Detergent

Detergent is a compound, or a mixture of compounds, intended to assist cleaning.

Composition

Such a substance, especially those made for use with water, may include different components having some or all of the following properties:
* surfactant to 'cut' grease and to wet surfaces
* abrasive to scour
* substances to modify pH or to affect performance or stability of other ingredients, acids for descaling or caustics to destroy dirt
* water "softeners" are used to counteract the effect of "hardness" ions on other ingredients
* oxidants (oxidizers) for bleaching and destruction of dirt
* materials other than surfactants to keep dirt in suspension
* enzyme to digest proteins, fats, or carbohydrates in dirt or to modify fabric feel
* ingredients, surfactant or otherwise, modifying the foaming properties of the cleaning surfactants, to either stabilize or counteract foam plus ingredients having other properties to go along with detergency, such as optical brighteners, softeners, etc., and colors, perfumes, etc.

Not only does the material to be cleaned dictate what compositions of detergent should be used, but also the apparatus to be used, and tolerance for dirt. For instance, the following are all examples of glass-cleaning agents; however, they demonstrate the importance of context in the selection of an appropriate glass-cleaning agent.
*A chromic acid solution is used to get glass very clean for certain precision-demanding purposes, namely in analytical chemistry,
* A high foaming mixture of surfactants with low skin irritation - for hand washing of drink glasses in a sink or dishpan,
* Any of various non-foaming compositions - for glasses in a dishwashing machine,
* An ammonia-containing solution - for cleaning windows with no rinsing,
* Windshield washer fluid is used for a vehicle in motion.

Terminology

Sometimes the word "detergent" is used in distinction to "soap". For a while during the infancy of other surfactants as commercial detergent products, the term "syndet", short for "synthetic detergent" was promoted to indicate this, but never caught on too well, and is incorrect in any event because soap is itself synthesized via saponification of glycerides. The term "soapless soap" also saw a brief vogue. Unfortunately there is no accurate term for detergents not made of soap other than "soapless detergent" or "non-soap detergent".

Also, the term "detergent" is sometimes used for surfactants in general, even when they are not used for cleaning. As can be seen above, this too is terminology that should be avoided as long as the term "surfactant" itself is available.

Technically plain water, if used for cleaning, is a detergent. Probably the most widely used detergents other than water are soaps or mixtures composed chiefly of soaps. However, not all soaps have significant detergency. Often the word "soap" is used to indicate any detergent, especially those that have characteristics similar to those of soap; it's hard to beat a 4-letter word for popularity, even at the cost of precision.

See also

* Detergent compositions or components

Sources

* Much of this page was copied from: Detergents guide