Clean My Space x LG Canada Ultimate Laundry Room

Look, I don’t have great luck with acquiring washing machines and dryers. I know how to use them, I know how to clean them, but when I move into a new home, I tend to acquire the most rickety laundry machines.

When we were looking at our now new home in the summer of 2018, there was one thing I noticed that was severely lacking—a proper laundry room. The laundry room that the previous homeowners had—bless them—was just not in line with the needs of a growing family. They had raised their kids in the 80’s and had since obtained smaller laundry machines (in the 90’s no less!) and made their mudroom part laundry room. When we bought the home, we knew the laundry room needed an overhaul. The small, stacked, dingy machines and old counter with kitchen sink were not going to work for our needs. We decided that eventually we’d relocate our laundry room to the basement and create our fantasy laundry space (yes, we really do fantasize about that), but for now we would have to do a little in-between reno making the laundry room go from what it was—aged and not functional for us—to workable and powerful in a small, multipurpose space.

In our old home, our dryer gave out after a few years of service and we replaced our ailing laundry pair with a set of sleek LG models. We loved them and actually let the new homeowners know that was what we would miss the most moving out of the house—especially knowing what we were about to inherit. Fun fact: I even asked our agent if we could sell the house without the machines and she told me absolutely not. And of course, right on cue, a few weeks after we moved into our new house the washing machine we inherited completely conked out on us. In the middle of a load… of a poopy diaper explosion. There was water. The water was not clean and did not smell good. I did not enjoy cleaning the mess up. It was not pretty nor fun. I never want to re-live that moment again.

Having the same experience this time around, I kind of panicked: we had a lot of other expenses on the go and this was the last thing we needed. Plus, I NEEDED a washer and dryer. My little stain producer didn’t care if we had working machines or not—she went to daycare and did her messy business regardless of our situation. I needed a solution, and fast. While I did consider price, I also considered longevity and the fact that paying a little less now for a machine that wasn’t quite right for us in the long run was a waste. I decided to go all in and get what I wanted. I started looking online to see what sort of machines I’d be buying. Reliable appliances are crucial to keeping a home running smoothly and happily. I need something large, energy efficient, front loading with pedestals, something that has many cycle options, a trusted brand… I essentially wanted to get the souped-up version of the machines we had left behind in our own home. I had them saved to my shopping cart and was waiting to review it with Chad. The tab was open for a couple of days on my browser as other things popped up around the house that needed to be handled on the spot. Just as the universe would have it, I got an email from LG literally two days after this whole fiasco went down offering me a chance to participate in their Ultimate Laundry Room Makeover—20 Canadian influencers were invited to do this and I WAS ONE! I get that this was a stroke of luck (50 strokes, maybe?), but boy was I ever glad to be in the right place at the right time. I’d be getting the exact appliances I loaded up my virtual cart with. For real!! It was a cleaning expert’s dream come true.

LG invited us to this exciting reveal event with Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha who walked us through LG’s latest and greatest in laundry technology—not like we needed to be sold on it, having used them for the past several years. This included the LG TWINWash^® machine for big loads that require fast and deep cleaning (yes please!), and the LG SideKick™ pedestal washer for small loads such as a few garments that you want clean but don’t want to wait for a larger load, or one-off items that need cleaning, or a separate load of delicates that I’d want to clean while running a larger load (or a single delicate item that I didn’t want to mix in with everything else). In other words, with these you can do two loads at once or, just a mini-load more efficiently, or a large load as usual.

Did I mention that the washer and dryer are Wifi connected so you can activate the load with your phone? This is handy because, if I am out and know I don’t want to run my load until say 30 minutes before I get home, I can do this. Both the washer and dryer have steam technology to reduce 99.9% of allergens yet they are still gentle on clothing. The dryer offers up many cycles including steam options to help reduce wrinkles. I love being able to adjust the dry time if I need to, or the ‘more dry’ feature if I know I’ve got a heavy load coming in that will need some extra time in there.

Being familiar with the performance of LG machines already, I was impressed but not surprised that these worked like a charm and fit right in. A small and nerdy detail that I totally love is that the machines come with a handy laminated card that you can affix to your washer and dryer that helps you choose the best cycle for your load, which helps me get the most out of these machines. It can be daunting to understand how to use them (are you sitting down to read the user manual a few times until you know it by heart? I’m not.), and then we don’t get the maximum benefit from all of the amazing cycles. The handy card helps a lot. Plus, and I’ll stop gushing about a washer and dryer now, THE SONG. The song that the machines play when the load is done is the happiest little jingle that every LG laundry fan knows and loves. I was so happy to hear it again. There’s probably some nerdy subreddit dedicated to fans of this song.

But here’s a fun little (big) extra that came my way, too: the LG Styler! If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a steam closet that helps prolong the life of garments and reduces the need for specialty cleaning. It doesn’t quite replace the dry cleaner because it doesn’t wash clothing and remove stains, but it sure keeps you further and further away by freshening up (read: removing odors!) and de-wrinkling all sorts of garments. I’ll admit, the fridge-height tower intimidated me at first; I had no idea what to do with it. But after leafing through the instructions, I set mine up—it was way easier than I had thought because it doesn’t hook up to a water source—and started Styling. The machine is able to use steam to kill allergens, which is perfect for some of Riley’s stuffed toys that we can’t wash. There are a few things around the house that I’ve been meaning to take to the dry cleaner (perhaps for longer than I’d like to admit) that weren’t stained per se, but certainly needed to get a refresh. One item, in particular, is a large Aritzia scarf I have that I travel everywhere with. The darn thing isn’t machine washable so I’ve never cleaned it and I shudder to think of what’s living on there. It was hung in the Styler and voila, came out smelling like nothing and feeling SO much better. Then, my extended family started to get excited about it: in came a hopeless winter jacket that was worn after several hot yoga classes and smelled like it, stuffed animals, wool hats, stinky non-washable throw pillows… the list goes on.

Let me just say—the Styler came through with gusto. I use it to remove wrinkles from shirts I want looking their best but I don’t feel like steaming (note: it won’t give you that freshly ironed look with the sharp press lines, but it will de-wrinkle flawlessly), Chad uses it to freshen up his suit jackets and sport coats—it’s become a welcome addition to our laundry room. It is also Wifi-enabled, which allows for downloading extra cycles and operating the LG Styler when you’re not home. For a busy professional or family that wants to look their best and keep dry cleaning bills and trips down, the LG Styler makes so much sense. I’ve actually found many more uses for it outside of just clothing, which is why I think it’s a valuable addition to any laundry room. It opens up the possibilities of what you can clean at home. My one note: for people with a smaller space—it might be a challenge to decide where to locate it. I’ve seen videos of die-hards keeping it in their bedroom or in a closet just to make it work.

So, for a good long time we will be operating in our less-than-magazine/Instagram-worthy laundry/mudroom. But at least I can say this: no matter what that room looks like, my clothes, towels, linens and any other soft goods in my house will be laundered and refreshed with ease and look impeccable.

DISCLOSURE: This post was sponsored by LG Electronics Canada—for working with them in this program, they sent me a total of 5 pieces: WM5000HVA_WD100CV_DLEX5000V_WDP4V 6.3 Total Capacity LG TWINWash™ Bundle with LG SideKick™ and Electric Dryer and the S3RFBN LG Styler – Smart wi-fi Enabled Steam Clothing Care System. That said, if I didn’t already love the LG laundry line, I wouldn’t have agreed to work with them on this program. What I have said in here is heartfelt, pure enthusiasm for what I believe to be exceptional laundry appliances.