What are soaps ? Give its disadvantage.

Explanation

Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of higher carboxylic acids called fatty acids.
Examples : Sodium sterate, potassium palmitate etc.
Disadvantages of soap : (i) Soaps cannot be used in hard water which contain `Ca^(2+)` or `Mg^(2+)` ions. This because `Ca^(2+)` and `Mg^(2+)` salts of higher fatty acids are insoluble in water.
(ii) Soaps cannot be used in acidic medium because free fatty acids are not soluble in water.