Soap Ingredients

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Cleaning Products Overview

Soaps and Detergents

Ingredients

Ingredients
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Ingredient Key The following key indicates the product category in which an ingredient may be used. The key letters appear below each ingredient.
Personal Cleansing	Laundry	Dishwashing	Household Cleaners

Ingredient	Primary Functions Comments	Typical Examples
Abrasives	Supply smoothing, scrubbing and/or polishing action	Calcite Feldspar Quartz Sand
Acids	Neutralize or adjust alkalinity of other ingredients Some specialty cleaners need extra acidity to remove mineral build-up	Acetic acid Citric acid Hydrochloric acid Phosphoric acid Sulfuric acid
Alkalis	Neutralize or adjust acidity of other ingredients Make surfactants and builders more efficient Increase alkalinity Alkalinity is useful in removing acidic, fatty and oily soils. Therefore, detergents are more effective when they are alkaline.	Ammonium hydroxide Ethanolamines Sodium carbonate Sodium hydroxide Sodium silicate
Antimicrobial agents	Kill or inhibit growth of microorganisms that cause diseases and/or odor	Pine oil Quaternary ammonium compounds Sodium hypochlorite Triclocarban Triclosan
Antiredeposition agents	Prevent soil from resettling after removal during washing	Carboxymethyl cellulose Polycarbonates Polyethylene glycol Sodium silicate
Bleaches	Help whiten, brighten and remove stains
Chlorine bleach	Also disinfects	Sodium hypochlorite
Oxygen bleach	In some products, may be combined with bleach activator for better performance in lower water temperatures.	Sodium perborate Sodium percarbonate
Colorants	Provide special identity to product Provide bluing action	Pigments or dyes
Corrosion inhibitors	Protect metal machine parts and finishes, china patterns and metal utensils	Sodium silicate
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Enzymes	Proteins classified by the type of soil they break down to simpler forms for removal by detergent Cellulase reduces pilling and greying of fabrics containing cotton and helps remove particulate soils.	Amylase (starch soils) Lipase (fatty and oily soils) Protease (protein soils) Cellulase
Fabric softening agents	Impart softness and control static electricity in fabrics	Quaternary ammonium compounds
Fluorescent whitening agents	Attach to fabrics to create a whitening or brightening effect when exposed to daylight Also called optical brighteners.	Colorless fluorescing compounds
Fragrances	Mask base odor of ingredients and package Cover odors of soil Provide special identity to product Provide pleasant odor to clothes and rooms	Fragrance blends
Hydrotropes	Prevent liquid products from separating into layers Ensure product homogeneity	Cumene sulfonates Ethyl alcohol Toluene sulfonates Xylene sulfonates
Opacifiers	Reduce transparency or make product opaque Provide a special effect	Polymers Titanium dioxide
Preservatives	Protect against natural effects of product aging, e.g., decay, discoloration, oxidation and bacterial attack	Butylated hydroxytoluene Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid Glutaraldehyde
Processing aids	Provide important physical characteristics, e.g., proper pour or flow, viscosity, solubility, stability and uniform density Assist in manufacturing	Clays Polymers Sodium silicate Sodium sulfate Solvents
Solvents	Prevent separation or deterioration of ingredients in liquid products Dissolve organic soils Clean without leaving residue Solvents used in cleaning products are water soluble	Ethanol Isopropanol Propylene glycol
Suds control agents	Ensure optimum sudsing (foaming) level needed for a cleaning job
Suds stabilizers	Maintain high sudsing where suds level is an important indicator of cleaning power	Alkanolamides Alkylamine oxides
Suds suppressors	Control sudsing where suds would interfere with cleaning action	Alkyl phosphates Silicones Soap