The Working Principle Behind Modern Detergents

What Today's Detergents Do

Unlike the soap and water used by our great-grandparents, modern detergents are technologically quite complex. This is in response to the demands of today's consumer, who expects both soil removal and fabric care.

Modern detergent technology delivers these attributes during laundering through two basic process categories, namely:

Physical removal of soil/stains from garments and chemical modification of soil/stains, either by hydrolysis or oxidation (bleaching), resulting in their solubilization

and/or decolorization

Building Blocks and Performance Enhancers

Surfactants
anionic surfactants
cationic surfactants
nonionic surfactants Oxidizing Agents
hydrogen peroxide
peracids
photo-oxidants Enzymes
lipases
amylases
cellulases
protease Softening Agents
soaps
zeolites
silicates
citrates Polymers
polycarboxylates
polyethylene glycols
cellulose derivatives Other Ingredients
buffers
perfumes
optical brighteners
suds suppressors
chelators