Editing Fulling (section)

===Scouring===
{{main|scouring (textiles)}}
Urine was so important to the fulling business that it was [[urine tax|taxed]] in [[Ancient Rome]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-04-14|title=Feeling Overtaxed? The Romans Would Tax Your Urine|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/160414-history-bad-taxes-tax-day|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413153044/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/160414-history-bad-taxes-tax-day|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 13, 2021|access-date=2021-09-20|website=History|language=en}}</ref> Stale urine, known as wash or [[lant]], was a source of [[ammonium]] salts and assisted in cleansing and whitening the cloth and having its fibers intertwined.

By the medieval period, [[fuller's earth]] had been introduced for use in the process. This is a soft clay-like material occurring naturally as an impure [[hydrous]] [[aluminium silicate]]. Worked through the cloth, it absorbs oils and dirt. It was used in conjunction with wash. More recently, soap has been used.