The Laundry-Done-Inator
Ah, at last! BEHOLD — the Laundry-Done-Inator! My greatest achievement since the Chicken-Replace-Inator, and arguably more useful, though I stand by the chickens.
You see, it all started on a dark and stormy Tuesday. I had left my lab coat in the wash — a critical error — and completely forgot about it for THREE DAYS. When I finally retrieved it, it smelled like a wet Platypus. Not that I would know what that smells like. I don’t. Moving on.
The point is: I, Dr. Doof, Evil Scientist and self-proclaimed Laundry Awareness Visionary, have engineered a solution so diabolically clever that it will change laundry as we know it. Mwahahaha!
What Does It Do?!
The Laundry-Done-Inator uses a network of cunningly placed sensors to monitor your washer and dryer with the cold, unblinking eye of science. When your laundry is finished, it fires a Discord message directly at you — by name — so there are no excuses. None. You will know. I will make sure of it.
- 🔌 Power sensor on the washer — because when the power drops, the spin cycle is done, and so are your excuses.
- 📳 Vibration sensor on the dryer — it feels the trembling of the drum so you don’t have to.
- 👤 User buttons — press your button before you start a load and the machine will personally @ you on Discord when it’s done. Personal accountability! Enforced by technology!
- 📟 OLED display — shows temperature, humidity, and local weather, because why not? I like data. Data is power.
The Components (A Bill of EVIL Materials)
The Laundry-Done-Inator is built upon the sturdy shoulders of modern microelectronics and a truly heroic amount of hot glue:
- An ESP32 microcontroller — the brain! The magnificent, Wi-Fi-enabled brain!
- An SSD1306 OLED display — for displaying critical laundry intelligence
- An SHT3xD temperature and humidity sensor — because knowing it is 68°F and 47% humidity is just good science
- A vibration sensor for the dryer
- A power monitoring sensor for the washer
- Buttons — one per household member (the Inator supports up to four users, or as I call them, laundry subjects)
- A 3D-printed enclosure — custom designed and available on TinkerCAD, because aesthetics matter even in evil engineering
A full Bill of Materials with links and pricing is available in the project repository. I priced it out myself. It was not cheap, but neither is genius.
How It Works (The Science Part)
The Inator runs on ESPHome firmware and integrates with Home Assistant. Here is how the evil plan unfolds:
- A household member (a laundry subject) presses their designated button on the device before starting a load. This registers them as the Active Laundry Entity.
- The Inator’s sensors monitor the machines. It knows when they are running. It always knows.
- When the washer’s power consumption drops to near-zero — laundry finished. When the dryer stops vibrating — also laundry finished.
- Home Assistant triggers an automation that sends a Discord message with an @ mention to the registered subject. No more “I forgot.” No more damp clothes sitting for a week. No more.
Wiring Diagram (For the Technically Inclined Minion)
| Component | Interface | ESP32 GPIO Pin |
|---|---|---|
| OLED Display (SSD1306) | I2C SDA | GPIO 21 |
| OLED Display (SSD1306) | I2C SCL | GPIO 22 |
| SHT3xD Temp/Humidity Sensor | I2C SDA (shared) | GPIO 21 |
| SHT3xD Temp/Humidity Sensor | I2C SCL (shared) | GPIO 22 |
| User Button 1 | GPIO Input | GPIO 25 |
| User Button 2 | GPIO Input | GPIO 26 |
| User Button 3 | GPIO Input | GPIO 27 |
| User Button 4 | GPIO Input | GPIO 14 |
Setup Instructions
Fear not, for I have documented everything in exhaustive detail — something my interns always said I would never do. Who is laughing now, interns?
- 3D Print the Case — Files are on TinkerCAD. The design is modular and I have left room for future expansion because I am nothing if not forward-thinking.
- Flash the ESPHome Firmware — Configure your network credentials and set your OpenWeatherMap entity ID. The display will show temp, humidity, and local weather. Very atmospheric.
- Wire It Up — Follow the table above. The I2C bus is shared between the display and the temp sensor — this is intentional and elegant, not an oversight. It is definitely not an oversight.
- Set Up Home Assistant Automations — Two YAML automations handle the washer and dryer notifications. Configure your own Discord channel ID, user IDs, and sensor entity IDs. A binary sensor helper is included to debounce the vibration sensor.
- Configure Discord — Set up the Home Assistant Discord integration if you have not already. Details are in the Home Assistant documentation.
Get the Files
Everything you need is available on GitHub. The software is MIT licensed. The 3D models are CC BY 4.0, derived from an existing design by Grunt on Printables.
🔗 View the Laundry-Done-Inator on GitHub
Now if you will excuse me, I have a load of lab coats to transfer. The Inator will let me know when they are done. Mwahahaha… ha.
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