Information About

Detergent
  CATEGORIES ABOUT DETERGENT
   
cleaning products
   
membrane-active molecules
   
APPAREL
BABY
BEAUTY
BOOKS
CAR TOYS
CELL PHONES
DVD'S
ELECTRONICS
GOURMET FOOD
GROCERIES
HEALTH & PERSONAL
HOME & GARDEN
JEWELRY
MUSIC
MUSIC INSTRUMENTS
OFFICE PRODUCTS
SOFTWARE
SPORTING GOODS
TOOLS & HARDWARE
TOYS
VIDEO GAMES
SHOPPING HOME
MORE SHOPPING...



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

Such a substance, especially those made for use with water, may include any of various components having several properties:
  • Surfactant s to 'cut' grease and to wet surfaces

  • Abrasive s to scour

  • substances to modify PH , either to affect performance or stability of other ingredients, or as Caustic s to destroy dirt

  • water "softeners" to counteract the effect of "hardness" ions on other ingredients

  • Oxidant s (oxidizers) for Bleach ing and destruction of dirt

  • materials other than surfactants to keep dirt in Suspension

  • Enzyme s to digest Protein s, Fat s, or Carbohydrate s in dirt or to modify fabric feel

  • ingredients, surfactant or otherwise, modifying the Foam ing properties of the cleaning surfactants, to either Stabilize or Counteract foam plus ingredients having other properties to go along with detergency, such as Optical Brightener s, softeners, etc., and colors, Perfume s, etc.


Not only the material to be cleaned, but also the apparatus to be used, and type of and tolerance for dirt, dictate vast differences in the compositions of detergents. 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 - 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 - for a vehicle in motion.


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 Glyceride s. 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 Surfactant s 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