Question 1) Is it OK to scrub your leather shoes to get mud off them?

Question 2) What about to clean your couch with some water?

Question 3) Are you allowed to wash a metal pot on Shabbos?

Question 4) Is it OK to remove a stain a baby has made on your shirt by rubbing it, even without water?

Question 5) What about shaking out a wet coat after coming in from the rain?


Cleansing absorbent materials that have absorbed soil grime or other impurities is the melacha of Scouring.

Any type of washing, soaking, squeezing or even scrubbing a material that is dry is included in this melacha.

It applies to any soft or pliant materials including natural or synthetic fabrics, leathers or canvas materials.

It applies to non garments too, so it's also a problem to wash or the like to carpets, leather and fabric upholstery, or string.

The melacha applies even if the stains are not removed but only improved, eg its not ok to dab water onto a wine stain on a blouse to dilute the stain because causing a stain to fade is a significant improvement to the garment.

It is only a problem with pliable or porous materials so hard completely non absorbent materials like glass, ceramic, wood etc are not included, as they don't absorb any tangible dirt or grime. 
This explains why it's ok to wash dishes, pots and pans on shabbos (assuming they are needed for shabbos use, you don't pour boiling hot water onto the grease, and it's done with a type of sponge that's acceptable, ie don't use a wet sponge or rag!).

There are 3 methods through which 1 can violate this melacha:

1) Soaking

When liquid saturates a cloth it has the effect of loosening soil and stains.
So, soaking a fabric in any clear liquid is a problem even if no scrubbing or squeezing is done, and even if the stain doesn't disappear, eg, you can't sprinkle water onto a clean shirt.

Paper napkins and paper towels (that has been pre cut before shabbos) may be wetted for wiping a counter top, but don't squeeze them while wiping.

2) Scrubbing

Rubbing or scrubbing a garment even when dry to remove a stain is the melacha because the friction of the scrubbing forces out dirt. This can be whether you scrub with a brush, another part of the garment or even with your hands, eg one can't remove a stain by folding over part of the garment and rubbing it against your skin. 
Even to rub a leather belt clean is a problem!

3) Squeezing

Squeezing or exerting strong pressure on a wet fabric effectively flushes out the saturated moisture, eg squeezing, wringing etc.

Any form of forcing out liquid is a problem even by vigorous shaking, so one mustn't shake out their wet raincoat.
Note, a plastic raincoat could be, as it's non absorbent.

Even to walk or step on carpet that's wet to press out the moisture isn't ok!
The way to deal with a spill is to gently place paper towels over the area to absorb the surface liquid.

It's not ok to use a mop as it's designed to be wrung out regularly.

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