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 Detergents and soaps are used for cleaning because pure water can't remove oi♥ly, organic soiling. Soap cleans by acting as an emulsifier. Basi​cally, soap allows oil and water to mix so that oily grime can be remove‌d during rinsing. Detergents were developed in response ✔to the shortage of the animal and vegetable fats used to make soap dur↑ing World War I and World War II. Detergents are primarily surfactants, whic h could be produced easily from petrochemicals. Surfactants lower the surface tension of water→, essentially making it 'wetter' so that it is less likely to stick to itself and more likely to  interact with oil and grease.

Modern detergents contain more than surfactants. Cleaning products may also contai∏n enzymes to degrade protein-based stains, bleaches to de-color stains and •add power to cleaning agents, and blue dyes to counter yell¥owing. Like soaps, detergents have hydrophobic or water-hating molecular chains and hydr₽ophilic or water-loving components. The hydrophobic hydrocarbons are repelled by w≈ater, but are attracted to oil and grease. The hydrophil¥ic end of the same molecule means that one end of the molecule will be attractedε to water, while the other side is binding to oil. Neither detergents nor soap accompl∏ish anything except binding to the soil until some mechanical energy or a↑gitation is added into the equation. Swishing the soapy water around allows theδ soap or detergent to pull the grime away from clothes or dishe↕s and into the larger pool of rinse water. Rinsing washes the detergent and soil away. Warm or hot  water melts fats and oils so that it is easier for the soap or ♠detergent to dissolve the soil and pull it away into the rinse water∞. Detergents are similar to soap, but they are less likely to form films (soap scum) anΩd are not as affected by the presence of minerals in water (hard water).

Modern detergents may be made from petrochemicals or from oleochemicals derived from plants and aδnimals. Alkalis and oxidizing agents are also chemic∞als found in detergents. Here's a look at the functions these molecules serv↔e:

• Petrochemicals/Oleochemicals
  These fats and oils are hydrocarbon chains which are attracted to the oily and gre∞asy grime.
• Oxidizers
  Sulfur trioxide, ethylene oxide, and sulfuric acid are among the molecules used to produc♦e the hydrophilic component of surfactants. Oxidizers provide an energy souπrce for chemical reactions. These highly reactive compounds also act as bleaches.
• Alkalis
  Sodium and potassium hydroxide are used in detergents even as they are used in so±apmaking. They provide positively charged ions to promote chemical reactions.