A question came up not too long ago with a customer of one of our lawn care companies using SoilTech.  That customer was reluctant to try SoilTech out because he read on the internet that “Liquid Aeration” doesn’t work and it is a hoax.  So I was asked to speak with this person about this and to go into more detail and this is what I told him.

99% of all products that you will see out there that claim to reduce soil compaction fall under the category of either a surfactant, penetrant, or wetting agent.  These very similar products do one main thing, to lower the surface tension of water.  What that does is that it allows the water to easily penetrate very compacted soils and makes the soil wet.  This makes everyone think, “the soil is now wet and water is able to soak into the soil, then the compaction must be gone.”  Well, not really.

To actually relieve compaction in your soil you need to change the soil structure or make smaller soil particles into larger soil particles.  This can be done by adding amendments like sand or by applying SoilTech.  By applying those other types of products you are getting some temporary relief but will not actually fix the problem of soil compaction like SoilTech will.

SoilTech is a blend of polyelectrolytes and organic acids and is in no way similar to products stated above.  These other types of products are actually very useful in certain situations and have a place in turf management but they do not relieve soil compaction.  Now you know the difference.