Complex sentence: Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) that is added for cleaning laundry, commonly mixtures of chemical compounds including alkylbenzenesulfonates, which are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water.
Split into simpler sentences: Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) that is added for cleaning laundry. In common usage, "detergent" refers to mixtures of chemical compounds including alkylbenzenesulfonates, which are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water.