Hydrophobic soil.

My soil becomes hydrophobic very fast and I am not sure which method of watering is safest. Which is better? one way is I just fill the saucer the pot sits in with water and the the water just soak up. So I am basically watering from the bottom up. And the other is I put aboug 1 drop of dish soap per gallon of water to act as a surfactant if I water from the top. Is one method better than the other or us there a better way to go about getting the soil to absob water?

The only way to fix this is to mix 40% perlite with your soil. Then your soil will be able to drain. The mix should be 60% soil and 40% perlite. Then your drainage problems will be solved for sure. Hope that helps bro