Answer to Question #299956 in Chemistry for Lawincie Buduan

Question

1. What is the difference between tap water and distilled water?

2. Which is effective in removing oily stains in tap water and distilled water? Is it soap or detergent?

3. How does the hardness of water affect the cleaning performance of soap and detergent?

4.How do builders help in the cleaning process?

Answer 1

1. Distilled water has no minerals, tap water contains minerals.
2. Oily stains in cloth can be removed by the action of soap or detergent in tap or distilled water. Normally one would not use distilled water for cleaning cloth.
3. The harder your water is, cleaning products become less effective as hard water causes difficulty in creating a soapy lather.
4. Builders, in addition to softening, provide a desirable level of alkalinity (increased pH), which aids in cleaning. They also act as buffers to maintain proper alkalinity in wash water. Finally, builders help emulsify oily and greasy soil by breaking it up into tiny globules.