24 ms·

It would be mildly useful to get alerts when a load is done. I know I've forgotten about laundry in the washer for a while that I wouldn't have minded a notific

It would be mildly useful to get alerts when a load is done. I know I've forgotten about laundry in the washer for a while that I wouldn't have minded a notification on my phone that it was done. Or if some maintenance needed to be done, a reminder. Or one could schedule usage during certain hours to minimize energy usage. But these are not super important use cases.

tremon 3y ago
What would you do with such an alert if you received it while not at home?
- LeafItAlone 3y ago
  You don’t have to be away from home for that to be useful. Even just in another room where you can’t hear it and are otherwise preoccupied. Or you can call your children and ask them to switch it over.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    If you don't need the notifications when you aren't home, then there's no reason why it needs to talk to the internet. You could still get the notifications just using a local LAN connection.
    - LeafItAlone 3y ago
      It could, but for wider use and more capability, Internet would be the default choice. Also, I live on a small property compared to those in my area (a few acres), and my WiFi doesn’t cover most of it. So a LAN notification wouldn’t work when I am out gardening.
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        But a timer would. That's what I use for this sort of thing, personally. The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable.
        LeafItAlone 3y ago
        > The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable. Not on my machine. It’s generally +/- 15 minutes for a given cycle, but it does more or less based on load size, which it somehow determines on its own. Sounds like this isn’t a feature you would like, but I hope how you can see it is certainly helpful to others.
        JohnFen 3y ago
        Oh, I certainly see its utility. It's the cost/benefit ratio that I question -- it seems very unfavorable. But everyone has their own cost/benefit computation. Mine is no more or less legitimate than anyone else's.
- askvictor 3y ago
  Depending on where I am I might go back home and put out the washing
Symbiote 3y ago
My washing machine beeps when the load is complete; I think it continues to beep every few minutes for half an hour or more. There's a simple delay-start button too. Since it's necessary to be at the machine to load or unload clothes, I think the only possibly gain from a network would be rescheduling a delayed start earlier/later/not-at-all.

tremon 3y ago

What would you do with such an alert if you received it while not at home?

LeafItAlone 3y ago
You don’t have to be away from home for that to be useful. Even just in another room where you can’t hear it and are otherwise preoccupied. Or you can call your children and ask them to switch it over.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  If you don't need the notifications when you aren't home, then there's no reason why it needs to talk to the internet. You could still get the notifications just using a local LAN connection.
  - LeafItAlone 3y ago
    It could, but for wider use and more capability, Internet would be the default choice. Also, I live on a small property compared to those in my area (a few acres), and my WiFi doesn’t cover most of it. So a LAN notification wouldn’t work when I am out gardening.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      But a timer would. That's what I use for this sort of thing, personally. The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable.
      - LeafItAlone 3y ago
        > The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable. Not on my machine. It’s generally +/- 15 minutes for a given cycle, but it does more or less based on load size, which it somehow determines on its own. Sounds like this isn’t a feature you would like, but I hope how you can see it is certainly helpful to others.
        JohnFen 3y ago
        Oh, I certainly see its utility. It's the cost/benefit ratio that I question -- it seems very unfavorable. But everyone has their own cost/benefit computation. Mine is no more or less legitimate than anyone else's.
askvictor 3y ago
Depending on where I am I might go back home and put out the washing

Symbiote 3y ago

My washing machine beeps when the load is complete; I think it continues to beep every few minutes for half an hour or more. There's a simple delay-start button too. Since it's necessary to be at the machine to load or unload clothes, I think the only possibly gain from a network would be rescheduling a delayed start earlier/later/not-at-all.