8 ms·

On the number of hours saved by Washing machines and Dishwashers. Liberating women from having to do these tasks and instead contributing to the general economy

by acd 7y ago

On the number of hours saved by Washing machines and Dishwashers. Liberating women from having to do these tasks and instead contributing to the general economy instead.

war1025 7y ago
> the number of hours saved by Washing machines and Dishwashers. This is true, but to some extent over-stated I think. We have a family of five, and don't use our dishwasher. I just do the dishes every morning while I listen to the news on the radio. It takes less than an hour. As far as washing machines, I agree that they are quite convenient, but the truth is most clothing doesn't need to be washed nearly so often as people do. Without a washing machine, you would just do laundry less often. I think modern plumbing is the actual time saver. Not having to haul water from the river or the well frees up a ton of time. Having waste water safely disposed of is a massive boon to hygiene.
- godot 7y ago
  I think if you spend close to an hour to wash dishes every morning, it's actually a good proof of how much time it could save you. Being able to use that hour productively with other means while you do it (e.g. listening to the news or podcasts in your case) is somewhat a separate topic. Loading and unloading the dishwasher for the same amount of dishes every day will probably take less than 30 minutes. I would estimate you could have a savings of 30 minutes every day if you used the dishwasher. Depending on how you use water when you hand-wash them, you may also save some water as well.
  - war1025 7y ago
    > you could have a savings of 30 minutes every day Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. The actual washing of the dishes really doesn't take that long. Most of it is gathering everything up, rescuing the sink from the disaster that my wife leaves it in (i.e. How hard is it to actually nest the dishes instead of building them into some precarious tower?), and then washing the various big and otherwise awkward items that you couldn't put in the dishwasher anyway. If you want to get on the modern hype train, you can think of it as a "mindfulness" exercise. There is something therapeutic about having busy hands and letting the mind wander.
    - joegahona 7y ago
      There are lots of things you could do with 30 minutes. Meditate, a brisk walk, prayer, learn a new language, etc. I guess washing dishes is a form of meditation in the same way showering or shaving is, but man, I can’t imagine 30 hours of hand-washing dishes per month. That’s almost a week’s worth of a full-time job.
    - jodrellblank 7y ago
      > If you want to get on the modern hype train, you can think of it as a "mindfulness" exercise. There is something therapeutic about having busy hands and letting the mind wander. I don't mean to be gatekeepery here, but aren't "mindful" and "letting the mind wander" pretty much opposites? "Wash every bowl, every dish as if you are bathing a baby - breathing in, feeling joy; breathing out, smiling. Every minute can be a holy, sacred minute. Where do you seek the spiritual? You seek the spiritual in every ordinary thing that you do every day. Sweeping the floor, watering the vegetables, and washing the dishes become holy and sacred if mindfulness is there. With mindfulness and concentration, everything becomes spiritual." - Thich Nhat Hanh, in "How to Eat". "Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes." - Alan Watts. It sounds more like the modern "productivity" hype train than the mindfulness one; "do two things at once, and distract yourself from life, if your eyes are busy, fill your ears, fill all your senses all the time". > the disaster that my wife leaves it in (i.e. How hard is it to actually nest the dishes instead of building them into some precarious tower?), mindfully criticising your wife in public for a cheap laugh. :eyes:
      - war1025 7y ago
        I will admit I don't really know where you're going with this since the two quotes you just gave line up pretty well exactly with what I thought I said. Seems like you aren't so much responding to what I said as to what you wish I had said.
    - jdgiese 7y ago
      > Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. It is hard for me to understand your point of view on this. What is the difference between saying "modern people have too much free time" and "modern people live too long?" > What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. Some things you can do in those extra 30 minutes: - Read a book - Call an old friend - Paint, write, or create something - Code on your hobby project If you think checking hacker news or Facebook is a waste of time, then don't, and find something more worthwhile to do instead.
- webmobdev 7y ago
  > ... but the truth is most clothing doesn't need to be washed nearly so often as people do. Didn't exactly understand you ... I mean, I can't wear any shirt more than two days in a row before it picks up my body odour and starts stinking (India; hot climate - and this is after 2 baths a day too; no deodorant). So if I don't wash and wear it, I am pretty sure it would bother a lot of people. I can wear pants and trousers longer, sure, so they get washed less.
  - war1025 7y ago
    As a counterpoint, here in the US Midwest, I currently have three pairs of jeans, two thermal shirts, and two button downs that I rotate through and wash honestly maybe quarterly. Other clothing items I go through more quickly, but I'm planning to start giving my undershirts a couple rotations before washing them as well. Same with socks. The main thing I've noticed is that natural fabrics don't pick up smells nearly as badly as synthetics. Also just letting things hang and air out seems to keep everything smelling pretty fresh. If I go out of town and leave clothes in my backpack they need washed when I get home whether I wore them or not. Finally, I think odors are largely based on your skin biome and genetic factors, and fortunately for me, I just don't get that smelly.
    - wikibob 7y ago
      Quarterly? Yikes. People can smell you, and you stink, they are just too polite to say anything. Ask a very trusted friend, one who does laundry regularly, how you smell.
      - war1025 7y ago
        I assume my wife or kids would more than happily tell me. Particularly my kids since they find jokes about smelly things to be highly amusing. And they don't really understand the concept of being polite yet.
    - oska 7y ago
      > The main thing I've noticed is that natural fabrics don't pick up smells nearly as badly as synthetics. This is especially true of wool.
- wikibob 7y ago
  An HOUR? To do the dishes? That seems like an enormous consumption of time. I would suggest that you might consider reallocating this time. For example, if you have three children are any of them old enough to help do the dishes? Initially it will take you more time, but children love to contribute to the household at first, until they are taught not to by being told they're doing it wrong.
  - war1025 7y ago
    > An HOUR? To do the dishes? That seems like an enormous consumption of time You will note that I said "less than an hour", which in my life basically equates to "a trivial amount of time". Most days it's probably closer to a half hour. It's also a fairly leisurely process of me listening to whatever they are talking about on the radio. When the kids are bigger, I'm sure we'll teach them how to do the dishes and other chores around the house. For now, our oldest just turned four and is probably approaching big enough to grasp the concepts, but doesn't really have the attention span to see it through to the end.
    - karatestomp 7y ago
      IMO the main benefit of a dishwasher is giving you somewhere to stick dirty dishes that’s not the sink. I agree that it’s not particularly time consuming, and prepping dishes for the dishwasher and loading them probably takes about half the time of hand-washing anyway.
      - frosted-flakes 7y ago
        That only works if you actually empty the dishwasher. Sometimes the dishwasher turns into the cupboard, and it only gets emptied the rest of the way when the sink is full.

by acd 7y ago

On the number of hours saved by Washing machines and Dishwashers. Liberating women from having to do these tasks and instead contributing to the general economy instead.

war1025 7y ago

> the number of hours saved by Washing machines and Dishwashers. This is true, but to some extent over-stated I think. We have a family of five, and don't use our dishwasher. I just do the dishes every morning while I listen to the news on the radio. It takes less than an hour. As far as washing machines, I agree that they are quite convenient, but the truth is most clothing doesn't need to be washed nearly so often as people do. Without a washing machine, you would just do laundry less often. I think modern plumbing is the actual time saver. Not having to haul water from the river or the well frees up a ton of time. Having waste water safely disposed of is a massive boon to hygiene.

godot 7y ago
I think if you spend close to an hour to wash dishes every morning, it's actually a good proof of how much time it could save you. Being able to use that hour productively with other means while you do it (e.g. listening to the news or podcasts in your case) is somewhat a separate topic. Loading and unloading the dishwasher for the same amount of dishes every day will probably take less than 30 minutes. I would estimate you could have a savings of 30 minutes every day if you used the dishwasher. Depending on how you use water when you hand-wash them, you may also save some water as well.
- war1025 7y ago
  > you could have a savings of 30 minutes every day Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. The actual washing of the dishes really doesn't take that long. Most of it is gathering everything up, rescuing the sink from the disaster that my wife leaves it in (i.e. How hard is it to actually nest the dishes instead of building them into some precarious tower?), and then washing the various big and otherwise awkward items that you couldn't put in the dishwasher anyway. If you want to get on the modern hype train, you can think of it as a "mindfulness" exercise. There is something therapeutic about having busy hands and letting the mind wander.
  - joegahona 7y ago
    There are lots of things you could do with 30 minutes. Meditate, a brisk walk, prayer, learn a new language, etc. I guess washing dishes is a form of meditation in the same way showering or shaving is, but man, I can’t imagine 30 hours of hand-washing dishes per month. That’s almost a week’s worth of a full-time job.
  - jodrellblank 7y ago
    > If you want to get on the modern hype train, you can think of it as a "mindfulness" exercise. There is something therapeutic about having busy hands and letting the mind wander. I don't mean to be gatekeepery here, but aren't "mindful" and "letting the mind wander" pretty much opposites? "Wash every bowl, every dish as if you are bathing a baby - breathing in, feeling joy; breathing out, smiling. Every minute can be a holy, sacred minute. Where do you seek the spiritual? You seek the spiritual in every ordinary thing that you do every day. Sweeping the floor, watering the vegetables, and washing the dishes become holy and sacred if mindfulness is there. With mindfulness and concentration, everything becomes spiritual." - Thich Nhat Hanh, in "How to Eat". "Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes." - Alan Watts. It sounds more like the modern "productivity" hype train than the mindfulness one; "do two things at once, and distract yourself from life, if your eyes are busy, fill your ears, fill all your senses all the time". > the disaster that my wife leaves it in (i.e. How hard is it to actually nest the dishes instead of building them into some precarious tower?), mindfully criticising your wife in public for a cheap laugh. :eyes:
    - war1025 7y ago
      I will admit I don't really know where you're going with this since the two quotes you just gave line up pretty well exactly with what I thought I said. Seems like you aren't so much responding to what I said as to what you wish I had said.
  - jdgiese 7y ago
    > Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. It is hard for me to understand your point of view on this. What is the difference between saying "modern people have too much free time" and "modern people live too long?" > What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. Some things you can do in those extra 30 minutes: - Read a book - Call an old friend - Paint, write, or create something - Code on your hobby project If you think checking hacker news or Facebook is a waste of time, then don't, and find something more worthwhile to do instead.
webmobdev 7y ago
> ... but the truth is most clothing doesn't need to be washed nearly so often as people do. Didn't exactly understand you ... I mean, I can't wear any shirt more than two days in a row before it picks up my body odour and starts stinking (India; hot climate - and this is after 2 baths a day too; no deodorant). So if I don't wash and wear it, I am pretty sure it would bother a lot of people. I can wear pants and trousers longer, sure, so they get washed less.
- war1025 7y ago
  As a counterpoint, here in the US Midwest, I currently have three pairs of jeans, two thermal shirts, and two button downs that I rotate through and wash honestly maybe quarterly. Other clothing items I go through more quickly, but I'm planning to start giving my undershirts a couple rotations before washing them as well. Same with socks. The main thing I've noticed is that natural fabrics don't pick up smells nearly as badly as synthetics. Also just letting things hang and air out seems to keep everything smelling pretty fresh. If I go out of town and leave clothes in my backpack they need washed when I get home whether I wore them or not. Finally, I think odors are largely based on your skin biome and genetic factors, and fortunately for me, I just don't get that smelly.
  - wikibob 7y ago
    Quarterly? Yikes. People can smell you, and you stink, they are just too polite to say anything. Ask a very trusted friend, one who does laundry regularly, how you smell.
    - war1025 7y ago
      I assume my wife or kids would more than happily tell me. Particularly my kids since they find jokes about smelly things to be highly amusing. And they don't really understand the concept of being polite yet.
  - oska 7y ago
    > The main thing I've noticed is that natural fabrics don't pick up smells nearly as badly as synthetics. This is especially true of wool.
wikibob 7y ago
An HOUR? To do the dishes? That seems like an enormous consumption of time. I would suggest that you might consider reallocating this time. For example, if you have three children are any of them old enough to help do the dishes? Initially it will take you more time, but children love to contribute to the household at first, until they are taught not to by being told they're doing it wrong.
- war1025 7y ago
  > An HOUR? To do the dishes? That seems like an enormous consumption of time You will note that I said "less than an hour", which in my life basically equates to "a trivial amount of time". Most days it's probably closer to a half hour. It's also a fairly leisurely process of me listening to whatever they are talking about on the radio. When the kids are bigger, I'm sure we'll teach them how to do the dishes and other chores around the house. For now, our oldest just turned four and is probably approaching big enough to grasp the concepts, but doesn't really have the attention span to see it through to the end.
  - karatestomp 7y ago
    IMO the main benefit of a dishwasher is giving you somewhere to stick dirty dishes that’s not the sink. I agree that it’s not particularly time consuming, and prepping dishes for the dishwasher and loading them probably takes about half the time of hand-washing anyway.
    - frosted-flakes 7y ago
      That only works if you actually empty the dishwasher. Sometimes the dishwasher turns into the cupboard, and it only gets emptied the rest of the way when the sink is full.