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Question
Why the cleaning action of soap is more in soft water ?
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Solution
Soft water has no calcium and magnesium ions and is free from all ions. So the soap has more cleansing action with soft water.
Cleansing action of soap is mainly due to the following.
Clothes become dirty due to the deposition of dirt (dust/smoke along with oily/greasy substances). Such oily/greasy dirt is not wetted by water. When a dirty fabric or a piece of dirty cloth is dipped into soap solution, the hydrocarbon end of the soap anion dissolves in the oil/grease, and the polar end (-COO-) is directed towards water. Thus, a number of hydrocarbon chains get embedded into the dirt particle, and a micelle is formed. These micelles are negatively charged. Being similarly charged, they repel each other. These emulsified dirt particles (micelles) get washed away in water during rinsing.
Cleansing action of soap is mainly due to the following.
Clothes become dirty due to the deposition of dirt (dust/smoke along with oily/greasy substances). Such oily/greasy dirt is not wetted by water. When a dirty fabric or a piece of dirty cloth is dipped into soap solution, the hydrocarbon end of the soap anion dissolves in the oil/grease, and the polar end (-COO-) is directed towards water. Thus, a number of hydrocarbon chains get embedded into the dirt particle, and a micelle is formed. These micelles are negatively charged. Being similarly charged, they repel each other. These emulsified dirt particles (micelles) get washed away in water during rinsing.
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