Almost all of the standard test methods for measuring moisture in lint cotton utilize the oven-drying technique. The loss in weight is taken as the amount of water and is expressed as a percentage of the mass of either the moist or dried material. There is a need to review the standard methods and compare terminology, procedures, the quantities that are calculated and measured and the known biases, and available accuracy and precision data. This review covers the standard test methods – voluntary, national and international – for moisture in lint cotton in eleven countries that represent all six continents. Examples of the moisture terminology presented in this review include: oven dry, bone dry, moisture equilibrium and moisture free. Procedural examples demonstrate wide ranges in the oven method specifications: sample analyzed, 1 to > 50 g; conditioning prior to drying, from none to optional to yes; standard testing environment (70o F and 65 % RH), from none to optional to required; and oven temperature, generally 105o C to 110o C. To help understand the various moisture quantities that are calculated in the methods and provide for direct comparability, simple formulas are presented in terms of the quantities measured and the known biases. In the reviewed standards, these biases are assumed equal to zero, ignored, or the standard method eliminates a specific bias. In terms of round trials, there is no quantitative accuracy information; however, the biases are readily admitted in the standards. Between-laboratories precision is generally poor or is lacking.
