Soaps clean well, but hard water reduces their effectiveness and they react with the minerals in the water to form residues such as soap scum that are hard to rinse away. Enter the synthetic detergent which is formulated to resist hard water minerals and still perform the soil separation and suspension needed for effective cleaning.

 

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Detergents are designed for specific purposes. A laundry detergent has a different makeup from a floor or hard surface detergent. Some detergents are high sudsing; others don’t generate many suds at all, due to the addition of control agents. Some detergents come in liquid form and others are sold as powders.

The basic ingredient in detergent, called a surface-active agent (surfactant), is generally synthetic, meaning that it is chemically constructed from raw materials other than soap. This eliminates the problems associated with soaps while retaining the needed wetting, emulsifying, and suspension capabilities. A builder is usually added to inactivate water hardness.

Four types of detergents are commonly used in the home:

 

1. Laundry detergents, often called heavy duty or all-purpose.
2. Light duty detergents
3. Hard surface cleaners
4. Automatic dishwasher detergents
   

Reference:

The Soap and Detergent Association, “A Handbook of Industry Terms”