Non-aqueous liquid laundry detergents containing three surfactants including a polycarboxylic acid ester of a non-ionic

Claim 1

A substantially non-aqueous liquid detergent composition comprising a surfactant mixture of from about 40% to about 90% by weight of (a) a liquid nonionic surfactant, and from about 10% to about 60% by weight of a complex of (B) an acid-modified nonionic surfactant which is an esterification reaction product between a nonionic surfactant which is a poly(C2 to C3 alkoxylated) fatty alcohol having a terminal hydroxyl group with a polycarboxylic acid or polycarboxylic acid anhydride, and (C) an ethoxylated or propoxylated quaternary ammonium salt surfactant having the formula (I) ##STR8## wherein R 1 is an organic group containing a straight or branched alkyl or alkenyl group optionally substituted with up to 3 phenyl or hydroxy groups, and optionally interrupted by up to 4 structures selected from the group consisting of ##STR9## and mixtures thereof, where R 4 is an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a benzyl group, and which contains from about 8 to 22 carbon atoms, and which may additionally contain up to 12 ethylene oxide groups, R 2 is the group R 1 or an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or a benzyl group; R 3 is the group R 2 or (CH 2 CHZO) q H; Z is hydrogen or methyl, and q and p are, independently, numbers from 1 to 12; and X is a water-soluble anion, said complex comprising a molar ratio of (B)/(C) in the range of from about 3:1 to 1:3.