April 20, 2024, 08:57:17 AM
Forum Rules: Read This Before Posting


Topic: Where to find surfactants  (Read 3668 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Florida

  • Very New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1
  • Mole Snacks: +0/-0
Where to find surfactants
« on: April 11, 2010, 04:41:34 PM »


I am looking for a cheap supply of surfactants for use as a soil wetting agent. Here is why; the soil in my garden is hydrophobic. When I water the garden, most of the water pools on the surface and drains out of the garden. I can water for an hour and the soil is still dusty dry.  Here in Florida this is a common problem.  For some reason the soil particles are covered with a waxy substance caused by the decomposition of organic material.   Commercial wetting agents are available but they are definitely not priced for the average consumer.  2 gallons cost about 70 dollars. I was thinking about laundry detergents but the main ingredient Sodium Carbonate might be a problem since it will change the Ph of the soil and cause problems for the plants. Does anyone have any ideas of a cheap source of surfactants?  Thanks for the help
Here are the MSDS ingredients for Tide laundry detergents.



Sodium
carbonate
Linear alkyl
benzene
sulfonate
Subtilisin Protealytic
Enzyme



Sponsored Links