What Appliance Can You Live Without

Last Friday I wrote a post called "My Loud Dishwasher" and it stirred up quite a discussion. I implied that I must be one of the only people left in America these days that was forced to wash dishes by hand. What I found in response was quite the contrary.

One comment after the other revealed that there were a lot more homes without dishwashers than I ever thought! The research was somewhat conflicting, but at best only 75% of homes in America have dishwashers. So I was right in that most homes do have dishwashers, but 1 out of 4 don't. That's a lot people without one!

There was an interesting article I read called "Death of a Dishwasher" which has some fascinating info about the trends of dishwashers around the world. US and Norway are the leaders for this appliance, but in most countries you aren't find dishwashers anywhere! They just aren't that common. A 2004 Washington Post article explains that many immigrants who have come to America and had access to a dishwasher just ignore the the option entirely! In these cases they are more likely to be used to store snacks or as a drying rack. One Chinese-American man asked: "Do you have to wash it beforehand to rinse it off? And if you wash it beforehand, why do you even need to use it?" I have had the same thoughts, which is why I am notorious for under rinsing and then chipping off little flakes of melted cheese crusted onto the plate after it comes out of the dishwasher.

I became curious how dishwashers ranked compared to other appliances. So
I did the best I could navigating the web to find data. I believe these percentages are fairly accurate, but they weren't easy to come by. So please don't take the following statistics as cold hard fact.

The Estimated Percentages of Homes in America With The Following Appliances

Central Air Conditioning 72% 

Dishwasher 75% 

Computer 84% 

Washer and dryer 85%

Refrigerator 95% and 2 refrigerators 30%

Microwave 95%

Television 95% and the major majority of them have more than one set 


Some of these really surprised me! I don't have a microwave or a washer and dryer set. Until now I had no idea how uncommon that was.

Apparently the trends of our culture do not reflect that of my preference.
Here is the order I would put these 7 appliances with #1 being "couldn't live without it" and #7 being "I could give it up pretty easily".

1. Refrigerator.

2. Computer

3. Air conditioning

4. Washer and Dryer*

5. Dish Washer

6.  Television

7. Microwave


I think refrigerator is a deal breaker for obvious reasons, but honestly I would almost rather eat out or eat non perishable food than go without a computer. Then when I remembered that I could use a computer at the library I compromised, but that was a close call!

I have lived without air conditioning and it was brutal, but the above statistic did not include window units so there are a lot more than 72% of homes that do have some form AC and the few that have no AC whatsoever probably live in cooler climates.

*I put a star by washer and dryer because I have it as number 4 even though I don't actually have one, yet I do have a dishwasher and Television. I hate having to bring my clothes to a coin laundry. This is not the first time in my life I have been in this position though. If it were up to me I would pick washer and dryer over dish washer any day, but I live an apartment where that's not an option right now.

I've lived without a television before and I could easily do it again. I am not a big TV person, but I do enjoy having one.

Lastly I don't have a microwave and I don't miss it. Except for one major exception- reheating warm drinks. Everything else I am totally comfortable using the oven or toaster, and we love our jiffy pop. I'll probably still do stove popcorn just for the fun of it, even when we do have a microwave again.

So what about you?

 Are there any on this list that you don't have? Is there something that's not on the list that is your absolute favorite?

Let me know in the comments!