The removal of contaminating soils from textiles is an intensive process requiring large quantities of energy and water.Reducing this environmental impact through more effective detergent formulations is a fundamental challenge in the effort to reduce the impact of human activity on the environment. Effective development of improved formulations will require a greater understanding of the interactions between soil, fabric, and cleaning formulations. However, in situ monitoring of soil removal during the wash process is extremely challenging. We report a method to study these interactions on model fabric surfaces using attenuated total Reflectance infrared spectroscopy under flow conditions.