I was looking at putting in a dishwasher in our townhouse. When we went out looking at dishwshers they seem rather expensive in Bangkok. Does anyone know of a good inexpensive dishwasher and where to obtain it?

Also, I read in a previous post that the dishwashing detergent is hard to find and is also expensive. Is this still true?

Probably a factor of suppply and demand more than anything else.

When we were building our kitchen last year I asked the missus if we should get a dishwasher. She replied "We already have one; the maid!" Good point, dear...

Exactly, Maids are cheap, therefore making Dishwashers unnecessary.

If you have friends nearby, you can share a maid, Mornings at one location, afternoons at another.

Maids may be cheap up front but if you factor in broken/missing/training/parenting/loans/family visits/holidays/sick buffalos and such they may not be the answer. Also they do not sterilize your dishes like a machine does.

All appliance import is the old fixed price deal like we had in the US 50 years ago. The importers set the price and all outlets have to sell at that price or face non supply. As the source of dishwashers is rather limited and mostly high priced even in there home country (Europe) we also have high prices to pay. But like anything else as demands increase the price may decrease. I have noted about the same price range as when the baht was 25/$ so in effect the price has gone down.

Detergent is not hard to find anymore in downtown Bangkok but outside of Bangkok it is probably not available. The price does not seem excessive to me as one box should last more than a month and is in the 2-300 baht range.

I'm still debating the cost versus benefit for a dishwasher. I'm not adverse to washing my own dishes. I guess living in the US with a dishwasher for the past 15 years has made me soft. I grew up in a house that never had one (and still doesn't). It is mostly the time saved of washing but when I think about it, there really isn't that much time saved after having to rinse the dishes in the first place.

I also figured out that the dishwashers here have the built in water heater as compared to the US models so that drives up the cost as well.

I can buy many bottles of dish detergent for the price of one dishwasher.

We are still debating the idea of having a maid. I'm sure one day we will hire one.

Our cleaning lady dissapeared with our flatscreen and reappeared with a new motorbike and got away with it. tit.

We do our own dishes now, usually straight away as it's easiest. Feels better too.

maids and security services are always a thrill to observe.

Some of them are good and honest, but we give them to many oppertunities to catch an easy cash escape. If you have a maid or seurity service you need to secure all your valueble items with lockdowns or extra security features as CCTV or safes.

I was looking at putting in a dishwasher in our townhouse. When we went out looking at dishwshers they seem rather expensive in Bangkok. Does anyone know of a good inexpensive dishwasher and where to obtain it?

Also, I read in a previous post that the dishwashing detergent is hard to find and is also expensive. Is this still true?

i think you will find they are kept expensive as to have one would be denying someone a job..

My wife has a dishwasher, they're attached to the ends of her arms.