Lack of Hot water in Kitchen???!!

[HOT!!!]

 Is it common not to have hot water in the kitchen?

We are looking at apartments and we have been told by the agents that they do not usually have a hot water tap.

Is this true?

[Burbage]

Most apartments are  built and sold without a water heater installed. It's up to the owners to install. Quite often the plumbing for the bathroom hot water and the kitchen hot water are two seperate systems, requiring two heaters. In this case most owners only install the heater for the bathroom. Many Singaporeans don't ever use the kitchen.

The best advise is to ask for the heater to be installed as part of the rental package. Most owners will do this. First you need to make sure that the plumbing is there, it usually is. THe presence of a hot tap is a pretty good indicator. Or check with the owner whether the hot water system works for both kitchen and bathrooms. You may want to check that the owner is right before siging a lease...

[nualum]

Asking for a hot water heater in the kitchen is a very reasonable request and one that both rental agents and landlords will be quite familiar with if they have ever dealt with expat tenants.

You may also want to consider whether you will need a washer and dryer for your clothes. If so, it is much better to have two separate machines rather than a combination washer/dryer. These are also items that can be asked for during negotiations. Landlords who have rented to expatriates or who are interested in renting to expatriates will not be surprised at these requirements.

Whether you will need hot water for the washing machine depends on the machine itself. Many, if not most, heat the water within the machine itself.

[Hot Water]

The government has mandated that hot water not be a standard service here.  The reason for this is that you will generally spend less time in a cold shower/bath and thereby help conserve water which is in short supply here.

[BoardManager]

No, it is not true that the sg.government has anything to do with what is installed in the kitchens.

Older apartments usually do not have plumbing for hot water in the kitchens. The main reason for this is that the water in Singapore is never too cold for use all year round. Newer apartments and those older ones which have been renovated recently for rentals will have hot water in the kitchen as standard fittings.

[Expensive]

Doesn't it have more to do with electricity being expensive hence small units for each bathroom etc.? Also the way I wash dishes you need hot water...one tub filled with soap...the alternative being soaping and rinsing each dish individually....Anyway back to the topic, ovens can often not be included, so look for all the things you are used to because what we often think are normal fixtures aren't.

[SARC]

We were caught out a bit by the water heater in the kitchen trick. Our apartment had the switch on the wall, which lit up, but that was about it! It wasn't connected to anything. Still, it's not the end of the world. We just boil a kettle full of water for the dishes. The thing with the ovens is not only do you need to check if there is one or not, but you may find that in the smaller kitchens there really isn't even room to put a conventional oven, as the space under the hob is usually taken up by the propane gas bottle thing

[Burbage]

Yeah, the size of the kitchen! It seems to me that the bigger the apartment the smalle rthe kitchen. Just one of those differences that makes you realize you're not at home anymore!

[kettle king]

I too was surprised at the lack of hot water in the kitchen.  When we went to purchase a kettle we were advised to get a three litre kettle.  We just boil the kettle to do the dishes and also for drinking water (boil then cool).  I became accustomes to it very quickly and would not consider hot water in the kitchen a necessity any more.

[Bewildered]

Same for me. Hot water switch in the kitchen, just no hot water. Only worry I have is how much electricity I am using by boiling the kettle 20 times a day. Still, I haven't got a bill yet (after 7 months) and since I am only here for another 6 keep hoping I never will.

[Singaporean]

Cultural difference here: Singaporeans, and I think Asians in general, do not wash dishes with hot water. Expats have expressed horror at the apparent lack of hygiene this seems to show.

We, on the other hand, rinse our dishes. Asians therefore in turn express horror at the sight of dishes just going in one tub of soapy and increasingly dirty water and not having fresh clean water wash off the dirty suds.

ah well, we all survive  

[Hot Wot]

Singapore's weather is hot and humid or wet and humid. Unless one is living in a home where the airconditioning is on at very low temperature, 24 hrs a day, having to wash dishes with hot water is ?
In Western countries it is the norm but in tropical countries like Singapore, it is not necessary. If you have greasy plates, wipe off grease with paper towels before washing them. They are cheaper than the hefty electricity bill you'll get for hot water!

[larissab]

Do most Westerners not rinse dishes?  I've seen this mentioned on several occasions, and I'm confused as I grew up in the US and have never heard of this practice.

As a child I was taught to wash in hot soapy water, then rinse before putting them on a drying rack.  I was also taught how to sort dishes in preparation for washing.  As far as hot water is concerned, I use the hottest water I can stand, believing that somehow this will kill germs, even though I know that the water can't possibly get hot enough in my sink to disinfect anything.  

I'm really curious about this no-rinsing thing.

[sudsy]

Most people I know back home (N.America) do rinse their dishes after washing but there are some who don't and it is pretty appalling. But hot water is needed to cut through the grease, especially when using some of the useless dishwashing detergents sold here.

(Actually most of us used our wonderful dishwashers which clean, disinfect and use less water than hand dishwashing.)

[Wifey]

I was fortunate in hearing about the lack of hot water in kitchens and discovered that there was a switch but no heater for the  hot water. We got the landlord to put in a hot water tank - then a couple of years later when we decided that we only needed a part time maid, asked for (and got) a dishwasher from the landlord.

I find it shocking that hot water is not routinely used in Asian kitchens. I've seen those programmes back home about kitchen hygiene, and you should always use the hottest water you can bear whilst wearing Marigolds (rubber gloves) to ensure that germs are killed - particularly when using *** for raw meat (I always scald them with boiling water from the kettle). When we had a maid I remember being shocked to discover that she was using tepid water to wash the greasy dishes after we had eaten a roast dinner - and it was obviously a tougher job without the hot water. The same goes fot the floors - I always prefer to use hot water with disenfectant in the bucket to kill germs.