In Indonesia’s hot and humid climate, both children and adults often change their clothes at least twice a day. In addition to taking a shower in the morning and evening, more and more people shower and change their clothes immediately after returning home due to the recent spread of coronavirus infection. Many households wash their clothes almost every day, even before the coronavirus disaster. Recently, clothing detergents and fabric softeners with antibacterial effects have been seen piled up in a special section at hypermarts. Perhaps people’s growing awareness of hygiene has led to the growing popularity of products with antimicrobial properties in laundry items as well. We would like to introduce the laundry situation in Indonesia by introducing several households.

Who does the laundry?

Laundry scene

Next, I would like to introduce the laundry scene. First, regarding the location, in a house with many rooms, the room where laundry is done is located at the back of the house, away from the entrance and guest rooms. This is because it is a private space, so it is done out of sight of guests as much as possible. If there is a fully automatic or double-layer washing machine, there is a room/space for doing laundry. On the other hand, if there is no washing machine and laundry is done by hand, especially in C and D classes, laundry is often done in the bathroom. In the case of the SEC D household shown at left, one of the multiple bathrooms is used as a laundry room. The detergent, bucket, and hand tub are used for laundry. They use water from the hose and flush the used water down the toilet while doing the laundry.

Place for drying laundry

The place where laundry is hung out to dry varies from household to household. Class A households, in particular, are often reluctant to have their laundry visible from the outside, so they often dry their clothes indoors. Instead of drying clothes in living rooms or bedrooms, rooms and spaces are provided for indoor drying, and stand-type indoor clothes driers are sold at home centers. In the C and D classes, people no longer resist the idea of having their laundry visible to others, and they dry their clothes in a space next to the front door or in a location visible from the street. Colorful laundry drying on the street is a common scene in Indonesia.

Introduction to Consumer Life Panorama

Consumer Life Panorama is an INTAGE Web database that provides real-life living conditions of consumers in Japan and overseas. You can browse 360-degree images of the living environment of consumers in each country, and see their daily life flow, flow lines, and digital life. Some of the photos in this article are also taken from sei-katsu-sha registered in this database. This service is useful for those who want to observe the living environment of overseas residents at their fingertips, without the need for customized surveys. Click here to visit the Consumer Life Panorama demo site.