Lant is an Old English word for aged urine

Urine

Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...

. Collected urine was put aside to ferment until used in many pre-industrial processes, for cleaning floors and making gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 among other things, because of its chemical attributes.

History

Lant had many uses in pre-industrial households. Most often, it was used for cleaning floors

Floor cleaning

Floor cleaning is a major occupation throughout the world. The main job of most cleaners is to clean floors.-Reasons for cleaning floors:The principal reasons for floor cleaning are:...

. It was effective because of the ammonium

Ammonium

The ammonium cation is a positively charged polyatomic cation with the chemical formula NH. It is formed by the protonation of ammonia...

 content. According to early housekeeping guides bedpans

Bedpan

A bedpan or bed pan is an object used for the toileting of a bedridden patient in a health care facility, usually made of a metal, glass, or plastic receptacle. A bed pan can be used for both urinary and fecal discharge. Many diseases can confine a patient to bed, necessitating the use of bedpans,...

 would be collected by one of the younger male servants and put away for aging before use. When partly fermented, the lant is mildly caustic and can be used in the laundry or the mop-bucket.

Other uses

Lant was also recommended to freshen the breath, to flavor ale

Ale

Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...

 (as in "lanted-" or "double-lanted ale") and to glaze hard pastries. In larger cottage industries, lant was used in wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

-processing and as a source of saltpeter

Potassium nitrate

Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...

 for gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

. In times of urgent need and in districts where these were the chief industries, the whole town was expected to contribute to its supply.