Fairy liquid

[loudog]

hi,
i as once making up some mortar and ran out of feb mix and used a bit of fairy liquid, to which someone came across the road and said it isnt anygood as it eats the cement away, i had no answer. any views please.
cheers
loudog

[Stuarty]

ive used fairy quite a few times and i know some brickies who use nothing but fairy, but you only need a small squirt in a pale of water - no need for half a bottle to a batch :p

[loudog]

hi cheers for that always nice to have an answer for someone, you learn something new every day

[Ted]

I seriously doubt it will do any harm...

I know lots of brickies that use it as a plasticiser.

It is "gentle on the hands" so unlikely to eat up that much cement!

[James.Q]

i woz always told it woz a big no no something to do with weakening the mix

[Ted]

I don't think it will weaken the mix as it will reduce the water content...

Although I can imagine Feb etc saying it is a big no no.

[Ted]

http://www.enigmatist.com/free/john49/cemfaq.htm

It seems that it is generally regarded as bad practice although there are many who disagree.

Mortar plasticiser is very cheap so it is probably best to use that... I think it may be cheaper than Fairy in actual fact!

[seanandruby]

I was stopped from using it years ago but cant remember the technical reason. think it will weaken the mix and it will start to crumble eventually.

[Pablo]

I was told the reason was because fairy liquid is loaded with salt which can then increase efflorence and cause weakening over the long term 20yrs +. Have used it to get me out of a spot on subsurface stuff but wouldn't chance it where it can be seen. It smells lovely though.

[lutonlagerlout]

thing is with fairy you only need about 2.5ml a mix for it to work,most of the febs are about 50 ml a mix
big jobs i have seen guys binned for using it,but a mate of mine lives in some 60's flats my auld fella worked on and he reckons they used fairy all the way
absolutely no sign of any problem
biggest problem in them days was drunk labourers knocking the mix up too weak in the diesel mixer
for the record lime mortar is the easiest to use
cheers LLL

[Tony McC]

It's generally regarded as better than nowt, but should only be used as a last resort, and then you really, really do need just a couple of drops. Adding a big squirt "to be sure" will bugger up the mix.

[Kiff]

Fairy is an aerator, just like Feb - however ........... the bubbles in Feb are of a controlled size whereas the bubbles in Fairy are not.
Result is that the mortar made with Fairy is less consistent and the resulting mortar is weaker because it hardens like a crunchie bar and is less strong in compression.

[MRA]

Fairy is an aerator, just like Feb - however ........... the bubbles in Feb are of a controlled size whereas the bubbles in Fairy are not.
Result is that the mortar made with Fairy is less consistent and the resulting mortar is weaker because it hardens like a crunchie bar and is less strong in compression.

Absolutely spot on. My brickwork tutor, many years ago, had two things that annoyed him more than anything else when teaching youngsters the trade.

1 - Hitting a level with the trowel. (Quite understandable!)

2 - Using washing up liquid in mixes. Exactly as stated, the aeration in washing up liquids is widly inconsistant, giving an inconsistant aeration leading to inconsistant strengths throughout the same mix. Feb maintains the same aeration throughout and hence - a consistant strength.

[lutonlagerlout]

so mra are you saying you have never hit your level with your trowel?
i only ever saw 1 bloke who didnt tap his level now and again,but he didnt earn a bean
when i was in a price gang we did anything we could to get BWk up faster,not right i know, but £180 a day meant more than a £30 level IYKWIM
lol
LLL :;):

[seanandruby]

I s'pose the moral of the story is dont ....add cement to the washing up water