Let’s be honest: laundry is the one chore that never actually ends. You finish a load, feel a brief flicker of accomplishment, and then somehow there’s already another pile forming in the hamper like it’s multiplying out of spite. Between washing, drying, folding, and the eternal mystery of the one missing sock, laundry quietly eats more of your week than you’d probably like to admit.
Here’s the good news: laundry rooms have become one of the most upgraded spaces in the smart home world. Nobody posts their washing machine on Instagram, but the tech sitting inside (and around) it is genuinely saving people time — real, measurable, “get your evening back” time. Below are ten smart laundry upgrades that are actually on the market today, what they do, and why they’re worth your attention.
1. Smart Washers and Dryers With App Notifications
This one sounds almost too simple, but it might be the single biggest time-saver on this list. Modern connected washers and dryers — think LG’s ThinQ or Samsung’s SmartThings-enabled models — send a notification straight to your phone the moment a cycle finishes. No more setting a random kitchen timer and hoping you remember it, and no more discovering a load of “fresh” laundry that’s been sitting damp for three hours developing a personality of its own.
Many models also let you start, pause, or extend a cycle remotely, so you can throw a load in before work and start it from your desk, timed to finish right as you walk through the door.
Why it saves time: No more walking back and forth to check, and no more re-washing a load because it sat too long.
2. Auto-Dispensing Detergent Systems
Measuring detergent feels like a two-second task until you realize how often you’re doing it — and how often you’re eyeballing it wrong. Auto-dispensing systems, like LG’s ezDispense, store detergent and fabric softener in built-in reservoirs and release the correct amount automatically based on load size and fabric type, often lasting a month or more per fill.
Why it saves time: No more digging through cabinets, no spills, and no more running out mid-cycle because you misjudged how much was left in the bottle.
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3. Smart Garment Steamers and Fabric Refreshers
Ironing is a special kind of chore purgatory — slow, tedious, and somehow always creating one new wrinkle for every one it removes. Garment steamers and closet-style fabric refresher units (like the LG Styler) use steam, and sometimes light agitation, to relax wrinkles and neutralize odors in minutes, no ironing board required.
Why it saves time: A few minutes of steam can replace a full ironing session, and you can freshen up a shirt right before you need to wear it instead of planning a day ahead.
4. Multi-Compartment Rolling Laundry Sorters
Sorting laundry feels small in the moment but adds up fast — standing over a growing pile, separating whites from colors, digging through pockets for stray tissues. Rolling laundry sorters with two or three separate pull-out compartments solve this by letting you sort as clothes go into the hamper, not all at once on laundry day. They’re not app-connected, just genuinely smart design: dedicated sections for lights, darks, and delicates, with wheels so you can roll the whole thing straight to the washer instead of hauling an overflowing basket down two flights of stairs.
Why it saves time: Instead of one dreaded sorting marathon, you’re sorting a few items at a time as they go in — and it barely feels like effort.
5. Heated Drying Racks
Air-drying delicates the old-fashioned way can eat the better part of a day, which means that “quick load” you needed for tomorrow suddenly isn’t quick at all. Electric heated drying racks fold out like a standard rack but include built-in heated bars, cutting drying time dramatically compared to passive air-drying — some models bring clothes from soaked to dry in just a few hours. They’re inexpensive, fold flat for storage, and are a genuinely popular category for apartments, dryer-free homes, or anything too delicate for the tumble dryer.
Why it saves time: No more delicates hanging around for a full day — wash something in the morning, wear it that evening.
6. AI Soil-Sensing Washers
Deciding on the right cycle, water level, and detergent amount for every load is a small decision that adds up over a week’s worth of laundry. Newer washers — like Samsung’s AI Wash and LG’s AI DD (Direct Drive) models — use built-in sensors to detect fabric type, load weight, and soil level, then automatically adjust the wash motion, water level, and cycle length to match, instead of you guessing and hoping for the best.
Why it saves time: No more standing at the dial deciding between “normal,” “heavy duty,” and “delicate” — the machine reads the load and picks for you.
7. Energy-Monitoring Smart Plugs
Not ready to replace your washer and dryer? You don’t have to. Energy-monitoring smart plugs can retrofit almost any older machine with cycle-complete notifications by detecting when the appliance’s power draw drops to near-zero — a reliable sign the cycle has finished — and sending an alert straight to your phone. Some models also let you track exactly how much a load costs to run.
Why it saves time: You get the “cycle’s done” convenience of a brand-new smart machine, for a fraction of the price, on the appliance you already own.
8. Voice-Activated Laundry Timers and Routines
If you’re already using a smart speaker, you might be sitting on an underused laundry hack: voice-activated timers and multi-step routines through Alexa or Google Home. Instead of setting a manual timer, a single phrase can start a countdown, add a reminder, and even trigger a connected fan or heater to turn off once drying’s done.
Why it saves time: One voice command replaces several manual steps, and you don’t have to remember to check your phone.
9. Smart Lint and Vent Maintenance Alerts
Dryer maintenance is the chore nobody remembers until something goes wrong — and a lint-clogged vent doesn’t just slow drying time, it’s a legitimate fire hazard. Newer smart dryers include sensors that track lint buildup and vent airflow, sending a maintenance alert before performance drops, or worse, before it becomes a safety issue.
Why it saves time (and worry): Catching a small problem early is always faster than dealing with a damp load for the third time in a row, or a much bigger issue down the line.
10. Off-Peak Energy Scheduling
Some smart washers and dryers now sync directly with your utility rate structure. Samsung’s SmartThings Optimal Scheduling and LG’s ThinQ let you set your peak and off-peak windows once, and the machine handles the timing from there — running cycles automatically when electricity is cheapest.
Why it saves time: One less thing to think about, with a lower bill as a nice bonus.
The Bottom Line
Laundry will probably never be anyone’s favorite chore, but it doesn’t have to eat hours of your week either. You don’t need to renovate your entire laundry room overnight — the trick is identifying which specific step costs you the most time (sorting, drying, remembering cycle times) and picking the one gadget built to fix exactly that annoyance.
A good place to start: if you’re not ready for a full appliance upgrade, an energy-monitoring smart plug on your existing washer is a genuinely great, low-cost first move. From there, build out one upgrade at a time. Before long, you’ll wonder how you ever tolerated standing next to a dryer, waiting for a buzzer, like it’s still 1998.
