Pro tip: set an alarm on your phone
Moved into an apartment where the washing machine is in the basement. I’ve saved timers for all programs that I use.
Now I just forget to start the timer
Honestly a smart watch has been a game changer for me simply for the timer function. I often don’t walk around the house with my phone, so setting a timer either requires me to remember to set it once I’m back to it (and then the calculation of how long that took, which is an ordeal on its own) and then remembering to carry it around afterwards so the timer can do its job. But with a smart watch? It’s right there, easy peasy to set and you can’t put it down and forget about it. There’s loads of other uses too, but easy access to timers is so handy
My washing machine sends me a message when it’s done. I still forget.
You know, I do set an alarm for adding vinegar to the rinse sometimes but I never think to do it for the end of the cycle.
Not so bad when you own your own washer and dryer.
Panic inducing when you use a laundromat or other communal laundry room.
Constantly get flashes of Marla Singer taking clothes from the Laundromat and immediately selling them at a thrift store/pawn shop. 😵💫
Idk man, I think it depends what the weather is like, and whether or not your home is climate controlled.
If I forget my laundry for a mere 4 hours in summer, it gets mildewy (gets hot and humid and I don’t have central air, only window units, so they don’t always run), and needs to be entirely rewashed on the sanitary setting.
This is the case regardless how often I bleach/clean the machine, I think the house water supply is the problem, but regardless, when it’s hot, it can be panic inducing even if it’s your own. That extra time to re-run (sanitary is 1.5 hrs to the 45 min of a normal cycle) has fucked up my day several times.
I spent two years stumbling through learning Home Assistant just so I could make custom sensors to alert me all through the house when my laundry is done.
Worth it.
Hahahahah cool. I learned Home Assistant because I was tired of getting blinded by full power lights when I pee at night.
How’d you set it up? Vibration, sound, power sensor or something else?
Not the guy you’re asking, but this can be done quite easily with wifi power plugs that measure electricity use. I’ve done this for my old washer and my current dryer.
First you need to hook the power measing plug up into home assistant and collect some data for various washing programs, then you can make some automations that trigger on specific power consumptions.
A lot of people have done this, here’s one: https://www.homeautomationguy.io/blog/home-assistant-automations/washing-machine-notifications
(my old washer died and now I have one with wifi and don’t need the wifi power plug anymore)
Yep. I’ve got smart plugs on my washer and dryer, and when the cycle ends it sends an alert to my phone, makes an announcement, and changes some lights to specific colors. Worth it. Otherwise I might just forget about my laundry for days.
Saved me just now.
Use a timer on your phone.
Thanks, I forgot about my laundry
I did too! 😂
Thanks friend, doing it now!
“Ahh, my stove!” “Sigh, my plants have died meanwhile.” “Yet another unpayed bill? I’ll take care of it … tomorrow …morrow.”
You misspelled days, tho.
When I need to do laundry again I find the last one still there.
Lol have some in the machine now
The plan was always “do it after breakfast”, so I’m still good, check back in a couple of hours though 😂What generally works for me is filling the machine at the end of a day and setting the delay so it runs early in the morning, then by the time I’ve had some food and a little energy boost to deal with it it’s only been waiting for a couple of hours (tbf any less than about 7-8 hours should still be fine, anything longer and I might run the load again lol)
It seems to perpetually happen to me with whites. I’ll try to rewash them to get the mildew smell out and it never helps. So all my white undershirts smell like shitty mildew for a week until the next time I wash them, then they’re fine again , the cycle repeats like every two or three weeks.
Depending on what style of washing machine you have, you might need to clean the washer itself btw
Have you tried using an enzyme detergent? I find that helps substantially with that issue.
I use the enzyme detergent every 3-4 times I wash, or whenever I forget my laundry long enough for that to happen (4hrs in summer, overnight in winter). The sanitary (extra hot) cycle plus the enzyme detergent is a winning combo for me.
I will have to look into that. I usually just get the cheapest detergent in bulk at Sam’s Club and don’t usually think twice about it, so I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that, but I’ll keep an eye out for it and give it a try.
I buy mine online from dirty labs because I need fragrance free stuff, but I’ve seen scented varieties at most hardware+home goods type store (Menards, fleet farm, Home Depot, Lowe’s, etc). Haven’t really looked elsewhere, but it’s all niche brands. You’ll probably need to read the ingredients to find a good one for your needs, unless you do some looking before you go or order online. The link below has info about the available enzymes and what they are used for - most detergents I’ve seen in stores have 1-3 (of 5) of them. The stuff I get has all 5 types because I’m too lazy to sort out what stains/smells are from what.
https://caringconsumer.com/products/cleaning/laundry-detergent/enzymes/
It’s a bit (very) pricy, which is why I don’t use it every washing (some exceptions like underwear and bedding always get it), but it does a pretty good job at getting rid of the oily residue that causes “stale body” smell out of undershirts/sheets, which is very noticeable when using fragrance free detergent. And ofc that sour mildew smell.
I feel like there’s either reasons or fixes for this but I can’t remember either. Top of the head theories are… vinegar and… dirty.
just put an alarm on evrything
Nah. Today’s “Augh, my laundry” was the drying rack nearly being blown off the balcony.
The number of times I’ve said “Ugh, I have to go do laundry” in a livestream chat and someone goes “oh shoot, thanks” is proof this works.
