> Any input would be appreciated, both about the actual current
> sensing as well as the delivery mechanism from the garage (no
> cat5 drop; wireless?) to my room (my computer or otherwise)

I don't think you'd need to isolate any particular wire to use a Hall
Effect clamp. A washer/drier would be drawing a fairly high current
that could be picked up pretty easily. You can get some pretty cheap
(NZ$10) 433MHz transceivers for comms, or make an FM "bug"
to transmit a beep in the broadcast band that you could pick up
on an ordinary radio

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