Liquid detergent compositions containing stabilizers to prevent phase separation

An aqueous liquid detergent composition having suspending properties which comprises:

• (1) from 5 to 50% by weight of detergent-active mixture consisting essentially of:
• (a) a detergent-active material selected from the group consisting of nonionic detergent-active materials and anionic derivatives of polyalkoxylated nonionic detergent-active materials, and
• (b) a detergent-active material selected from the group consisting of anionic detergent-active materials other than component (a) and cationic detergent-active materials, the weight ratio between component (a) and component (b) being within the range of 1:5 to 1:1;
• (2) from 3 to 50% by weight of one or more salting-out electrolytes selected from the group consisting of the alkali metal and ammonium orthophosphates, -pyrophosphates, -tripolyphosphates, -silicates, -borates, -carbonates, -sulphates, -citrates, -nitrilotriacetates and -carboxymethyloxysuccinates in an amount that would cause the component (1) surfactants to salt out during a storage period of 14 days or less in the absence of component (3);
• and
• (3) from 0.1 to 30% by weight of a stabilizing compound or mixture of stabilizing compounds selected from the group consisting of:
• (I) anionic alkylpolyalkyleneoxide derivatives having the formula
• Y--(CH.sub.2).sub.p --[O--(CH.sub.2).sub.n ].sub.z --O--(CH.sub.2).sub.q --X,
• (II) anionic di(alkylpolyalkyleneoxide) derivatives having the formula:
• ##STR5## (III) anionic di(alkylpolyalkyleneoxide) derivatives having the formula:
• ##STR6## in which X is a salt of a mono-valent oxygen-containing anionic group, Y is hydrogen or a salt of a mono-valent oxygen-containing anionic group, Z is a phosphate or phosphonate salt, R is C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkynyl, q is 0-4, p is 0-4, z is 4-10, x is 0-10, y is 0-10 and x+y is 4-10 and n is 2-3, said stabilizing compound being present in an amount sufficient to prevent phase separation for a storage period of at least 60 days.