Question

why detergent is preferred over soap for claning action?

Answer 1

Detergents are salts of higher sulphonic acids.The main component of a detergent is the surfactants or the surface active agents. These surfactants work primarily to reduce the surface tension between 2 phases. When a detergent is added to water, it forms a micelle (or a surfactant cloud) around the dirt particles. A synthetic detergent is made up of chemical compounds like fatty acid salts (aliphatic) or aromatics like linear alkyl benzene.

The cleansing action of detergent is very much similar to that of soap.The only difference is that detergents work with hard water also.It does not react with Ca and Mg salts and hence do not form scum.and form a large amount of lather.

Advantages of using Detergent

Detergent works properly even if the water is hard

Detergents give lather with hard water