Every student who has done laundry in a residence hall has probably been forced to take a stranger’s wet clothes out of the washing machine at some point; it’s basically a rite of passage for college students.

As if timers on smartphones didn’t make laundry easy enough for residence-hall dwellers, Penn State Housing is now piloting an app that sends text messages or email alerts to students when their cycle is complete. Students who live in Sproul Hall can now use the WashAlert app, which was developed by Caldwell & Gregory.

Evidently, students were spending too much time waiting around to do laundry, so the Association of Residence Hall Students (ARHS) is tackling the problem with the app. Another feature on the WashAlert app is that students can see which machines are available and can track how much time remains on the machine. Additionally, students can submit services messages when machines aren’t working correctly.

Maybe now students in Sproul can be spared from touching their neighbor’s wet underwear — or maybe not. Penn State will evaluate feedback from Sproul and decide if WashAlert should be implemented on a campus-wide scale.