A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents; often they are the sodium salts of long chain alkyl hydrogen sulphate or a long chain of benzene sulphonic acid. The most commonly found detergents are alkylbenzene sulfonates: a family of soap-like compounds that are more soluble in hard water, because the polar sulfonate is less likely than the polar carboxylate to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water.

A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents; often they are the sodium salts of long chain alkyl hydrogen sulphate or a long chain of benzene sulphonic acid. The most commonly found detergents are alkylbenzene sulfonates: a family of soap-like compounds that are more soluble in hard water, because the polar sulfonate is less likely than the polar carboxylate to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water.