Cement is the most basic material in home decoration. If you buy a fake, you will have a lot of trouble later, so it is important to learn to distinguish between real and fake cement.

The four-step process of purchasing cement by “looking, smelling, asking, and feeling”

Different standards of cement have different qualities and scopes of application. Faced with a wide variety of home decoration cements, there is a mixture of good and bad. Products are difficult for ordinary consumers to accurately identify. The safest way is to choose products from regular manufacturers.

The first step: "Look" at the mud to know the pros and cons. First, look at the packaging quality from the appearance. Check to see if a laminated woven bag with good moisture-proof properties and is not easily damaged is used, and whether the markings are clear and complete. Usually, cement produced by regular manufacturers should be marked with the following content: registered trademark, place of origin, production license number, implementation standards, packaging date, bagged net weight, factory number, cement type, etc. Inferior cement is often unclear about this. Second, carefully observe the color of the cement. Generally speaking, the normal color of cement should be off-white. If the color is too dark or changes, it may be due to excessive other impurities.

The second step: "smell" the quality of mud analysis. The "smell" here is not the smell. After all, smelling cement is not safe for consumers. The "smell" here is "listening". Listening to the merchant's introduction about the ingredients of the cement can infer the quality of the cement. At present, in order to sell at low prices, some domestic small cement factories violate cement standards and use excessive cement mixing materials, and do not strictly follow national standards for raw material proportioning. The performance of their products can be imagined. Regular manufacturers are very strict in the selection of cement raw materials.

The third step: "Ask" the source of the mud. The main thing is to inquire about the cement manufacturer and production process to see whether its "origin" is formal and whether the production process is advanced. At present, most of the cement products in the building materials and decoration market are produced using the small vertical kiln process. Not only is the product quality very unstable, but it is also a major enemy of environmental protection. However, some large professional manufacturers use new dry-process rotary kiln production and use advanced computer technology to control Management can ensure stable quality of cement products.

Step 4: "Cut" the mud to know the life span. In this step, you mainly use your fingers to "feel the pulse" of the cement to identify the length of time it left the factory. Cement also has a shelf life. Generally speaking, the strength of cement that exceeds 30 days from the factory date will decrease. The strength of cement decreases by 10%-20% after three months of storage, by 15%-30% after six months, and by 25%-40% after one year. Cement that can be used normally should be free from moisture and agglomeration. For high-quality cement, twist the cement powder with your fingers and feel the fine particles. When packaging inferior cement, there will be dampness and agglomeration during opening inspection; for inferior cement, twist the cement powder with your fingers and it will feel rough, indicating that the cement has coarse and abnormal fineness, low strength and poor viscosity when used.

After completing the "four steps" of purchasing cement, does this mean you are done? No! After correctly selecting qualified cement, you must also cooperate with the correct method of use. , so that these high-quality cement products can perform their due functions.

1. Pay attention to the reasonable proportion of mortar. For example, the appropriate proportion of mortar should be selected according to the location of use, such as plastering walls, laying floor tiles, wall tiles, etc. It is advisable to use the mixed mortar within two hours each time.

2. Select the special mortar sand available in the building materials market. In particular, control the mud content of the sand quality. High mud content will reduce the degree of bonding.

3. Ceramic tiles should be fully soaked and dried in the shade (more than 2 hours) before use to prevent the mortar from reducing its strength due to water loss; floor tiles should be laid dry, and wall tiles should be laid wet.

4. The mortar must be stirred evenly. It is recommended to use the mortar within 2 hours and 30 minutes after mixing.