Soaps | Detergents | |
1. | Soaps are the sodium salts of long chain carboxylic acids | Detergents are sodium salts of long chain benzene sulphonic acids |
2. | The ionic group in soaps is –COO-Na+ | The ionic group in soaps is SO3-Na+ or SO4-Na+ |
3. | Soaps are not useful when water is hard | Detergents can be used for washing purposes even when water is hard |
4. | Soaps are biodegradable | Some of the detergents are non-biodegradable |
5. | Soaps have relatively weak cleansing action | Detergents have a strong cleansing action |