Soap Facts

Some soap is natural; all detergents are synthetic.
All soaps and detergents clean with a ‘surfactant.
Surfactants are molecules that attach themselves to particles of dirt on dirty surfaces and lift them away.
Surfactants work because one part of them is hydrophilic (attracted to water) and the other is hydrophobic (repelled by water).
The hydrophobic tail of a surfactant digs its way into the dirt; the other tail is drawn into the water.
Surfactant molecules in soap lift dirt off dirty surfaces.
Soaps increase water’s ability to make things wet by reducing the surface tension of the water.
Soap is made from animal fats or vegetable oil combined with chemicals called alkalis, such as sodium or potassium hydroxide.
Most soap includes perfumes, colors and germicides (germ-killers) as well as a surfactant.
The Romans used soap over 2000 years ago.
Detergents were invented in 1916 by German chemist, Fritz Gunther.

This entry is filed under Interesting Facts.