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beachbum_gw

Do you like having a built in soap dispenser?

beachbum
15 years ago

I'm trying to decide if we want a soap dispenser mounted in our counter/cabinet.

If it works, it seems like it would be handy and keep clutter off the cabinet.

My only other experience with having one was that it broke almost immediately. (The container part broke off at the threads).

Thoughts?

Comments (46)

  • Fori
    15 years ago

    I like 'em.

  • Buehl
    15 years ago

    I have one at both my main/cleanup sink & prep sink. I think they're great! I have hand-washing soap in mine, but some people put hand-dishwashing detergent in theirs.

    If you do get one, consider the Never-MT as well to allow your dispenser to pump from a large bottle of soap or detergent rather than the rather small containers/reservoirs that come with the dispensers--it replaces the containers/reservoirs. (BTW...this would have solved your problem w/the broken container.)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Never-MT Soap and Lotion Dispenser Conversion Kit

  • claire_de_luna
    15 years ago

    LOVE IT. You do have to buy a good quality one, but I will say I don't miss having loose bottles of clutter around my sink. I even made sure to find one hole faucet(s)/with lever handle(s), so I could have two dispensers on each of my sinks in the bathroom. Hand soap in one, facial cleanser in the other. It certainly streamlines the process!

  • nwpepper
    15 years ago

    I love mine (Kohler). I use Ivory dishwashing liquid which is mild enough to not irritate my hands. Keeps 2 bottles off the counter.

  • boysrus2
    15 years ago

    I love mine too and it was cheap, $20 or so from Lowe's. They only carry one brand and it comes in several finishes. I ordered the Never MT too, so I don't use the soap reservoire that came with the dispenser. Mine is hooked through the Never MT directly to a mongo jug of dish soap from Costco. I won't have to change it for 6 months, I think.

    Personally, I don't think you need an expensive soap dispenser. I have a Grohe faucet and its matching dispenser was over $100. I figured worse case scenario if the soap dispenser from Lowe's breaks, I can afford to replace it easily and still come out ahead cost wise.

  • Fori
    15 years ago

    I agree about the cheap ones--they work fine. You do want whatever you get to match though, so you might spend more for that.

  • pbrisjar
    15 years ago

    I keep trying to convince Hubby they're a good idea. He keeps picturing those soap dispensers in public bathrooms and the mess they make.

  • janran
    15 years ago

    What's not to like!

  • rmlanza
    15 years ago

    YUP! LOVE IT!!

  • nicole__
    15 years ago

    Love mine! Yes, it eliminates kitchen clutter. I paid about $12, it's solid stainless by Boberick, commercial grade,big bottle, on Ebay. A plumber was selling his overstock. I haven't seen one since.

  • vizslalover
    15 years ago

    We have been very surprised to find that we really like it. We would not have one if it weren't for the airgap/soap dispenser combo. We liked that it was a semi-functional way to sort of disguse the otherwise unsightly (but required in our area) air gap. And lo and behold we actually really like having it. If we ever get around to I'd like to switch the air gap out for a regular soap dispenser so we can use the NeverMT but its really not that big a deal to load the one we have.

    Again, I never would have thought I'd like having the soap dispenser this much.

  • arleneb
    15 years ago

    Loved having it in my last house and am repeating in the one now under construction. The only thing I didn't like was filling it because I always managed to overflow it . . . will have a Never-MT in this house and solve that problem!

  • abundantblessings
    15 years ago

    beachbum, do a search cuz this has come up before. I remember singing dispensers praises mightily. We installed two: one on the side of the dishwasher for dish soap and on the other side for hand soap. Streamlined!
    As previously suggested, get one that's a simple pump and you should have no
    problems.

  • cat_mom
    15 years ago

    LOOOOOOOOOOOVE ours! Hated that stupid dish soap bottle toppling over all the time in our old kitchen, and hated having to keep it on it's side when it got low.

    Got the Never-MT and have it in a large bottle of Palmolive from the supermarket (not as large as the warehouse store jugs, but the one we have has been going strong for some months now!).

  • Jim Peschke
    15 years ago

    We've had ours for a few weeks. We have one for soap and one for lotion at each sink. We do love them. They look nice, not like an ugly bottle of soap and fill from the top so it's easy. Of course NeverMT remains an option.

    I will mention one detail that no one else mentioned yet. Be sure that the countertop installer puts the dispenser as close to the sink as possible. The dispensers don't have much of a reach and you would be better off having any drips fall to the bottom of the sink rather than down the side. I haven't had any problems, but if it was up to my granite installer it would have barely reached into the sink.

    - Jim

  • morton5
    15 years ago

    Has anyone bought the dispenser/never MT package from Buel's link for $50? Seems a bit overpriced, but on the other hand if it's a good pump and I know it's compatible with never MT, I won't have to hunt for a dispenser. Plus it comes in stainless and my faucets are stainless.

  • organic_nettie
    15 years ago

    Does it make sense to just buy a faucet and dispenser set together or buy a faucet and get a dispenser from a different site. It seems many of you have gotten your dispenser separately.

  • rmlanza
    15 years ago

    nettie, if you can find one selarately that matches your faucet and looks like it's a decent one, I reccomend getting it. I paid $80 for my matching Moen (ORB finish) and I now realize I could have saved a lot getting one elsewhere.

  • cooperbailey
    15 years ago

    Absolutely.

  • mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
    15 years ago

    I love mine.

    In my "old" kitchen, I had one I bought from Lowes. $20 bucks. It got filled once and that was it. I "lost" the tube thing in the bottle and could never unscrew the bottle from underneith the sink to get it to work again. I wasn't going to spend $ on a plumber to come and fix it.

    New kitchen. Got the one that matches my faucet. I love, love, love it! This one fills from the top rather than the bottom filling one from Lowes. It is probably, next to the faucet, the most used "appliance" in my kitchen. Works like a charm and easy to fill.

  • jeanar
    15 years ago

    I had to decide between a hot water dispenser and the soap dispenser, since I don't want too many holes. I had a soap dispenser in this last kitchen and I'm going with it again. And I'm a tea drinker! I really find a soap dispenser is a great feature. I've got enough crap on my countertops. I didn't need to add that too. Now I've got to break my DH of the habit of putting his empty beer bottles on the counter for recycling in the morning (or whenever) and putting them directly into our new recycling center!

  • beckyl_2008
    15 years ago

    My built in soap dispenser won't dispense anything. I pump it repeatedly and it may squirt out a little blob of soap, but that's about it. Very frustrating. I'll take out the nozzle and tubing thing and pump it clear with water in the sink and it works just fine. and while there's still a little bit of water in it, it'll pump when I put it back together. But after the water runs out, it's back to the same old problems. I recently read that some of these things are actually made for lotion and not soap because it's too thick. is that true? I tried watering down the soap, but it didn't help. Any ideas?

  • Christine Decker
    15 years ago

    Love, LOVE, LOVE mine! I bought the ones from plumbing supply online and they work and look great. Here are some pics!

    faucet and soap dispenser pics

  • beccamj
    15 years ago

    This sounds really great. I've never had one, but do they gum up and get gunk all over them? My bathroom "on the counter" soap dispenser does. If so, are they easy to clean and unjam?

    Thanks.

  • maydl
    15 years ago

    For both sinks, I got the $20 Lowes dispenser and attached it to the Never M-T device. The one at the cleanup sink is giving me a bit of trouble, and my builder wasn't sure whether it was the dispenser or the Never M-T that was causing the problem (liquid soap sliding backward in the tube toward the bottle, requiring multiple pumps to get the soap onto the sponge).

    That said, I still like it way better than having a detergent bottle on or in the sink.

  • jessie21
    15 years ago

    I chose not to have one because I like the idea of being able to change out my dispenser and to move it at will. I have to say that I am SO GLAD I skipped it. I mean, don't people like the option of squirting soap wherever they want it? I sure do. I also move the location depending on my whim, whether or not I have anything else like flowers or a candle in the area, etc. Also love the only one hole drilled in my new counter for the faucet. Such a nice, clean look.

    I bought a pretty, plain, white ceramic soap dispenser that I filled with dawn for everyday use and it looks and works great. Picked it up for less than 2 dollars. Yesterday, I bought an adorable, brightly colored snowman pump bottle that I will switch out with it at Christmastime.

    Happy happy no permanent dispenser user here!!!

  • nrayray
    15 years ago

    cdecker1

    What is your beautiful granite called?

  • mbarstow
    15 years ago

    Note to Becky: I was told today by an engineer friend, that you must make sure your dispenser works with suction and not pressure. If its suction, then you shouldn't have a problem.

  • flseadog
    15 years ago

    Are soap dispensers interchangeable? What I mean is, if I start with an inexpensive one from Lowe's and then I don't like it or it breaks could I then just get another brand or design as a replacement? The kitchen faucets---one main and one prep---are breaking the bank here and no one is offering me a bailout. I was thinking I could get a cheap one now and replace it later. Will this work?

  • neesie
    15 years ago

    I agree with Jesse21; I want to have the ability to squirt the soap wherever I want to. As we are almost empty-nesters I find myself using the smaller side of the sink to quickly wash a few coffee cups or a pan. If I had gone with the dispenser it would have been on the larger side. I don't consider the bottle and eyesore because I store it under the sink. I only wanted one hole drilled in my granite for a clean, uncluttered look.

  • oruboris
    15 years ago

    Didn't like it at my old house: it was in front of a west window, and got gummy very fast.

    Plus, for the main dish sink, I think it's hard to replace a bottle that let's you put it where you want it.

    But at the new house, I put one on the prep sink, and its working well, almost well enough to make me wish I'd put one on the main sink, too.

    What I'd really like is a pull up soap pump that works like a pull down faucet: maybe I could adapt a never M-T...

  • budgeteer_s
    15 years ago

    Love mine...it's attached by the Never MT to a big Dawn bottle. Next time it's going to be the jug size and I bet I won't have to refill for a year!

    Be careful about the hole drilled by the granite fabricator. Ours could use a smaller hole, luckily it is covered by the soap dispenser.

  • Christine Decker
    15 years ago

    nrayray - my granite is new giallo venziano. It is the Brazilian version. I have been told there is another of the same name but looks completely different. I have not seen it. I got it at a granite yard in San Diego CA. I love it. When the light hits it...it is gold, coppery and silver.
    It does not show any dirt or crumbs (un like my last granite
    Verde Butterfly, which showed everything! I hope this helps!
    Christine

  • boxiebabe
    15 years ago

    We have the built-in soap dispenser and use it EVERY day. I use Costco brand "environmentally friendly dish soap". We use it to handwash knives and pots & pans, and we use it to wash our hands. It says on the lable "gentle for hands". So we basically kill 2 birds with one stone. It comes in a HUGE bottle that I couldn't use if I didn't have the dispenser. I have not regretted not having to bend down several times a day to reach in the cabinet for dish soap.

  • remodelhelp
    15 years ago

    Anyone have a built-in soap dispenser in their bathroom? Considering having them put in the master. Thoughts?

  • katiee511
    15 years ago

    remodelhelp: if you searched this topic on the bathroom forums, you would see how very popular they are in masterbaths'........ it's a tip I picked up from here and am really looking forward to having two in my kitchen (hubby likes seperate hand soap)AND one in our bath. One poster even said he thought it was the very best decision his wife made in the bathroom.

    So, to answer your real question :)my thought: it's a fantastic idea in the bath!

  • gr8writer_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    NO!!!!!!!!! Don't do it! They don't last long, the pump ends up crapping out on you, and you end up putting a bottle of store-bought soap right next to the fancy built-in pump. BOTH of ours, in the kitchen and in the bathroom stopped working after 1 1/2 years.

  • tdlhygiene
    12 years ago

    I prefer refillable soap dispenser,wall mounted instead of it.Easy to handle.See some picture here:www.tdlhygiene.com or www.soapdispenser.com.cn

  • pkimbra
    8 years ago

    Can't decide. My granite installer tells me that 80% of customers wish they had not installed the soap dispenser due to soap gumming up on the granite around the neck of the dispenser. I have the same problem with a dispenser I use for dish soap. The neck of it gets gummed up and rusty no matter how often I take it apart and wipe it down. But the reviews here seem to be great. Any advice?

  • ginny20
    8 years ago

    I had the same dilemma, and I asked about it in the thread below. I did not get one. I keep the dish soap under the sink. I was all about ease of cleaning, and I didn't want another thing to clean around. That said, I have friends who have three dispensers next to the sink in their beautiful, functional kitchen: one for dish soap, one for hand soap, and one for hand lotion. They and I represent the two ends of the soap dispenser spectrum.

    Soap Dispensers Redux

  • 3katz4me
    8 years ago

    I have loved mine for 9 years and would have one at every sink if I could.

  • pkimbra
    8 years ago

    Thanks ginny20. I read all the post on the other thread also. I think I've decided to have it installed with my granite installation. I learned several new things here like the existence of the Never MT, to have the dispenser placed as close to the edge of the granite as possible so drips will go to the bottom of the sink and if all else fails I can use a liquor pour in a glass bottle.

  • LE
    8 years ago

    Love hours, but have only had them a year with no problems. Maybe they are not all the same quality?

  • Arie Joe
    7 years ago

    i have one in my new house i am c it out

  • Lora Schmitz
    7 years ago

    Had them in my last house in the kitchen and 2 in master for 12 years and LOVED them. We are building and I am thinking of putting them in the kids' bath as well. So handy and streamlined.