Alkaline cleaning compositions with combined highly hydrophilic and highly hydrophobic nonionic surfactants

An aqueous alkaline cleaning composition comprising, by weight of the total neat composition, from 0.5% to 30% of a nonionic surfactant system and from 0.1% to 10% of alkanolamine, characterized in that said nonionic surfactant system consists essentially of alkoxylated alcohols, alkoxylated phenylalcohols, or mixtures thereof and that:

• at least 0.1% by weight of the total neat composition is a first highly hydrophilic nonionic surfactant of the formula RO-(C.sub.2 H.sub.4 O).sub.n (C.sub.3 H.sub.6 O).sub.m H wherein R is a C.sub.8-22 alkyl chain or a C.sub.8-28 alkyl benzene chain, n and m are each from 0 to 100 and n+m is from 6 to 100, said first highly hydrophilic nonionic surfactant having an HLB of from 12 to 20, and
• at least 0.1% by weight of the total neat composition is a second highly hydrophobic nonionic surfactant of the formula RO-(C.sub.2 H.sub.4 O).sub.n (C.sub.3 H.sub.6 O).sub.m H wherein R is as defined above, n and m are each from 0 to 5 and n+m is from 0.5 to 5, said second highly hydrophobic nonionic surfactant having an HLB of from 2 to 10 and at least 4 less than the HLB of said first highly hydrophilic nonionic surfactant.