I hacked my washing machine • Hacker News Board

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#91

Post by ethan_smith » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:40 AM UTC

firesteelrain wrote: post #36

Assuming the only reason this works is because the washing machine and app don’t use TLS 1.2 and instead some homegrown Caesar cipher? Otherwise, you would need some MitM style attack?

Many of these consumer IoT devices use either plaintext protocols or implement weak encryption with hardcoded keys in the firmware, making packet capture and analysis possible without traditional MitM techniques.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#92

Post by tallanvor » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:41 AM UTC

bob1029 wrote: post #79

imhoguy wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Longer cycle does better job with microbes removal, especially with enzyme and activated oxygen bleach based detergents. In 30 min your machine just "rinses" the laundry to get a scent. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25207988/

The dryer kills the microbes.

Again, Europe. Different from the US. European dryers generally don't heat above 45-60C, which isn't very effective at killing microbes. They do, however, use less electricity and are gentler on fabrics. Personally, though, I hang up my clothes and only use the dryer for sheets and towels.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#93

Post by KolibriFly » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:46 AM UTC

bblou wrote: post #2

I'm surprised you let your washing machine into your network. I now get the appeal of just an alert the washing machine is done. But I could not for the life of me allow any of these kinds of devices onto my home network. Even in isolation...

For some folks the "just let it talk and see what it says" curiosity wins out

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#94

Post by madaxe_again » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:48 AM UTC

grishka wrote: post #48

bombcar wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now I want to know why your washing machine is half a kilometer from your house.

Them living on a farm is the only explanation I can come up with.

Correct. Have several houses on the land, and it made more sense to put the machine where it was both equidistant between them and where the washing line is.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#95

Post by ash_091 » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:48 AM UTC

snickerdoodle12 wrote: post #15

bombcar wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now I want to know why your washing machine is half a kilometer from your house.

Seriously, me too. I also want to know how they transport the laundry to/from the machine. I'm hoping for a conveyor belt of sorts.

A well aimed wind-compensated tshirt cannon.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#96

Post by steven555 » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:50 AM UTC

Im hacking my fridge, its not software but a hardware hack, its an expensive motorhome fridge, runs on gas, 12vd, and 220v, it had an internal fire on the electronic controller, so it fried the cables and internals but the fridge is still more or less ok. the idea, is to rather than buying a new control board (250usd) which would need extensive work to refit as all plugs cables are shot, to replace this with a new system that i basically cobble together out of parts from an old gas boiler, so the gas boiler has all the parts on the motherboard to make the spark generator, for the gas burner, then all i need is the logic and safety, and i might be able to have it run on gas only with some different logic and control, it saves me a new fridge, and its a fun project to show my 9 year old boy about electronic engineering. I know its not a job for everyone as there is gas involved etc. but normally I get a lot of resistance on my similar hacks but when there finished the blowback normally dies down. It's a fun job, if anyone is interested in hearing how it will go, let me know and ill consider making a full post about it.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#97

Post by ash_091 » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:52 AM UTC

m463 wrote: post #37

timedout_uk wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but where's the fun in that :P

The fun is that you can reuse the setup for a japanese toilet, monitor energy use and use the data to play applause sounds in the bathroom after use.

Pretty sure Japanese toilets support this use case natively.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#98

Post by procflora » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:54 AM UTC

bilinguliar wrote: post #20

I suggest pushing washing machine metrics to Prometheus, it just asks for it.

I'd say laundry is more Sisyphean than Promethean in my experience.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#99

Post by johnisgood » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 7:58 AM UTC

tallanvor wrote: post #75

bob1029 wrote: post #74

> when your "three hour" (usually like 4-5 hours) load finishes What kind of laundry cycles are we running here? My machine finishes a normal "eco" cycle in <30 minutes. It also beeps really loudly when it's done. The combination of quick cycles and simple notification signal keeps me out of the weird tech solutions rabbit hole.

I'm guessing you're in the US? European washing machines take longer due to requirements around lower water and electricity usage. Plus, it looks like that device is a combined washer and dryer, and they take even longer. My washer normally takes 104 minutes on the regular cycle, but if it decides I've overloaded it, it can take as long as 3 hours! And mine is just a washer.

I live in Europe, too. I cannot find the pictogram right now, but the one that resembles a feather lasts ~45 minutes and it goes through everything.

Re: I hacked my washing machine

#100

Post by madaxe_again » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:06 AM UTC

snickerdoodle12 wrote: post #15

bombcar wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now I want to know why your washing machine is half a kilometer from your house.

Seriously, me too. I also want to know how they transport the laundry to/from the machine. I'm hoping for a conveyor belt of sorts.

A backpack, currently, although one of my myriad projects is a rack railway for when I am old and feeble.