The present invention relates to a surfactant mixture comprising (A) a short-chain component comprising the alkoxylation product of alkanols, where the alkanols have 8 to 12 carbon atoms and the average number of alkoxy groups per alkanol group in the alkoxylation product assumes a value from 3 to 30 and the alkoxy groups are chosen from the group consisting of ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy and pentoxy groups and the alkanols have an average degree of branching of at least 1; and (B) a long-chain component comprising the alkoxylation product of alkanols where the alkanols have 13 to 20 carbon atoms and the average number of alkoxy groups per alkanol group in the alkoxylation product assumes a value from 3 to 30 and the alkoxy groups are chosen from the group consisting of ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy and pentoxy groups and the alkanols have an average degree of branching of from 0.0 to 0.3; and phosphate esters, sulfate esters and ether carboxylates thereof. In addition, the present invention relates to a formulation comprising such surfactant mixtures, and to the use of these, for example for the cleaning of hard surfaces.