I am not sure why you squirt the dish soap all over the dishes? That's way more dish soap than is necessary for a good washing. I just put a nice glob of dish soap on my dish sponge or scrubbie, and then put it in the sink and let my dish water run on that. It makes a great sink full of lather to wash my dishes. The dispenser is also very handy for washing hands.

I have a hand-soap dispenser on the right and a lotion dispenser on the left (L is for Lotion). It's very handy. I agree that squirting dish soap in the sink is easier. I do a glob also.

Your KD probably washes dishes like ccoombs1 does, and you probably don't. Or she wants to give you the option of the latest kitchen convenience. If it isn't something you would use, skip it. I didn't install one either, I prefer fewer things to clean around in the cramped area behind my sink. Most of my dishes go in the dishwasher, so if I had a dispenser I'd fill it with liquid hand soap -- that would get a LOT of use!

I love my soap dispenser because:

It keeps the bottle of soap off the sink area. or, if you prefer to store the soap in the cabinet, you don't have to take the extra step of fethcing the bottle every time you need soap.

I bring the sponge to the dispenser and squirt some soap on it. Fast and easy. 1 movement instead of putting down whatever you're holding and picking up the soap bottle and sponge, etc.

I, too, have a hand soap dispenser & lotion dispenser. Keeps you from having bottles sitting out because people don't want to go looking for the items under the sink.

I would not put dish soap in one, but depending on how you use your dish liquid, it might be an AH HA moment!

Get the really big bottle of soap and you can replace it every other year. :-)

I wholeheartedly agree with the benefits of a soap dispenser. However, mine keeps getting clogged/not working/ I can't figure it out. Perhaps I have a lemon or there is a well kept secret I ignore. You may wish to consider that.

I think the real benefit of the sink dispenser is job security for those that manufacture them. In the first 5 yrs of ownership, I replaced them every two years or so, as the pumping mechanism would fail.
I finally gave up and use it as a hook!

lascatx--I got the biggest container of Palmolive (I think it was) at BJ's Wholesale during my trial membership, but haven't needed to replace the one I'd gotten at the supermarket yet. As long as this larger container fits under my sink, I'll be good to go!

sivyaleah...we also like the flexibility of being able to squirt the dish detergent wherever we want to. So, like some of the others here, our soap dispensers (2 sinks/2 dispensers) both have hand soap in them. I find that, especially in winter, even Palmolive dish detergent dries out my hands, so I don't like washing my hands with it.

It's really up to you...you can put whatever you want in them or not have one at all.

I do like having the hand soap in the SD...with the NeverMT it rarely runs out and I no longer have to replace soap bottles periodically b/c they get grungy or stop working.

I put regular hand soap in mine and we use it all the time! I don't know how many times I wash my hands at the kitchen sink while preparing food. I never even thought of putting dish soap in it, just figured it was soap for the hands. You've given me a good idea now, to just use dish soap for both the dishes and my hands! Thanks!!!

Does the NeverMT really work? Does it not clog/stop working?

Our pre-reno kitchen had one that must have been cheap or something, because it was wiggly and the pump would get stuck, making it non-functional. It was a gunk-magnet and I hated it but couldn't get rid of it because there would have been a hole in the counter. (So I'm sure it wasn't at all like the ones everyone here likes.) So one of my 'musts' for renovation was to get rid of it.

I like the smooth uninterupted look of the counter behind our sink with nothing but a single hole for the single-lever faucet and no metal plate on the counter. I don't mind having hand soap on the counter top, because we always seem to have some in a cute bottle with a yummy seasonal smell. (Must be a teenage daughter thing.) Dish soap is under the sink and fine with me.

Based on how many people love theirs, I have to conclude that it's personal preference and my opinion is biased because I had a crappy one.

KWC (in the Systema series) makes a soap dispenser that fits into the faucet.
It's an extension to the pillar that goes between the handle and the spout.

I'm uncertain about pump dispensers which require a hole in the counter.
I'm OK with pump dispensers that you can move around and make disappear from time to time.
I put soap on the sponge or cloth or article to be cleaned.
With a single sink, there is no way I would squirt soap into the sink.

I like "Oxo Soap Squirting Palm Brush" and "Soap Squirting Mesh Palm Scrub" I'll go buy one or the other and report my findings in a month or two. It will fit in my palm. It comes with a small soap reservoir. Oxo makes a few models (plastic, stainless, etc). I don't like soap wands or soap brushes.

I love my dish soap dispenser. I used original Dawn non ultra dish soap in it and it doubles as hand soap.

I don't wash a lot of dishes by hand, just some large pots and few hand wash wine glasses so I just squirt a little on a sponge or in the pot. I never wash a sink full of dishes.

I've had my dispenser since 2002 with no problems what so ever with it.

Thanks all.

I didn't mean I squirt the soap into the sink. I meant, onto the dishes/pots, whatever. I didn't probably explain myself clearly - it was early in the morning when I wrote this :p

However, I see the point of applying the soap to the sponge now. Duh. Can't believe I didn't think of it. I guess because I usually just rinse the dishes to stack into the dishwasher and rarely have to wash by hand.

And it never occurred to me to use it for regular soap. I always use the dish soap to wash my hands if I need to in the kitchen. I guess I don't have very delicate hands because that never seems to bother me lol.

Anyway, thanks again for all your responses. I think I'm not going to bother with getting one. I'm concerned with the gunk issue as others mentioned, and not real big about having too many objects drilled around the sink. I had made a ceramic soap holder ages ago which works fine, and has sentimental value so maybe I'll just stick with that for a while longer.

I'm also a soap-on-sponge person, and really like that method...but I imagine it's a personal thing. My parents have a built-in soap dispenser with a NeverMT (tip picked up from GW back when they were renovating!) and my mom still loves it four years later; no clogging that I've heard about (though no clue what soap dispenser they have).

We aren't planning one since we have a wall-mount faucet and I really don't want holes in the counter, but it's my backup plan if we are required to drill a hole for an air gap that we won't be using for the dishwasher we picked (welcome to the wonderful world of California building code...) It's growing on me as a concept, which is good---but fingers still crossed that it won't matter in the end!

artemis78 there are legally accepted places to place an air gap, that are not ON the counter. Good to know, f.y.i. , since you like I want a counter without drilled holes.

sivyaleah I chuckled when reading you're "not real big about having too many objects drilled around the sink."

p.s.
why do some people really NOT want to drill holes in countertops?
I have a hard time explaining it to some people who question this.
Of course, I can say "I just don't want holes.) but I'd also like to know why, in other people's views.

It's just more to clean it seems to me. I like the look of one faucet only, without anything else being there. A seamless look. Personal preference I guess. And I'm lazy about keeping things in order as is my BF so it's just one more thing to upkeep. Knowing us, we'd probably forget to fill the darn thing lol.

@davidro1, sadly not the case here in California---argh!! Our state code specifies that the air gap must be installed *on* the counter. No high loops, no going out the side, no nothin'. Why? Who knows... (A number of cities are making exceptions for specific dishwasher models, though, so we're splurging on one of those and keeping our fingers crossed. The shop we're buying it from keeps documentation of other cities that waive the requirement---whether it will fly with our inspectors is still a big question mark, though). It's nice to have the soap dispenser as a backup, though!

Oh, and my reasons for no holes in the counter are 1) solid counter surface with no potential for anything getting into said hole or gunking up seam around it, and 2) redoing a vintage kitchen, so trying to stick with a pretty clean, simple look that's period-appropriate. (I'm sure I'd feel differently if we did not have a wall-mount faucet, though. My bigger issue is with having the only thing coming out of the counter be the air gap or soap dispenser---looks much more at home if there's also a faucet there.) I also recognize that this is a personal hang-up, at least for me; others probably care far less and would never notice one way or the other! :)

Soap/lotion dispensers mounted under the sink are hard to clean and refill, so it gets neglected. If you don't clean them - especially the lotion dispenser - they get clogged up with stale product. And lotion goes bad and gets stinky.

I have dish soap, lotion, and hand soap in $1.83 clear plastic dispenser bottles I bought from Walmart.

My sink has a soap dispenser and I love having it since it is a cleaner look than keeping dishsoap out there--and the rest of my family probably wouldn't cooperate with keeping the dish soap under the sink.

I had been all ready to get a NeverMT but the soap dispenser we have fills from the *top* not from a bottle underneath. It's pretty big--I don't fill it more than a few times a year.

I had a cheap soap dispenser on my last sink. Even though it didn't have a great quantity, I preferred it to having the big ugly bottle around on the counter. I hate clutter. Our new (not yet installed faucet) has a single dispenser with it. I always have lotion by the sink. Another darn bottle I hate. I got all crafty and am very proud of myself for sourcing a second soap dispenser for my faucet, sold separately, so I can have my lotion in a second pump built in. I can't wait. I work at an animal shelter so I must wash my hands 30 times a day or more so lotion is a must. I think this is going to work best for ME. Might not be the choice for everyone though.

::stands up, hangs head:: "Hello, my name is Cindy ----- and I'm a globber... or was.

I'm 3 days glob-free now, and taking it one day at a time. I confess, I use to glob 1, 2, 3 times a day sometimes. Late at night I would glob again if there were extra dishes in the sink.

I'm trying to stay glob-free with my new soap dispenser and never MT. Sometimes I pump that dispenser 2 or 3 times, but I'm getting use to it. I've come to realize a few pumps are enough..."

OK lol.. that was fun but true, I really was a globber, but I'm really liking the soap dispenser now. At first I thought it just wasn't enough soap, but it really is. I'd give it a try, and if you hate it, change to handsoap from that dispenser.

BTW the never mt rocks.

I have an 8 year old Delta soap dispenser attached to a NeverMT - I've used Dawn dish soap since it was installed. I use the super, giant sized bottles of Dawn - think I'm on the third bottle in the 8 years. NeverMT has Never Clogged!

Helene

Why have a Soap Dispenser? So you can have a NeverMT! Actually, mine was a DIY NeverMT. :-)

Seriously though - I just recently switched. I do understand where you are coming from Sivyaleah, and
you may be right. I usually do take my dish to my dispenser, so I was very surprised to discover how many
times I reach for the bottle that is not there anymore and wonder if I made the right decision.

I am using the Simple Human automatic soap dispenser. You don't have to put a hole in the counter and if anything goes wrong with it, I can return or exchange it.

I don't use one and wouldn't find much benefit to it - and I don't like the extra item on my sink. We keep our bottle of soap below the sink and pull it out as needed, maybe once a week if that. We use the dishwasher and don't hand wash many dishes, therefore it doesn't need to be front and center.

We used ours strictly for handsoap. I've got two little boys and it's *much* cleaner if they can just pump once to wash hands rather than getting soap all over everything with a stand-alone soap dispenser that they are man(boy)handling. At the end of the day, a simple wipe down of the area keeps it all clean and non-gunked. We're doing the same plan in our new kitchen, too.

I keep hand soap and dish soap in a caddy inside the front corner of the sink. The sink is 10" deep and the caddy can't be seen unless one is standing over the sink.

I agree with peggy555 and snoozingpug, (love that name) I use mine for hand soap. My husband can be somewhat sloppy around the sink and this keeps the sticky soap as well as the container off the granite.

Duh, I never even thought about filling it with dishwashing liquid but I can see where that would be handy but like sivyaleah I tend to be a squirter too. One advantage of squirting is when cleaning pots and pans you don't need to fill a basin full of soapy water, just squirt, clean and rinse.

For those concerned about an ugly soap bottle on the counter, try a decorative soap dispenser bottle. I'm going to get a stainless steel one.

I use dish soap on the sponge . . . and also for hand washing. I very rarely squirt it in the sink. So, I guess it comes down to personal dish washing style. I puffy heart love the soap dispensers. I have one at both of my kitchen sinks. :)

I also do the soap-on-sponge thing when I wash dishes.
And I rarely soak more than one pot, so it wouldn't be a big problem to put that one pot underneath the soap dispenser.

If your complaint is JUST that soap bottles are ugly, consider a pretty $10 bathroom soap dispenser to sit on your counter. They come in all colors and designs, and if it breaks, it's easier to replace than a built-in item. Also, you don't have to drill a hole in your cabinet and commit to it forever.

Hand soap in mine too.

" I very rarely squirt it in the sink. So, I guess it comes down to personal dish washing style."

I guess it does indeed! I have found this, of all threads, most facinating. I just "assumed" everybody closed the drainer, turned water on, squirted dish soap in sink, filled with dishes. And without taking a head count, I'd say the majority don't do that. Interesting. You really do learn something new every day. :)

Beth, after a base amount, our water bill goes up the more we use. Since I switched to putting the soap directly on my scrubber instead of filling the sink, my water bill has dropped. I do someone fill a small container to drop small gadgets into but I never fill the sink. Most pans with stuff stick on don't usually need soaking to clean. I just wipe a wet, soapy scrubber on anything hardening and let it sit for awhile. This is usually enough to clean it without having to scrub hard. Of course, there are occasional exceptions.

Ink actually trying to learn to put more things in the DW and then just ruin it more often since learning that my energy efficient DW uses less water than someone typically uses when washing dishes in the sink.