High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Fouling is the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces to the detriment of function. The fouling material can consist of either living organisms (biofouling) or a non-living substance (inorganic or organic). Fouling is usually distinguished from other surface-growth phenomena in that it occurs on a surface of a component, system or plant performing a defined and useful function, and that the fouling process impedes or interferes with this function.