Unpopular opinion: I think a little dish soap in the wash water helps more than it hurts.

On a hot pour for a patio in Tucson last month, I added a small squirt of Dawn to my bucket of water for cleaning tools. I figured it would cut the grease and grime faster. The surprise was how it made the final broom finish go on smoother with less sticking. I learned that a tiny bit can act like a mild release agent without hurting the cure. Has anyone else tried this, or is it a bad idea for certain mixes?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.robin4d ago

That's actually a really clever trick for a broom finish. I've heard of guys using a tiny bit of laundry detergent in the mix to help with workability, but never straight dish soap in the wash water. Does it leave any sort of film or residue on the tools that you have to worry about for the next pour?

terry_thomas4d ago

Yeah, I remember reading a forum post a while back where a guy swore by a drop of dish soap in his tool cleaning water for exactly that reason. It makes sense that it would help the finish. I wonder if @park.robin is right about a film though, maybe you just have to rinse the tools really well with plain water after. I'd be worried about any leftover soap messing with the next batch of concrete.