Dishes are a unique kind of chore, with a huge possibility for resentment, not just a “shared chore”. Most who have lived long term with another knows how it goes

• The mess is in a (usually) small living space (kitchen). You can’t really avoid the dishes or work around them. Dishes make it very frustrating to work in that environment
• At a certain point it becomes impossible to prepare new food to eat; it’s not something you can put off forever, it has a strict time limit
• Dirty dishes are really gross, both visually and olfactorily, and attract pests
• Other people’s mess directly affects your life and health in a very real way
• The longer you leave it, the harder it is to clean
• Often, one person has a different standard of “clean” than the other; they might not even realise there is a problem
  • This can lead to controlling or other toxic behaviour

That’s why what usually ends up happening is some combination of these:

• Frequent commands (increasingly not-gentle reminders) to clean up
• One person does all the dishes forever, constantly, becoming a taken-for-granted dish slave until burnout (this was me with my ex)
• Frequent “discussions” about the state of cleanliness

No matter which side of the interaction you’re on, you’re likely to encounter resentment. Either for being constantly nagged about something you don’t see as a big deal, or annoyance because you forgot just a few times and feel undeserved scrutiny, or frustration because the other person never cleans at all

Compare this to, say; taking the trash out, laundry, or tending the plants. It’s not even close in terms of how much another’s actions impact your physical or mental health