Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered with water. Many ads for detergent talk about the clean smell of the clothes after using their detergent. A nice perfumy smell. Clean clothes have no odor at all. Many of us walk around in perfume impregnated clothes.
Perfumes are chemical compounds known as aromatics.
They have a tendency to weave their way into tight spaces like in our bodies and for some of us this spells trouble in the form of environmental sensitivities. Some of those red eyes and runny noses are not because of allergies, but due to the perfume and detergents left behind in our clothes. Water is a uniquely polar molecule, like a little magnet, and its polar nature allows it to dissolve almost anything. And being such a good solvent you would expect that water alone could make a good cleaning agent. And you would be right.