Washing agents contain, as additives for inhibiting redeposition and promoting the primary washing action, homopolymers of acrylic acid and of methacrylic acid, copolymers of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid and copolymers which contain, as essential components,(a) an ethylenically unsaturated dicarboxylic acid of 4 to 6 carbon atoms and(b) acrylic acid, methacrylic acid and/or hydroxy-C.sub.2 -C.sub.6 -alkyl esters of ethylenically unsaturated C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 -carboxylic acids as copolymerized units,where the homo- and copolymers in the form of the free acids have a weight average molecular weight of from 5000 to 500,000 in the neutralized or amidated form, the carboxyl groups of the homo- and copolymers in each case being partially or completely neutralized with amines of the formula ##STR1## where R is C.sub.8 -C.sub.18 -alkyl or R.sup.1 --O--CH.sub.2 --(CH.sub.2).sub.n --, n is from 1 to 3, R.sup.1 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.18 -alkyl, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are each H or C.sub.1 -C.sub.18 -alkyl and/or from 5 to 50% of the said carboxyl groups being in the form of amides derived from primary and secondary amines of the formula I.