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"Phew! I'd know that strong, acrid smell anywhere. This must be a jar of Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover."
Mathilda Grimblehawk[src]

Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover[1] (or just Mrs Skower's Magical Mess Remover for short)[4] was a magical cleaning solution invented some time after 1492.[3]

It was able to clean up ectoplasm left behind by ghostly beings.[3] According to Mathilda Grimblehawk, the solution had a rather distinctive strong, acrid smell.[2] Muggle Laura Thorn said the smell reminded her "of hospitals and dentists".[2]

History[]

"Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover: No Pain, No Stain!"
— Advertisement on blackboard[src]

Porpentina and Queenie Goldstein kept this household product in their New York apartment.[5]

This potion was one of the few products advertised on the blackboard at the Quidditch World Cup in 1994.[6]

As a Squib, Filch may have relied on the product quite heavily, particularly since a whole crate of it was kept stored in the school's broom closet.

Argus Filch tried unsuccessfully to remove the words which Ginny Weasley painted on the wall of the second-floor corridor when she was being possessed by Tom Riddle's diary at Hogwarts with Mrs Skower’s All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover.[1]

Rita Skeeter rested her parchment on a crate of this cleaning solution when she interviewed Harry Potter inside the broom cupboard just before the start of the Wand weighing ceremony in 1994.[7]

Behind the scenes[]

  • The surname Skower is a play on the word scour, which means "to clean by hard rubbing".
  • The name is spelled as "Scower" in the Harry Potter Trading Card Game, but has been spelled "Skower" in all appearances in the books to date.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 (The Writing on the Wall)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World - Case 2: The Smell of Fear, Act 3
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Unused Dialouge - The Cutting Room Floor and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - Nearly Headless Nick describes having to use shovels in his day to remove ectoplasm, and he lived until 1492. In the console versions of the Chamber of Secrets video game, it is said that Mrs Skower's Magical Mess Remover cleans up ectoplasm. Thus, the cleaning solution must have been made after Nick died in 1492, when shovels were still the only option.
  4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
  5. The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 8 (The Quidditch World Cup)
  7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 18 (The Weighing of the Wands)
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