Let your washing machine tell you when it's finished

I had a nice idea for lazy people like me:

Wouldn't it be cool if your washing machine told you when it is done cleaning your dirty undies?

Some of you may think now: "wtf?" or "why would I need this?"

I always have the same problem: I turn on my washing machine at 8 o'clock in the evening, then I start working on my laptop till around midnight and by that time I have totally forgotten about the laundry. After having worked I am normally tired and I just want to go to bed, but when I come into the bathroom (where my washing machine is waiting for me) I see the red LED's blinking, basically yelling at me "Heeey! Did you forget about me? YOU HAVE TO HANG THE FUCKING LAUNDRY! AND IT IS NOT JUST SOME T-SHIRTS! I HAVE MANY SOCKS AND UNDIES!!!!". 

So I have to hang the laundry absolutely tired and annoyed. 

To put an end to this and not be annoyed every fucking time I come into the bathroom at midnight I thought: How can the washing machine just tell me when it is finished?

There are some washing machines that make beeping noises when they are finished - but I don't own any of those and I don't want to spend the money for a new one.

At AVM GmbH I found a  nice device called Dect!200 which is a switchable socket connected to the Fritz!Box via DECT. This socket can measure the voltage flow and you can check the data and work with it in the web interface of the Fritz!Box.

Let's get the washing machine a bit smarter

Things you need:

• Fritz!Box from AVM GmbH (I had the 7490, costs: ca. 199€, you can use any Fritz!Box which supports DECT)
• AVM FRITZ!DECT 200 (switchable smart socket, costs ca. 45€)
• Time to spend: max. 30 minutes

Easy idea: measure the voltage when the washing machine is done and in standby mode. Now I can trigger the socket to turn off when the standby voltage is flowing for some time, e.g. 10 minutes. 

Step 1: Go to the web interface and navigate to home network (Heimnetz) -> Smart Home

There you choose the settings menu of the Dect!200. I called it "Waschmaschine" (washing machine).

Step 2: Go to the tab "Automatisch Schalten" (not sure how it's called in English, maybe something like automatic)

Step 3: Scroll down to "Abschalten bei Standby" (turn off on standby) and enter the Watt value which your machine has in standby mode. To know the value just turn on the machine and wait a bit - go to the Smart Home section and read the actual consumption. In my case it was 1,14 Watt so I put in 1,15 just to be sure and 10 minutes, also just to be sure. You can also set it to 5 minutes but that will not make the cake big.

Done - but this will not tell me when the washing machine is done - it will just shut off the yelling LED's which would make it even more likely for me to forget about the laundry and leave it in the machine until I try to wash some clothes the next time.

Push Notification

Thanks to the Fritz!Box there is a push notification feature which sends you an e-mail every time there is a toggle, i.e. the socket has been switched on or off. I just configured this and BAM! I get an email every time the washing machine turns on and off (because you have to toggle the socket).

When I receive an e-mail I get a push notification on my smart phone:

(the text says: "your washing machine was turned off")

Nice side effect: now I am getting informed when my girlfriend is using my washing machine and I can immediately react by sending her some smilies and kisses from where ever I am to say "THANKS for washing my shit!" 

Now that I know I can trigger stuff - I am planning some new cool things.

The next project will be: How can I turn off the lights in the living room after having forgotten to turn them  after having hung my laundry while being extremely tired and annoyed from the yelling LED's?

Answer: By creating a power cable with luster terminals on each side and connect it with my overhead lights and the Dect!200 switchable socket!  I will explain how to do this next time.