• Detergents that promise brighter whites often contain fluorescent dyes.laundry day image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
  
  Powdered laundry detergents are inexpensive and widely used. From home use to industrial use, the powerful cleaning agents within powdered detergents are strong enough to clean away tough stains without harming sensitive fabric.
  
  

Surfactants

• Short for surface-active agent, surfactants are molecules that are one part hydrophilic (water-preferring) and one part hydrophobic (oil- and fat-preferring). Once a wash cycle begins, a detergent's surfactants cling to both water and oil (or stains at dirt) and remove them from the fabric. When the water is drained from the basin, the surfactant and the dirt attached to it follows.
  
  

Polyethylene Glycol

• This polymer helps keep trapped dirt and oil droplets from redepositing onto clothes during a wash cycle. Polyethylene glycol is very soluble in water. It performs the same job that phosphates used to in commercial and industrial detergent. Carboxy methyl cellulose is a similar polymer that may be used as a substitute.
  
  

Fragrance and Dyes

• Many powdered detergents may contain chemicals that help give clothes a fragrance. Some of these chemicals may irritate sensitive skin and the consumer with allergens should thoroughly read ingredient labels before purchase. Detergents that promise vibrant colors and brighter whites often contain "optical brighteners" in the form of fluorescent dyes.