Never Forget the Laundry Again
If there’s one universal truth about household chores, it’s this:
The dishwasher finishes the moment you forget it exists, and laundry only becomes urgent once it smells slightly suspicious.
To solve this, I built a set of Home Assistant automations that watch power usage, determine appliance state, and then politely notify us when something is done.
No smart appliances required.
The Hardware: Energy Tells No Lies
At the core of this setup is a Refoss energy monitor, installed at the electrical panel using CT clamps. I found it easy to install, but I’m going to tell you to hire an electrician.
Each appliance (dishwasher, washer, dryer) has its own circuit monitored, giving me real-time power readings straight to Home Assistant.
The Secret Sauce
Instead of relying on a single “power dropped = done” trigger, each appliance uses a three-state lifecycle tracked with a helper:
Off – Appliance is idle
Running – Appliance is actively doing its thing
Done – Appliance finished and is waiting for human intervention
This prevents false alerts when someone opens the door mid-cycle or power briefly dips.
Dishwasher Logic
▶️ When it Starts
Power rises above 5W for 1 minute
Status flips from Off → Running
⏹️ When it Finishes
Power stays below 5W for 5 minutes
Status flips Running → Done
A green indicator on our AWTRIX Kitchen display turns on, a message is displayed and a quick tone is played.
✅ Acknowledgement
Zigbee tilt sensor on the dishwasher door is at 90 degrees for 5 minutes
Status moves Done → Off
Indicator light turns off.
Dryer Logic
Dryers are less subtle, so they get different thresholds.
▶️ When it Starts
Power above 40W for 1 minute
Status flips from Off → Running
⏹️ When it Finishes
Power stays below 50W for 5 minutes
Status flips Running → Done
A cyan indicator on our AWTRIX Kitchen display turns on, a message is displayed and a quick tone is played.
✅ When It’s Acknowledged
Clear button located in the laundry closet is pushed
Status moves Done → Off
Indicator light turns off
I’m only monitoring a single leg of the dryer’s power. The first leg I tried would drop to 0W during cool-down, which caused the notification to fire early. This lead me to believe the drum motor and controls are only powered on the other leg. Moving the CT over made sure the alert only triggers when the dryer is actually finished.
Washer Logic
While working on this project, I found that washers fluctuate wildly. Spin cycles, fills and seemingly random pauses. Our new front load washer is a bit less dramatic since there are no pulses from an agitator.
Additionally, we have a small peltier dehumidifier and the Dyson vacuum charger in the laundry closet which shares a circuit with the washer. I just needed to tune the threshold to account for the power draw of those devices.
▶️ When it Starts
Power above 80W for 1 minute
Status flips from Off → Running
⏹️ When it Finishes
Power below 80W for 5 minutes
Status → Done
A cyan indicator on our AWTRIX Kitchen display turns on, a message is displayed and a quick tone is played.
✅ When It’s Acknowledged
Clear button located in the laundry closet is pushed
Status moves Done → Off
Indicator light turns off
Just One Laundry Button?
I didn’t see a need for separate reset buttons for the washer and dryer. Instead, a single button handles both. When pressed, it only resets appliances that are currently marked as Done, returning them to Off.
For example, if the washer is still running but the dryer has finished and been emptied, pressing the button will only reset the dryer. If both appliances are marked Done, they’ll both be reset—so yes, that’s your cue to empty both.
Notifications That Exist in the Real World
We’re all pretty desensitized to push notifications and text messages. So to ensure it gets our attention in a somewhat subtle way, I use the following:
Indicator lights on the AWTRIX Display in the Kitchen
Audible alerts using RTTTL tones
Why This Works So Well
✔ No smart appliances required
✔ No cloud dependencies
✔ Highly configurable thresholds
✔ Scales easily to other appliances
Final Thoughts
This is one of those automations that quietly becomes essential. Once it’s running, you stop thinking about it and your life adapts to it.
Next up?
I am considering adding a reminder with timing depending on the appliance. A reminder to empty the washer is far more time sensitive. Meanwhile, those dishes can hang out in the dishwasher until tomorrow