Don't listen to stupid advice: soap and Faeries won't make concrete stronger. They are added only by those who save on quality

Received a question from a subscriber:“Recently, I was faced with concrete work, and I had to knead the cement mortar. Due to the specifics of the work, I needed the most plastic concrete, and one worker from another team advised me to add a little Fairy to the cement mixture. To be honest, I didn’t know anything about it, and began to make inquiries whether it was adequate at all.

Some builders have indeed said that they add a bit of washing powder or ordinary liquid soap to make the concrete pliable. Allegedly, this helps to eliminate air bubbles from the cement mixture, and also enhances the contact of the cement with the reinforcement during pouring. Plus, the soap still has to remove a small amount of water from the cement mixture. In general, it would seem, some pluses.

Curious to know your opinion?

To be honest, I heard about it, but in fact I never experienced it. And I won't do it. And that's why.

At first glance, it really seems that as a result of the addition of soap solutions, the density of concrete and the period of its use should increase significantly, and plasticity should increase.

In fact, in reality, everything is not so rosy at all.

What are the downsides?

The soap additive simplifies the pouring of concrete, which is why it is often used by hired crews. Many people do the same with plaster. After all, the main task of a mercenary is to quickly apply all the materials and complete the construction. Quality is their last concern.

Some even add soap when making tiles or paving stones. Yes, soap helps the tile to leave the mold quickly during manufacture, and production is greatly simplified, but the service life and other characteristics of concrete suffer greatly due to soap additives.

Laundry detergents contain not only polycarboxylates, which are the basis of any plasticizer, but also a lot of chlorides and other trace elements that greatly impair the properties of any concrete.

If you use cheap substitutes for plasticizers when creating concrete solutions, remember that 9 out of 10 components that make up their composition make concrete not better, but worse.

What happens if soap is added to concrete?

Foaming agents turn concrete into foam concrete, which does not have high strength. Contrary to popular belief, soap will not only not remove air from concrete, but, on the contrary, will bring it in and distribute it throughout the volume. As a result, the structure of the concrete will be porous, the concrete will become very brittle, performance properties will be lost, and the service life will be much shorter. But yes, it will be easier to work with him. However, the quality of the soap will not improve.

As a summary, I want to say - never add soap formulations to concrete mixes. It would be much better to buy the cheapest plasticizer, at least it does not worsen the existing properties of the cement mixture.