Washing Machines and Dryers with Accessible Apps

By Cowboy, 17 March, 2022

Forum
Smart Home Tech and Gadgets

I think the subject line pretty much says it all. I need to get a new washer and dryer. What have you found to have accessible apps? Thanks in advance.

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Comments

By Kevin Shaw on Monday, March 21, 2022 - 17:58

I just purchased a new stackable Samsung laundry pair from Canadian Appliance Source. I was actually shocked that the online sales person immediately recommended an ADA compliant washer and dryer.

Here are the units I bought. https://www.canadianappliance.ca/Packages/Samsung-WF45R6300AV-Samsung-DVE45R6300V--2438.html

I downloaded the Smart Things app from the App Store. It's very accessible with VoiceOver and the Samsung devices. I have the washer hooked up, but can only see the status of the wash cycle. There is something that needs to be set on the machine itself to allow for smart control which is not being picked up by my phone. I will be hooking up the dryer shortly.

Both the washer and dryer have braille for the power and start buttons as well as tones to indicate which setting you're on. I'm still learning the units, but so far, so good. As with all complex tech, there is a learning curve, but I hope to get super familiar with these units.

By Kevin Shaw on Thursday, April 21, 2022 - 17:58

I've had the washer and dryer pair for 6+ weeks now. After a load goes in, the user must press the smart control button on the touch screen to have the app fully control the washer/dryer. The problem is that this button is not labelled or indicated with a tactile marking on the washer or dryer. Once it has been activated however, your phone will indicate the smart control status has changed.

The app itself is somewhat accessible. Changing things like temperature and the soil level aren't fully responsive. i.e. the state of various buttons aren't properly communicated to VoiceOver. It's clear this app is not coded in Swift. You can choose from what Samsung calls a "laundry recipe" and choose the type of load you have such as bedding, athletic wear, jeans and so on. You can set favourites and recall them.

I am happy to do a longer post on this in future, time permitting.

By anouk85 on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - 17:58

Hi everyone, I would like to add to this subject. I inquired about this on another forum a few months ago:
The miele and bosh/siemens homeconnect apps are apparently accessible. You will just have to find the spot to touch the machine to turn it on and to enable wifi to be able to use the app.
I myself am still curious about the samsung washing machines because they are the cheapest hire.
Is it pobbible to label the on/off and the wifi positions on the screen?
I dont need many things from the machine. I want to use autodose and only use the same stuff for that all the time so I could ask someone to set that up with me.
As for programs I would mostly just like to use the eco program in order to save energy and water.
Is this doable? That machine i ca nbuy for about 600 whole bosch or siemens would be about 1000 so that would be really be nice if I could save on this..
THanks in advance for any ifno,
Greetings, Anouk,

By Kevin Shaw on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - 17:58

The power off/on and the start buttons are labelled in braille beside the touch screen. It would be possible to use a bump dot or some other tactile marker to show the position of the smart control button. I have found myself using the on-machine controls more than the app as I simply need to set the machine to permanent press and hit start.

As mentioned, the app is mostly accessible, but is a bit cumbersome.