Although there have been some improvements in terms of ease of use, washing machines have not changed their operating principles since their invention. Many of its functions, including maintenance, have been transferred to the mobile phone as manufacturers have now made them smart. As the technicians suggest, .

When my old washing machine said goodbye permanently and we had to buy a new one, we decided to opt for home automation. I took advantage of the fact that I already had a few LG devices and opted for one of their smart washing machines. Warns on TV when each washing process is completed. Not only that, its compatibility with connected devices goes beyond the informational function. This is what I like most.

Why does the washing machine need a mobile application?

We asked ourselves this question when renewing a device. It made perfect sense to me, it’s not for nothing that everything that is connected and that I can manage from my smartphone attracts strong attention. The problem was figuring out whether this would be a useful feature in the long run or one of the extras. After all, you are expensive. Ultimately not using it.

After configuring my washing machine with my home Wi-Fi network and updating it with a new firmware (updating a washing machine, me twenty years ago could not have imagined this) the device, ThinQ ecosystem of my home. Just like Samsung does with SmartThings, the integration is very similar.

What can I do when my phone and washing machine are connected? Practically the same thing that the device’s touch panel allowed me to do. Choose the washing cycle, customize the cycles to adapt the process to my needs, know the consumption or status of the washing machine. Maintenance of the drum is also a possibility.

What makes a connected washing machine valuable to me? In my experience there are three:

• Wash completion notifications. I’m so distracted, I might be doing something else and don’t remember the washing machine running. So since I have ThinQ notifications enabled, the washing machine is responsible for notifying me to hang the laundry. As I said, I even get news from television (it is impossible not to learn). And not only that: I can ask Google Assistant how much time the washing machine has left to finish the job. The tech side of me loves this.
• Pause remotely from your mobile phone. That I left the washing machine ready and it would take longer than expected to get home? I can pause the wash cycle and finish it when I get going. In this way, the clothes do not remain damp and sagging. Of course I have to manually enable the option before each loop.
• Cleaning the drum from the phone. I discovered this recently and it looks great: I can make the washing machine clean itself with a single tap on the phone screen. Since I usually don’t remember the laundry until I go to do the laundry, I find it much more practical to set a reminder and press the button. It is also possible to occasionally raise the water temperature to perform extra cleaning and disinfection.

The functions that a smartphone adds to the washing machine are not a matter of life or death, because (almost) everything that can be done from the phone is also done from the device panel. Even if, Being smart brings more convenience. And if integrated into the rest of the home automation ecosystem, all devices win. I find it very practical to have Google Assistant tell me how much is left in the washing machine; such as consumption and knowing when it is time to clean the bucket.

If I had to replace the washing machine, which I hope not, I would still choose the smart one.

It doesn’t matter if you love technology or are just looking for extra convenience: being able to control the washing machine from your mobile phone offers more advantages than you think; without them there would be no life or death, which would always be extra. Since most washing machines already offer smartphone compatibility, they don’t usually come with an extravagant premium. In my case, I install LG ThinQ on all the mobile phones I analyze and monitor the device on the screen. The less the technician has to come, the better.

Cover image | Ivan Linares

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