Sounds, alarms or other indications of conditions of potential interest that are produced by appliances and other household devices are detected by one or more sensors to trigger a notification signal that is sent to a remotely located user. The signals produced by the sensors are advantageously compared with a database of signals representing conditions of potential interest produced by known appliances and devices, producing the appropriate notification signal when a match is found. Notifications may be relayed to one or more selected users only when predetermined conditions are satisfied.