Scouring Charm

• Incantation: Scourgify
• Pronunciation: skur-jih-fy
• Wand Movement: Unknown
• Light: None described
• Effect: To magically scrub an object, area, or person clean. When used on a person, it often manifests as soap filling the target's mouth.
• Type: Charm

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:

• James Potter used the charm offensively on Severus Snape during their Hogwarts years. The spell forced soap bubbles to froth from Snape's mouth, indicating it had been magically washed out.
• Nymphadora Tonks cast Scourgify to instantly clean Hedwig's very dirty cage after arriving at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
• Ginny Weasley used the charm to clean up Stinksap from herself, Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood, as well as the interior of their Hogwarts Express compartment, after Neville's Mimbulus mimbletonia sprayed its contents everywhere.
• Harry Potter attempted to use a Scouring Charm to clean grime off Slytherin's Locket, but the magic of the Horcrux rendered it impervious to the spell's effect.
• Hermione Granger briefly considered using a Scouring Charm to clean one of Ron Weasley's dirty handkerchiefs while they were hunting for Horcruxes.

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.”

• The Scouring Charm, along with spells like the Packing Charm and Reparo, is a key example of how the wizarding world integrates magic into everyday domestic life, automating tasks that would be manual for Muggles.
• In the mobile game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, the player's character is taught the Scouring Charm by Professor Filius Flitwick in Charms class. (video game)