Hydroxy alkyl cellulose soil release agent with a cationic group and a C4—C12 hydrophobic group

A soil release agent comprising a modified hydroxyalkyl cellulose in which a hydroxyalkyl cellulose is bound to a cationic group and a hydrophobic group,

• wherein a degree of substitution of an anionic group in the modified hydroxyalkyl cellulose is 0.4 or less, and
• wherein the hydrophobic group includes a hydrocarbon group having 4 to 12 carbon atoms and the hydrophobic group is represented by formula (1):
• *—Z—R1 (1)
• wherein:
• Z represents a single bond or a hydrocarbon group having at least one selected from an oxygen atom and a nitrogen atom;
• R1 represents a hydrocarbon group having 4 to 12 carbon atoms;
• and
• * represents a binding position to a group resulting from eliminating a hydrogen atom from a hydroxy group of a hydroxyalkyl cellulose.