Hand pump foaming soap dispenser

If you like elegance, read no further. However, if you are thrifty, like functionality combined with a practical eclectic look, this may interest you.

If you like foaming hand soap dispensers but are not willing to pay up to $60 each for them this may be a good alternative.

You can get a very nice hand pump foaming soap dispenser for about $4 filled with Dial soap (left photo).

The dispenser works great but the soap is harsh and contains fragrances that may aggravate allergies.

The remedy is to use Ivory liquid soap to refill the Dial dispensers. The Ivory soap needs to be thinned with water to dispense properly.

A mixture of 60% water to 40% soap is about right. A 50-50 mixture also works well.

The Dial soap has a very nice rose color but the dispenser is clear so when the soap is nearly gone so is the color.

Clear soap in a clear dispenser looks a little blah. However, you can perk it up with acrylic craft paint sponged on the rear of the soap dispensers (center photo).

Do not paint the front of the dispenser. The paint on the back will give the appearance of a fully painted dispenser (right photo).

You can decorate the dispensers by sponging on three different shades of Country Blue, or maybe three different shades of Mauve as shown in the photo.

The Dial dispensers will last for years if you shake excess water off your hands before pressing down on the pump. If water is allowed to seep down into the pump plunger from the outside, the pump will begin to stick after a couple of months.

One of our dispensers has been working perfectly for over five years.