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Explain cleansing action of detergents.

Since a detergent is a made up of two parts: a long hydrocarbon part and a short ionic part containing –COONa+ group.

The long hydrocarbon chain is hydrophobic, so the hydrocarbon part of detergent molecule is insoluble in water but soluble in oil and grease. The ionic part of detergent molecule is hydrophilic so it is soluble in water but insoluble in oil and grease.

When the detergent added to dirty clothes, which contains grease and oily substances, the greasy and oily dirt particles attach themselves to the hydrocarbon part and ionic part remains attached to the water. When the dirty clothes are agitated in a detergent solution, the dirt particles attached to the hydrocarbon part molecule get washed away in water and the clothes get cleaned.

hydrocarbons-chains-layers

Cleansing Action of Detergents : Detergents in Hard Water

Synthetic detergents can lather well even in hard water because they do not form insoluble calcium or magnesium salts on reacting with the calcium and magnesium ions present in the hard water. Whereas when we talk about soaps, they are not suitable in hard water as they form insoluble calcium or magnesium salts on reacting with the calcium and magnesium ions present in the hard water.

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Detergents are a type of surface active agent or surfactant that consists of a hydrophobic "tail" (usually hydrocarbon) and a hydrophilic "head" (this may be from a range of anionic, non-ionic, cationic or zwitterionic chemical groups). In aqueous solution the surfactant molecules tend to form "micelle" structures in order to keep their tails together and away from the solution phase. It is possible for the oily molecules in most dirt to enter the centre of these micelles and therefore be effectively dispersed in the water and washed away. This process proceeds much more rapidly with some mechanical action which is why scrubbing, mixing etc. is usually required.?
However, commercial detergent systems are usually quite complex and include a range of other chemicals as well as the surfactant(s) in order to improve the effectiveness of the composition.
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i dont know
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this is caused by the reaction of soap with the calcium and magnesium salts, which causes the hardness of water hence , you need to use a large  amount of soap . this problem is over come by useing another class of compounds called detergents as clean agents . detergent are generally ammonium or sulphonate salts of long chain carboxylic acids  
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Detergents are a type of surface active agent or surfactant that consists of a hydrophobic "tail" (usually hydrocarbon) and a hydrophilic "head" (this may be from a range of anionic, non-ionic, cationic or zwitterionic chemical groups). In aqueous solution the surfactant molecules tend to form "micelle" structures in order to keep their tails together and away from the solution phase. It is possible for the oily molecules in most dirt to enter the centre of these micelles and therefore be effectively dispersed in the water and washed away. This process proceeds much more rapidly with some mechanical action which is why scrubbing, mixing etc. is usually required.?
However, commercial detergent systems are usually quite complex and include a range of other chemicals as well as the surfactant(s) in order to improve the effectiveness of the composition.
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i think it is clear to u

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