For those of long pockets and short arms and a wife/relative etc. who spins wool. The same carding tools or a carding machine will transform your matted washed tow back to fluffiness in just the same way. Rub the carding handles together or turn the handle on the machine and they will transform your matted dried washed tow into separate aligned strands and then you can ease them off as a fluffy (for a given degree of fluffy) mat all ready for reuse. I bought one large hank of plumbers tow two years ago for my musket. I am still using the first quarter of the hank.
Two scrubs with sopping wet tow to hoist out the majority of the fouling and wet the rest then several passes with dry tow to scour out the remains and dry off the barrel. Clean barrel and no rusting. The service 0.685" ball in a proper paper cartridge allows so much windage that I can use the cheapest dirty powder with no fouling problems. Even in my reduced bore 0.733" Pattern 1841 artillery carbine as well as the 0.760" 1843 HEIC musket.
