Introduction: Easy DIY Foaming Hand Soap

About: I like to take things apart and see how they work.

This is my first Instructable and I hope you like it!

I don't know about you but I love the Foaming Hand Soap when washing my hands. It takes very little effort to get my hands all lathered up and feeling good while washing. Only thing is it eventually comes to an end and runs out. So normally when this happens I generally will pick up some more on my next trip to the store. I don't like to waste plastic and throwing this nice little dispenser in the trash was just not going to happen, so I decided I would just buy some refill liquid soap on my next shopping trip.

Well, the refill liquid for the foaming hand soap dispenser was kinda pricy and I didn't purchase it, I decided to try a little experiment of my own and it worked out great. It took a few tries until I finally got the mixture the way we like it. We have been using it this way for several months now and use it at all sink locations in our home. (You can see one in the background of Step 1 at my kitchen sink)

I hope you enjoy this neat little trick and re-use your dispensers over and over again!

Things you will need:

  • Empty Foaming Hand Soap Dispenser
  • Concentrated Dishwashing Liquid (You could use regular just add more during Step 1)
  • Water from your faucet

Step 1: Creating Your Mixture

In this step we will pour some dishwashing liquid into the Foaming Hand Soap dispenser. Depending on the type of soap you use, you may need more or less to create your mixture.

I used Ultra Concentrated dish soap but you can use whatever you have.

  • Pour the soap in until it's about 3/4" from the bottom of the dispenser. (Again, this amount will be different if you use normal soap vs Ultra Concentrated like I used. Just experiment with it until you get it the way you like it.)
  • Fill the rest of the way up with water (slowly) leaving about a 1/2" from the top so the dispenser pump can be installed without spilling over the side.
    • For the sake of making this instructable, I poured the water in last, but normally I will pour the water in first to avoid any bubble mess when filling up from faucet.
  • Screw the cap back on the dispenser and shake up the mixture.
  • Vialo.. You're done!!

Extra Step (not needed)

I took a hair dryer and heated up the outside of the soap dispenser until it became warm enough for me to remove the labels on the front and back, since it had a logo and the scent information printed on it which I was now changing. This is not in the steps and is totally up to you if you want to remove. The hair dryer helped to remove the label without leaving a sticky film, although where I initially started peeling the label back had left some residue but it easily came off with a little rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball.

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