The removal of contaminants from surfaces and the prevention of their (re)deposition are key performance criteria of formulations used in the home care sector and various other areas of application. Systematic improvement of cleaning efficiency requires a fundamental understanding of how different active components in the formulation interact with the soil and substrate in question. Along the same lines, the need to replace various established cleaning agents with more sustainable and/or less harmful chemistry can be addressed in a much more targeted way if their mode(s) of action are known. In this presentation, we provide new insights into the complex mechanisms at play during the formation, removal and prevention of unwanted deposits under practically relevant conditions. To that end, case studies from diverse disciplines will be discussed, including but not limited to prominent examples like laundry or dishwashing. In each case, the role and interplay of key formulation ingredients such as surfactants, enzymes, functional polymers, small molecules or builders in the cleaning process will be investigated and linked to the respective types of soil and surface. It will further be shown that deep understanding can only be achieved with the help of advanced in-situ characterization techniques, which allow the relevant processes to be experimentally observed as they occur. For the meaningful use of such methods, simplified model systems have been designed to reduce complexity and separately probe certain steps of the entire process. The potential benefits and predictive power of this approach will be critically assessed and complemented by selected sets of data from real-life application tests. Overall, the results of our work demonstrate the value of interfacial physics for the development of next-generation cleaning formulations.