazing inventions into their households? 

Trying be serious my wife says by the time i put them in the dishwasher wait for the machine to wash them, I still have to take all the plates etc out and put them away, it is quicker do the washing of dishes by hand.

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Trying be serious my wife says by the time i put them in the dishwasher wait for the machine to wash them, I still have to take all the plates etc out and put them away, it is quicker do the washing of dishes by hand.

Hmm, perhaps dishwashers are a solution to a problem that doesn't exist?

[meand]

I do not know if it was the people/owners I lived with when I had a dishwasher, but they are useless as far as i am concerned. If you could just lop all the dishes in them that would be great, dont get me wrong. 

 

But it seems, i have been told, you practically wash the dishes off before you put them in anyway. What a load. 

 

Maybe the thais have this one right. 

[gk10002000]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

correct, they don't install hot water in the kitchen normally.

I'm still trying to educate them that it's best to wash dishes in hot water to avoid disease.

I bought the Hot water system 4 years ago and it's still in the box.  

yah.  maddingly frustrating to me that Thais just don't get the hot water thing and of course ignore basic germ theory as I am sure most of you have seen some of the restaurants and outdoor food stalls washing dish after dish in cold water with a hose.  Sure it looks physically clean but NOT

[gk10002000]

I don't think all dishwashers make their hot water.  I know the roll around one we had at home hooked up to the sink faucet and you turned on the hot water.  Maybe all modern ones heat the water themselves.  Easy to check but too lazy right now