House Elves and Clothes

[zebco606]

No: HPFGUIDX 65212

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Rachael" <bratty_jedi at h...> 
wrote:
> House Elves can only be freed by getting clothes from their master
> (s), so what about laundry?  I was under the impression that Elves 
> did the laundry at Hogwarts and that Dobby, since he was able to 
iron 
> his hands without anyone noticing anything funny, did the Malfoys' 
> laundry, ironing, etc.  If a wizard hands a stack of dirty clothes 
to 
> an Elf, does he have to precede that action with a statement 
of, "I'm 
> not freeing you, I'm giving you work."?  Obviously to free the 
elf, 
> nothing has to be said along with the clothes or Dobby would not 
be 
> free.  Any suggestions other than I need to stop obsessing over 
Harry 
> Potter so much that I wonder about trivial things like this?
> 
> Rachael
> Bratty

I think the humble laundry hamper is the answer to this question. 
Dobby say that the master must give him clothes and indeed he is 
freed when Lucius Malfoy hands him Harry's dirty sock. 

If it were possible for a house elf to be freed by laundry that they 
have picked up, they wouldn't be able to tidy house (unless the 
owner's NEVER discarded their jackets to the backs of chairs and 
doorknobs) 

I think the act of giving the house elf clothes must be from hand to 
hand in order for the elf to be freed

dorothy