Why are Dishwashers so Rare in Thailand?

[SS1]

8 minutes ago, meand said:

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. 

It's not necessary, although I've noticed some people having that habit of rinsing dishes before putting them into the washer. I guess some are worried the drain will get clogged, but it really doesn't happen unless you leave some very big pieces of strong fibrous vegetables inside. The detergent is so strong combined with hot water, that it liquifies the food remains you left on your plates. If something doesn't melt, there is a removable sieve inside that can be emptied. I do that a couple of times per year. 

[manarak]

I would like to buy a slim dishwasher.

which store does carry them?

Ikea has some in Europe, but I think not in Thailand

[SS1]

3 minutes ago, manarak said:

I would like to buy a slim dishwasher.

which store does carry them?

Ikea has some in Europe, but I think not in Thailand

Lazada has all kinds of small ones. However, they are not very practical. If by any means you can fit in a normal sized one, go for that instead. My sister has one of those slim models and some larger bowls and plates won't fit. 

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=dishwasher&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o4m.home.search.go.1125719cILcN2V

[mfd101]

We moved into our new Western-style house in March 2017. I had installed an expensive Italian dishwasher & an equally expensive Italian oven in the kitchen. Neither has been used once. The dishwashing is done by our 16-year-old schoolgirl niece who lives with us, and I dry. Works fine. Quick & easy. As to the oven, we cook only on the stove top. Too hot to have an oven heating the place for the next hour, and we don't exactly do mother's roast for Sunday dinner anyway ...

 

All of which was predictable, I guess, but not predicted. Could have saved myself a couple of thousand AUD. Could also have avoided the Thai workmen taking three goes to get the marble benchtop right. They seemed not to quite understand the concept that, to cope with a large dishwasher under the bench, the thing to do would be to install the d/w a little below floor level, rather than raising the bench 4" or 5" above normal so that not even I could use it properly, let alone a little Thai. (Sigh)

Edited July 21, 2019 by mfd101

[manarak]

9 minutes ago, SS1 said:

Lazada has all kinds of small ones. However, they are not very practical. If by any means you can fit in a normal sized one, go for that instead. My sister has one of those slim models and some larger bowls and plates won't fit. 

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=dishwasher&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o4m.home.search.go.1125719cILcN2V

yeah, well, no !

definitely not one of the models shown on that lazada page.

 

I'm talking about this type of washer:

https://www.ikea.com/ch/de/catalog/products/80385800/

 

[sotsira]

3 minutes ago, manarak said:

yeah, well, no !

definitely not one of the models shown on that lazada page.

 

I'm talking about this type of washer:

https://www.ikea.com/ch/de/catalog/products/80385800/

 

The only slim freestanding 45cm dishwasher that I ever found 

available in Thailand was the Tecnogas TDW01F.

Any store that deals with Tecnogas products can order one 

for you from their catalogue.

Here's the link:

http://www.tecnogasthai.com/shop/dishwasher/tdw-01f/

[Kwasaki]

46 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

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

Well in the unlikely scenario that anyone ask me to do washing up they would have to have dishwasher but then aga8n I still wouldn't do it. ????

[Traubert]

Paper plates/bowls and those balsa wood cutlery sets are the way to go.

 

Saves water, electricity, labour and recyclable too. Make friends with a soi dog to lick up your spillage and your carbon footprint is practically zero.

[CLS]

Most Thais don’t cook at home that much. And those who do cannot afford a dishwasher.
The rich Thais have a maid. Labour is so cheap.


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[Date Masamune]

It is a labor saving device.
Most women in Northern Europe work.
Then they also still bear large responsibility for the housework and children.

Thank Feminism for the dishwasher.

Many Thai women are underemployed and have plenty of time for housework and shopping/cooking

[balo]

If you have like 20-30 plates and other stuff , its easy to just use a dish washer. So for big families it would work fine, but try to tell that to a big Thai family, they will laugh at you. 

[Puchaiyank]

Use paper plates and plastic utensils...throw in garbage after use...save your delicate hands for more sensitive endeavours...

[BritManToo]

Just now, Puchaiyank said:

Use paper plates and plastic utensils...throw in garbage after use...save your delicate hands for more sensitive endeavours...

Buy at 7-11 and eat straight from the microwave container using the plastic utensils they provide.

[Naam]

10 hours ago, SS1 said:

Why are dishwashers so rare and unpopular here?

because a lot of people employ two-legged dishwashers. our 13 year old diswasher has never been used.

[bluesofa]

8 minutes ago, Naam said:

because a lot of people employ two-legged dishwashers. our 13 year old diswasher has never been used.

What does the kid do all the time after school?

[Marpa47]

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 [emoji6]. 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. 

My kids’ condo, when new, offered the choice: either clothes washer or dish washer but not both. Was each unit’s wiring/plumbing that rigidly standardized? This was in S. V. CIty, Bangkok back in early 2000’s.


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[ChipButty]

I've got a Long Haired Thai dishwasher works wonders

[lopburi3]

10 hours ago, SS1 said:

I have yet to see any dishes that won't go (or get clean) in the diswasher,

I have yet to see any that would get clean without pre clean in sink if anything but flat type (which is not what they use here).  This is from more than 20 years of using in Thailand and 4 different models of dishwashers.  Yes they are good for sanitizing but not so great for cleaning.  That said perhaps if only cleaning for one or two people you would have space to allow better wash - but for extended family use/full washer the cleaning is not that good - and they are the people needing.  

10 hours ago, SS1 said:

I think vermin damage is a bit far fetched for condominiums at least

My experience has been in home but company repair people are well aware of the issue so I am not alone.  Two different models had severe damage on 3 occasions that I recall.  

10 hours ago, SS1 said:

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.

But clothes washer can be put anywhere - dishwasher needs direct access from kitchen sink as have mentioned so aftermarket changes could be costly- a Thai is going to pre-wash for valid reasons.  And the ongoing cost of cleaning materials is another negative factor - a bit of Sunlight dishwash is a fraction of the cost. 

[steven100]

7 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

I've got a Long Haired Thai dishwasher works wonders

do you need to pre-program it …. and how often is it cleaned out  ?

[JAS21]

Maids are so cheap ... 

 

[colinneil]

I have a very efficient dishwasher, an Issan model 50 years old, never breaks down.

Very low maintenance, makes a very good job of cleaning dishes, got a few more years life in it.

[bluesofa]

15 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

I've got a Long Haired Thai dishwasher works wonders

Reminds me of Jimmy Osmond.

[Ctkong]

I think the dishwasher unpopularity in Thailand is because basically poor families cannot afford one and richer families normally has the maids to do the washing up. These maids are usually from rural areas or neighboring countries who are not versed in using dish washers. I have a Myanmar maid working for more than 10 years and she prefer to use hand washing than the dish washer. Her reason? By the time she rinsed and scraped all the food from the dishes to put them into the dishwasher, she might as well just wash the dishes instead. Telling her the added advantage of heated water to kill germs go nowhere too. Learning the technique of putting various shapes and sizes of the plates and utensils in various location inside the dishwasher also put her off. Think too much for her. Sometimes I insisted on using the dishwasher for hygiene purposes with me putting the dishes in and her scrapping the food and rinsing the dishes for me and setting the cycle to complete in 3 hours. She complained about getting downstairs to switch off the machine late into the night! Cannot understand why she cannot do that in the morning. 

Edited July 22, 2019 by Ctkong

[Skallywag]

5 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

 the added advantage of heated water to kill germs ...

I was wondering about that. 

Just been in thailand a year, but thinking my sometimes un-positive outlook may be do to plates, forks, and spoons I have been eating with at home, out at restaurants, and food courts are never sterilized with hot water?  Food courts have those hot water "baths" dip your utensils in, some have a UV light

Something to google about later  Regards

[mfd101]

2 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

Just been in thailand a year, but thinking my sometimes un-positive outlook may be do to plates, forks, and spoons I have been eating with at home, out at restaurants, and food courts are never sterilized with hot water?  Food courts have those hot water "baths" dip your utensils in, some have a UV light

Something to google about later

So how many times have you been sick as a result of lack of 'sterilization' of dishes? I doubt that 'hot' water - as opposed to boiling (and even then) - will sterilize anything. Cold water is fine.

[JimmyJ]

4 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

So how many times have you been sick as a result of lack of 'sterilization' of dishes? I doubt that 'hot' water - as opposed to boiling (and even then) - will sterilize anything. Cold water is fine.

Uhhh...Where to begin?...

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

I've got a Long Haired Thai dishwasher works wonders

I have the same brand...

[SS1]

1 hour ago, Ctkong said:

I think the dishwasher unpopularity in Thailand is because basically poor families cannot afford one and richer families normally has the maids to do the washing up. These maids are usually from rural areas or neighboring countries who are not versed in using dish washers. I have a Myanmar maid working for more than 10 years and she prefer to use hand washing than the dish washer. Her reason? By the time she rinsed and scraped all the food from the dishes to put them into the dishwasher, she might as well just wash the dishes instead. Telling her the added advantage of heated water to kill germs go nowhere too. Learning the technique of putting various shapes and sizes of the plates and utensils in various location inside the dishwasher also put her off. Think too much for her. Sometimes I insisted on using the dishwasher for hygiene purposes with me putting the dishes in and her scrapping the food and rinsing the dishes for me and setting the cycle to complete in 3 hours. She complained about getting downstairs to switch off the machine late into the night! Cannot understand why she cannot do that in the morning. 

 

That makes sense. I'm also struggling to teach my gf how to place the dishes properly in the diswasher to ensure they get clean and to use all the available space. She got pissed off and now just leaves them on the table xD 

 

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

I have yet to see any that would get clean without pre clean in sink if anything but flat type (which is not what they use here).  This is from more than 20 years of using in Thailand and 4 different models of dishwashers.  Yes they are good for sanitizing but not so great for cleaning.  That said perhaps if only cleaning for one or two people you would have space to allow better wash - but for extended family use/full washer the cleaning is not that good - and they are the people needing.  

My experience has been in home but company repair people are well aware of the issue so I am not alone.  Two different models had severe damage on 3 occasions that I recall.  

But clothes washer can be put anywhere - dishwasher needs direct access from kitchen sink as have mentioned so aftermarket changes could be costly- a Thai is going to pre-wash for valid reasons.  And the ongoing cost of cleaning materials is another negative factor - a bit of Sunlight dishwash is a fraction of the cost. 

Yeah I agree, for me it's mostly myself alone + the gf sometimes, so I can easily place bigger bowls flat on the top shelf. For a big family it will get full very quick. The detergent also makes a huge difference.. didn't have luck with the cheap one from HomePro or the Finish Powder from Lazada, but instead import my own "all in one" tablets from Europe that do the job. 

[lopburi3]

15 minutes ago, SS1 said:

didn't have luck with the cheap one from HomePro or the Finish Powder from Lazada, but instead import my own "all in one" tablets from Europe that do the job. 

Years ago Foodland had USA product that worked well but stopped stocking for Oz Finish which was less than useful (but seems to be in control here).  For a number of years was able to order on Ebay from seller in Spain but lost that source couple of years ago and had to use HomePro powder (which at least is a reasonable cost).  But have found Shopee source which will try once finnish current stock.

https://shopee.co.th/MLST-Multifunctional-Deep-Cleaning-Automatic-Dishwasher-Tablets-Detergent-Cleaner-i.104851683.2474271011

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Buy at 7-11 and eat straight from the microwave container using the plastic utensils they provide.

You actually believe those products are edible? One week of that would have me slashing my wrists to alleviate the tedium.