Underhill UHH20PEL H20 Maximizer Ultra Holding Wetting Agent Pellets Soil Surfactant for Lawn, Garden, Turf Grass, Golf Greens, 1 Tablet

Short review:I'm not a lawn guy. Or a plant guy.I'm pretty sure this improved some thin spots in a st augustine lawn.I think it's worth a try at $18Long review:The grass has a few patchy areas. Been that way for >5 years. Each about 2'x5'. total of maybe 40-80sqft over 1-1500sqft. Seems to be related to poor sprinkler coverage/overlap/layout. Maybe also shade. Not completely bald, but you can touch dirt through the stolons easily, and easily see the spots, and feel the difference walking over them.I believe I noticed an improvement in 1 growing season (3-5 months). I may have increased the sprinkler runtime from last year, and raised the lawnmower by 1 setting- I don't track that. I also spot fertilize a bit with NPK yearly, but pro soil tests say it's unnecessary - so I assume the thinness is related to something else.The spots don't currently look perfect. If they were a 4/10 before. Now I'd call them a 6/10. 1) They seem to be trending upwards. 2) this has been the most noticeable improvement I've seen over >5 years. Hopefully after 1-2 more growing seasons, they'll continue to thicken. Even if they don't, I'll probably still consider myself satisfied.I used 1.8g/100sqft. I cut a chunk off, dissolved it in warm water, and distributed it in a hose end sprayer. Like (Ortho Dial N Spray Hose-End Sprayer for Liquid Weed and Insect Killer, Fungicide, Fertilizer with 14 Dilution Settings). I believe you're supposed to water it in, afterwards.The product has the consistency of a bar of soap. I was able to drive a screw into it, and pull it out of the plastic canister, by grabbing the screw with some pliers. You could probably melt it in the sun, or a hot car. Seems to basically be bar soap.There are mild foaming issues. (if you pour it into a watering can, then fill the rest with a hose, you're going to make a lot of foam. Like diluting car washing soap in a 5 gallon bucket. Not a big deal, just something to avoid)I don't think it's rocket science or anything. Just weigh out 1.8g (looks like about 2 USA quarters). Dissolve it in 1-2 cups of water, in a container you don't eat out of. Pour that into a watering can, or hose end sprayer. Distribute it over @100sqft. Repeat for other areas.Unfortunately I think you're supposed to reapply it every 1-3 months. I am hoping that once the grass is established, the stolons will suck water from the wet areas farther away, and I won't have to tend to it. No idea. I think I applied it once, then a 2nd time @ 3 months later. I'll probably do it twice a year, or whenever I care enough to remember.I also tested it in some potted plants, and thought it improved water distribution/uptake/retention too. Soil in some areas of the property is visibly hydrophobic, but in other areas appears to be normal.I think I went with this one because 1) it was readily available in small quantities. 2) it was recommended. there's some youtube video comparing it against other water surfactants (think it's "Improving Water Retention in Hydrophobic Soil"), and supposedly this one tested out pretty well.I think I've seen people recommend.. tournament ready or something? and some other that's supposed to be cheaper. Again, this isn't my hobby, I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm not saying this is the #1 product to use. I'm saying I spent $20 on it, it seems to be at least a B-grade recommendation in the industry, I think it improved the patchy areas in a saint augustine lawn that have been there for >5 years, and don't seem to be fertilizer-related, I think it's worth trying out for a season if you know you have hydrophobic soil issues & $20 to spare, you can cut off @2 quarter-size pieces + dissolve them in a watering can + distribute over @100sqft.Anything beyond that gets into stuff like minutiae between water availability, and surface tension, and I assume the bottom line is if you were a professional groundskeeper you'd buy 5+ and use the one that produced the best results for you.I also saw "liquid dethatch" products discussed. I don't know anything about that, or care to get into it. I tried using this stuff (Underhill H20 maximizer) on a shaded area, with heavy traffic, that seemed compacted. It may have been slightly improved. It may have been placebo.I also used it in some potted plants. They seemed to retain water better (I didn't have to water as frequently). I didn't really track it.Supposedly, I guess, it's possible to overwater after using this. (Like, the soil holds too much water, and I guess the plant roots can't breathe or something). I have no idea. Might be worth looking into if you care about your plants/trees. I didn't notice a problem.Supposedly, according to some youtube video by one of these companies or researchers, the only permanent "cure" for hydrophobic soil, is to remove the hydrophobic soil, throw it away, and buy new sand, or some other soil. Something about the soil granules get coated in a waxy hydrophobic substance, which is either only removed by heat or abrasion or something. Not something you can reverse at home. Maybe you can add organic matter to cope? Or plug aerate + add sand. But I think the only solution was to remove & replace.No pics of the lawn, the difference probably wouldn't show up without a drone. It's not going to be amazing, just hopefully >20% better than before over a growing season.(oh, it looks like Underhill "Tournament Ready", and "Tournament Ready Plus" are also being sold for 23-27 bucks on amazon. So if I did it again, I'd watch that video, and make a choice between these three products. My gut tells me it's a wash. Or if I really cared about the lawn, I'd buy 2 and alternate use. Maybe the application rate & frequency would be the biggest influence aside from market availability)

I couldn’t decide between the H2O Maximizer or the tournament ready. I went with the maximizer because im heading into the dry season in the Midwest and it’s definitely helped with LDS. I had a few spots in my lawn that with watering were still brownish. I soaked those few areas with this product and it’s helped a lot. It probably took about 5 days to notice a difference. I also treated the rest of the lawn but not as heavy as the LDS. I still have a few LDS that I’ll treat again after two weeks to see if repeated applications are needed for extreme situations. Right now I’m happy with the product, I’ll be curious if it reduces the need for overall watering or if it’s more of a LDS cure.

I've only made one application, but I had an extremely hydrophobic portion of my lawn and this seems to have taken care of it. Noticed better drainage in the rest of the lawn as well. We will see how it performs in the summer to retain moisture in the root zone...