What are homemade soil wetting agents?

Author: Elna Fadel  |  Last update: Monday, September 29, 2025

You can make your own soil wetting agent using the food grade thickener, agar agar (algin), derived from seaweed. Buy powdered kelp from a health food store. Slowly add boiling water to agar agar and stir to make a paste about the same consistency as wallpaper paste.

How to make your own soil wetting agent?

Method
  1. Dissolve agar in warm water (not hot) to dilute to consistency of runny custard.
  2. Take 2 cups of this dilution and add to 9 litres of water (a watering can is ideal)
  3. Apply with a watering can - this will treat 6 sqm of soil.

What can I use instead of soil wetter?

You can buy a wetting agent for hydrophobic soil at most garden centres or make one at home using agar (powdered kelp). It's also possible to use diluted dishwashing liquid or dishwater/laundry water as a soil wetter because the surfactants in the detergent break surface tension in water like wetting agents do.

What can I use instead of a wetting agent?

If you ever run out of wetting agent, a good alternative is a few drops of washing up liquid - does same job.

Can I use dish soap as a wetting agent?

Dish soap is fine--I have used it many times. I use about a full 20 ounce bottle in my 400 gallon tank. In recent years I have been using laundry detergent--wets well and smells nice. A tablespoon is slightly too much for a hand sprayer--a good squirt or a teaspoon is more like it.

How to fix hydrophobic or water repellent soils with organic wetting agents

What is a natural wetting agent?

Jerry Coleby-Williams from Gardening Australia suggests making your own wetting agent from agar agar which is a seaweed product. Buy powdered kelp from a health food shop and slowly incorporate boiling water until you have a thick paste. Add 250ml of this paste to 4.5 litres of water and water this onto beds.*

What can I use as a substitute for rinsing agent?

It is simply white vinegar. That's right, just white vinegar will achieve the same results without chemicals and at a fraction of the price.

Can I use Dawn as a surfactant?

In most domestic homeowner situations, the easiest and most accessible surfactant to use is dishwashing liquid. As mentioned earlier, soap contains the surfactant Sodium stearate. Liquid dishwashing liquid can be added to a tank mix of the herbicide or pesticide being applied and mixed with water.

What is the active ingredient in wetting agent?

The active ingredient is usually a 'surfactant', which behaves in the same way as a detergent: a long molecule that contains a 'tail' and a hydrophilic 'head'. The head can be positively charged (cationic), negatively charged (anionic) or carry no charge (non-ionic).

Is shampoo a wetting agent?

Most of the shampoos discussed in this chapter contain 'wetting agents,' also known as surfactants, which have hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions on each molecule.

What do you put in soil to keep it moist?

How to Keep Soil Moist by Adding Compost. Compost can hold several times more moisture than dry soil particles. Adding compost to your soil allows the soil to hold onto more moisture, keeps precious microbiology alive (which helps plants thrive), and feeds your plant low amounts of plant food.

How to fix non-wetting soil?

The simplest way to do this is to add extra organic matter such as well-rotted manure or compost, digging in a good amount to fix the immediate issue, and continuing to add smaller amounts throughout the year to maintain the soil's condition.

How do I make my soil more water absorbent?

Use soil wetting products and organic matter

These products, available in granular, liquid concentrate or hose-on form, can dramatically improve water penetration. “Soil wetting agents help by penetrating through the waxy layer, enabling water to be absorbed throughout the soil,” she explains.

Is aloe vera a wetting agent?

With an enhanced SAR, the plant has improved resistance to environmental stresses such as drought, cold, heat, excess humidity and heavy metal toxicity. Aloe Vera has saponins, which make it an effective wetting agent in root drenches and surfactant, or carrier in foliage applications.

Why is my soil still dry after watering?

Hard-packed clay soils and even garden soils can become crusted and resist wetting, letting water run off instead of absorbing it. To re-wet, repeatedly sprinkle the surface lightly, making sure there is no run off. Covering the surface with a mulch such as straw, leaves, wood chips, or compost will also help.

How to make your own wetting agent?

You can make your own soil wetting agent using the food grade thickener, agar agar (algin), derived from seaweed. Buy powdered kelp from a health food store. Slowly add boiling water to agar agar and stir to make a paste about the same consistency as wallpaper paste.

What can I use instead of wetting agent?

You can make your own wetting agent using the same soap you use on your sponge, your hands and dishes.

What is an example of a wetting agent?

The hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) value of wetting agents is generally 7–9. Methylcellulose, acacia, pectin, surfactant–sodium lauryl sulfate, polysorbate 80, poloxamers, Pluronics, etc., are some of the wetting agents used in liquid formulations (Mahato and Narang, 2017).

What is a natural alternative to surfactant?

To help guide your formulation process, I've compared five of the most popular plant-derived non-ionic surfactants that you can experiment with:
  • Coco Glucoside.
  • Decyl Glucoside.
  • Lauryl Glucoside.
  • Sucrose Cocoate.
  • Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside.

What does Dawn dish soap do to your yard?

Dish soap isn't selective about removing oils and drying out cell membranes. It will dehydrate and kill the grass just as it would the nasty pests in your garden. So, yes, dish soap is not an entirely safe way to remove insects and lawn pests. With that said, soaps won't always kill your lawn altogether.

Is baby shampoo a surfactant?

Baby shampoo tends to use milder foaming agents and by using less harsh chemicals and cleansers they avoid irritating sensitive skin and eyes. Baby shampoos shy away from sulfate based cleansers or surfactants and instead rely on amphoteric surfactants that can clean, while also preventing irritation.

How do you make homemade rinse agent?

ingredients
  1. 1 cup white vinegar.
  2. 14 cup alcohol.
  3. 14 cup hydrogen peroxide (3%)
  4. 2 tablespoons citric acid.

Is vinegar a good rinse agent?

Can I Use White Vinegar as a Rinse Aid? White vinegar has been suggested as a natural rinse agent replacement. Vinegar can be used as a temporary fix if you run out of rinse aid, but prolonged use is not recommended.

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