Just realized I was cleaning my trowels wrong for 15 years

I was at a job site in Pittsburgh last month and an old mason came over and asked why I was soaking my trowels in water overnight. I told him that's how I keep the mortar from crusting up. He laughed and showed me he just wipes them dry with a rag after every few bricks. I tried it and my trowels don't rust anymore. Has anyone else been doing it the long way like I was?

2 comments

2 Comments

sagea8823d ago

Nah, soaking overnight keeps the mortar from setting up too fast on me lol.

ruby_lane23d ago

Oh man, I had a similar thing happen with a stone wall I was building last year. I tried the overnight soak once and it really made a difference for me too. I noticed the mortar stayed workable for way longer, which was clutch because I'm slow and messy with it. But I also found that if I let the stones drain for a bit before buttering them up, they didn't make the mix too soupy. Maybe it's just me but that balance between soaked and dripping seems to be the trick.