Reader suggestion: Install a soap dispenser in your sink
Reader J. Todd sent us the following suggestion:
Here’s a great uncluttering tip for the kitchen. When my wife and I moved into our first house together, we had a plastic hand soap dispenser and a bottle of dish soap sitting next to our kitchen sink’s faucet. It was a messy and unattractive solution. I noticed that there was a covered cutout to the right of the faucet for a spray hose or a soap dispenser. I removed the cover and installed a basic chrome soap dispenser that mounts in the hole (similar to this one) We keep it filled with concentrated, hand-friendly dish soap. Now, whenever we need to hand-wash dishes, we pump soap directly into the sink. Whenever we need to wash out hands, we just use a tiny amount (since it’s concentrated). No mess and no clutter.
Thank you for such a terrific suggestion, J. Todd! We do the exact same thing in our kitchen (as you can see in the photo accompanying this article), and it works extremely well because our faucet doubles as a spray hose.
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19 comments posted
Posted by missy - 09/28/2007
it’s a great idea and keeps the gunk from building up due to spillage and wet containers sitting out on the sink. we found a reducing connector to hook up to the bottom of the pump and ran a longer hose that reach down to the floor of the sink. Then we fed that into one of the large, “surplus” concentrated handsoap containers from costco… it takes months before we run out.
Posted by Kristin - 09/28/2007
We just moved into a new house and have one of these. We use a dish soap that I adore the smell of and use it as hand soap at the sink all the time. We’ll be doing this. Thanks for the tip!!
Posted by Red - 09/28/2007
This would solve so many issues we have in our small apartment! Someday when we own a property, this is exactly what I want put in! Thank you for the fresh idea for my “dream” kitchen.
Posted by Erin at Unclutterer - 09/28/2007
@missy — That’s an incredible idea to put the elongated hose! Thank you!!
Posted by The Queen - 09/28/2007
That’s one of the BEST ideas I’ve heard all week.
Posted by Carolyn - 09/28/2007
Please give us a how-to on the hose rig! Refilling our dispenser is really a hassle; it’s hard to get the plastic bottle screwed in right while you’re crouching and reaching around blindly under the sink. The house thingy sounds like the way to go!
Posted by Carolyn - 09/28/2007
Er, that should say “hose thingy.” Sorry.
Posted by quench - 09/29/2007
That ‘covered cutout to the right of the faucet for a spray hose’ should be used for a under-sink water filter!
Posted by Gray - 09/29/2007
Carolyn, i don’t know about your dispenser, but most of the new ones i have seen let you lift the top off and fill them from with top, without having to crawl around underneath. hope this helps!
Posted by Larry - 09/30/2007
After knocking the spout off of the dispenser for the second time while washing pots, I took mine out and put the button back in. Not worth the hassle. If you think refilling the reervoir is inconvenient, try replacing the whole thing on a regular basis.
Posted by karen - 10/01/2007
i’m an anomoly. i really hate those soap dispenser thingies. i like dishwashing soap & don’t mind having it on the back of the sink near the backsplash. i get the small bottles (i have the squatty body sunlight in my kitchen right now). i have a little two-bowl dish and the dish soap bottle goes in one half & a small round dish scrubber fits neatly in the other. i have a sink saddle where i keep my dish sponge. everything is convenient and i think it looks swell.
Posted by Serene and Not Herd - 10/03/2007
I have heard that these things either don’t pump well or get really gummed up and gross. But then I can’t imagine so many positive responses here. I definitely have to look into this option, since I installed an intergrated-hose faucet, and have a blank spot just waiting for one of these.
Posted by Raymond - 10/05/2007
When we had new countertops put into our bathrooms I had holes cut for soap dispensers, and Moen sold ones that matched the faucets. It’s even nicer in the bathroom than in the kitchen. . .
Posted by Rhoda - 01/05/2008
I have one of these soap dispensers in my kitchen sink and love it. I do not find it a problem to refill it from the top about every week. I like it so much better than having the bottle setting on the sink. It the pump gets a little sluggest I just soak it in water and pump clear water through it a few times and then it works great again
Posted by Dana - 02/26/2008
I have a soap dispenser on my kitchen sink which I loved until it ran out of soap this past time and I cannot get it to come out again… and it is really frustrating!!
I’ve tried everything I can to get it to come out and it is not pumping the soap, any suggestions.
Posted by Melinda - 03/02/2008
I keep having the same problem with the pump stopping working even after I clean it out. I already replace the pump part a couple of times and have had to buy a whole new setup just to get the pump part. suggestions please? Also my spray hose works erratically you have to hold it a certain way and most of the time it just doesn’t work at all. Do I need an air gap on the sink? I don’t have a dishwasher. any ideas??
Posted by Roseann - 04/08/2008
Where can one purchase a replacement plastic bottle for the soap pump?
Posted by Lenore - 04/20/2008
I want to install a soap dispenser on my kitchen sink. How do I disconnect the vegetable sprayer hose under the sink?
Posted by Sandra - 05/03/2008
Roseann, did you ever figure out where to buy a replacement plastic bottle? I went to Home Depot and all they had were the complete units for almost $30.
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