Aqueous light duty cleaning compositions

Coalescence of oil droplets during the dishwashing process can be significantly retarded, without detriment to the spontaneous grease removal properties of the formulation, by the presence of selected polymers having a hydrophilic backbone and hydrophobic side chains. The present invention provides a non-lamellar, unbuilt, aqueous, light duty cleaning composition comprising: a) 2-70 wt.% of surfactant selected from the group comprising: nonionic surfactant, a complex of anionic surfactant and zwitterionic surfactant, a complex of anionic surfactant and amphoteric surfactant and mixtures thereof, and, b) 0.02-7 wt.% of a polymer, said polymer comprising a negatively charged or neutral hydrophilic backbone with at least one hydrophobic and oil-soluble side chain wherein the ratio of polymer to surfactant falls in the range to 1:100-1:10. The invention also provides a process which comprises the step of treating the surfaces of the dishes with a composition as described. It is believed that the oil-soluble hydrophobic side chains of the polymer partition into oil droplets, while the hydrophilic backbone remains in the waterphase to stabilise the droplets against coalescence through a combination of steric hindrance and electrostatic repulsion.