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Washing machine to Dishwasher - an urban adaption story

During our generation, our parents coped with the advent of the washing machine. Why washing machine and why not TV or refrigerator or Internet? Because the washing machine made them do a particular chore differently. Clothes which were hitherto washed by hand had to be washed by a machine. They were not sure if this was good or bad. There were rumours that clothes would be damaged by them. There were rumours that people died because of washing machines. There was of course proof that washing machines were not cleaning clothes as good their maids would.

All in all it was a difficult transition. Washing machines saved time. And also saved water - by and large - if used in the right load and configuration. But the quality of the work was still suspect. Most people figured that it worked and in a generation, people adapted it.

Now, this generation (as much as they consider themselves progressive as compared to the previous generation, like every other generation), is facing the same situation with dishwashers.

I for one, was surprised to hear that the dishwasher only consumes 9 -12 litres of water. Compared to manual washing - that is atleast 4 times lower is my estimate. But households are still not ready to adopt. It is happening. The early adopters were there a few years ago - this is now the middle zone in my view. And when I pitched this at home, I was faced with resistance (I still havent won) - thats how I write this post.

Like the washing machines - the early adopters are the ones who want to save time/money or have seen its effectiveness. Thus, dishwashers today are being adopted by the eco conscious (yay, it saves water) or the time conscious (I cant wait for the maid to do this tomorrow). This might be a bit of a mind-read, but the point I am trying to make is the transition.

This generation is the generation when the dishwasher will make it big in homes. In 10-15 years, every household in India that has a washing machine will have a dishwasher.

And then the next one, will do away with their dependence on maids- and move to robotic floor cleaners and dusters. And that is a story for the future!

Think how work cultures are also transforming generation to generation!

PS: This is all entirely anecdotal - and I havent bothered with the numbers. The washing machine part I am fairly sure, the dishwasher part is pure anecdote. 

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