LaundryMinder - Smart Washer & Dryer Monitoring with Handoff Reminders
If you’ve ever left wet clothes sitting in the washer overnight, this blueprint is for you.
LaundryMinder monitors your washer, dryer, or both in a single automation and notifies you when a cycle finishes. It also reminds you to move clothes from the washer to the dryer if you forget, with repeating reminders until the dryer starts.
What It Does
One automation handles everything: cycle detection for both machines, notifications across multiple channels, quiet hours, dashboard state, and washer-to-dryer handoff reminders. Enable just a washer, just a dryer, or both. The blueprint adapts to your setup.
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Three detection methods — power sensor (smart plug), vibration sensor, or a smart appliance integration (LG ThinQ, SmartThings, etc.). Pick the one that matches your hardware for each machine independently.
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Three notification channels — mobile push, Alexa announcements, and Google TTS. Use any combination.
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Quiet hours — suppress notifications during sleeping hours with per-channel control. Silence your speakers at night but keep mobile alerts, or suppress everything. Set times manually or use a Schedule helper to share quiet hours across automations.
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Washer → Dryer handoff reminders — if the washer finishes and the dryer doesn’t start within a set time, you get a reminder. Reminders repeat on a configurable interval until the dryer starts or a max count is reached.
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Dashboard helpers —
input_booleanhelpers track machine state for dashboard cards and other automations. Optionalinput_texthelpers show messages like “Washer finished at 2:45 PM”. -
One-shot test mode — trigger the automation manually from Developer Tools to test all your notification channels at once. No need to run a real cycle to verify your setup.
Why I Built This
Over the years I’ve used a few different approaches to monitor our laundry. Smart plugs tracking power draw, a vibration sensor stuck to the dryer, and now an LG ThinQ integration. Each time I’d build a separate automation from scratch. I wanted to take everything I’ve learned from those setups and put it into one blueprint that handles both machines, supports all three detection methods, and doesn’t require template sensors or separate automations for each machine. And I really wanted the “move your clothes” reminder, because I’m guilty of forgetting.
My washer and dryer are smart appliances and they do send notifications through their own app, but I wanted more than that. I wanted notifications on Alexa so the whole house hears it, quiet hours so the speakers aren’t going off at midnight, reminders when we forget to move clothes over, and status on our dashboard. As our family’s needs change over time, I can adjust all of that from one place without rebuilding anything.
I also tried to make it modular. Not everyone has both a washer and a dryer, in parts of Europe and many apartments, a standalone washer is common. You shouldn’t have to configure a dryer you don’t have. Same for notification channels, if you only use mobile push, the Alexa and Google sections stay collapsed and out of your way.
Detection Methods
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Power sensor — smart plugs, panel monitors. Watts above threshold = running.
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Vibration sensor — dryers, no-plug setups. Vibration detected = running.
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Integration — LG ThinQ, SmartThings, etc. You pick which states mean “stopped”.
Each machine chooses its method independently. You can use a smart plug for the washer and an integration for the dryer, or any combination. The Integration method doesn’t require template sensors, the blueprint handles the logic internally.
Features at a Glance
Detection & state tracking
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Independent enable/disable for washer and dryer
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Three detection methods per machine
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Configurable start and stop delays to avoid false triggers from mid-cycle pauses
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input_booleanhelpers for dashboard state and transition detection
Notifications
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Mobile push via Home Assistant Companion app (multiple devices)
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Alexa announcements via Alexa Media Player (announce or TTS mode)
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Google TTS via Google Translate or Nabu Casa Cloud TTS
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Customizable messages per machine, per channel
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continue_on_erroron every notification action, one failure won’t block others
Quiet hours
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Disabled, manual times, or Schedule helper mode
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Per-channel suppression (e.g. silence speakers but keep mobile)
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Midnight wrap support (10 PM to 7 AM works as expected)
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Dashboard helpers always update regardless of quiet hours
Washer → Dryer handoff
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Configurable timeout before first reminder
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Repeating reminders at a set interval
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Stops when dryer starts or max reminder count is reached
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Sends through all your enabled notification channels
Getting Started
Import the blueprint, create an automation from it, and open the configuration. Every section has detailed descriptions, tips, and examples built into the UI to guide you through setup. I put a lot of care into making the wizard as self-explanatory as possible.
The only required setup per machine is an input_boolean helper (you can create one right from the dropdown) and selecting your detection method. Everything else (notifications, quiet hours, handoff, status text) is optional and collapsed by default.
Once saved, use Developer Tools → Actions → automation.trigger to send a test notification to every configured channel in one shot. No need to run a real laundry cycle to verify your setup.
Testing & Development
This blueprint has been through considerable testing and iteration. I’ve run real washer and dryer cycles end-to-end with my LG ThinQ integration, testing cycle detection, notifications across mobile and Alexa, quiet hours across midnight boundaries, and the full handoff reminder sequence with multiple reminders. Every feature in the blueprint has been manually tested and verified through trace inspection.
Several bugs were caught and fixed through this testing. Timing edge cases in the handoff reminder windows, sensor state handling during HA restarts, and making sure unavailable or unknown sensor states don’t trigger false cycle detections. Each fix was validated with follow-up testing.
The area I’d especially appreciate community feedback on is power sensor and vibration sensor detection. I’ve built and handled those methods in the logic (including edge cases like noisy power readings and mid-cycle vibration pauses), but my current setup runs the integration method. If you’re using a smart plug or vibration sensor, I’d love to hear how it works for you and if the start/stop delay defaults feel right.
My Other Blueprints
Weather Condition Alert - Rain, snow, and severe weather alerts with dashboard helpers and mobile notifications
Feedback, feature requests, and bug reports are all welcome. Happy to help with setup questions too. Enjoy!
