The Scouring Charm is a common household spell used for cleaning. It is a fundamental piece of magic learned by young witches and wizards and is used frequently for domestic chores and to clean up messes. Known uses and users from the novels include:
The Scouring Charm is a standard spell taught in Charms class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is part of the curriculum for the Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) examinations, which are taken at the end of the fifth year. This placement suggests it is considered a foundational spell for any competent witch or wizard. There is no specific counter-spell mentioned. However, when James Potter used the charm on Severus Snape, Lily Evans was able to stop its effect with a general counter-jinx.
The most common incantation, Scourgify, is derived from the English verb “to scour,” meaning “to clean or brighten the surface of something by rubbing it hard.” The suffix “-ify” comes from Latin (-ificare) and means “to make” or “to cause to be.” Therefore, the incantation literally means “to make scoured” or “to cause to be cleaned.”