One of my least favorite chores in the kitchen has always been re-filling the built-in hand soap dispenser at the kitchen sink. Through years of extensive research in to this matter, I've discovered that I'm not alone. Approximately 57.3% of soap dispensers in the Twin Cities metro area remain unfilled; sitting next to the empty soap dispensers, I often find unsightly store-bought bottles of hand soap.
I have many reasons to not refill my soap dispenser.
For one, they're difficult to access. Mine is so tough to get at that I need to lay on my back under the kitchen sink just to unscrew it.
They're difficult to fill. Why are the openings so damn small?! The photo below shows what used to happen to me every time I would try to fill my dispenser. I've tried a funnel, but this doesn't work either – the soap is too thick.
Another problem is getting the dispenser screwed back in place under the counter – it's very difficult to see under there. I actually installed a fluorescent light inside my kitchen cabinet to help with this chore.
Finally, this is a grueling task that demands action about once a month. If I only had to do it once a year, that would be fine, but we wash our hands in the kitchen more than anywhere else in the house, and the tiny container doesn't hold much soap.
But now… I DON'T HAVE TO FILL MY DISPENSER ANY MORE.
While inspecting a home in my very own Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis last year, I came across an unusual container for the hand soap dispenser while looking under the kitchen sink. Instead of having a tiny 8 oz container screwed to the dispenser, there was a long tube dropping down in to a Costco-sized container of hand soap.
For a split-second I figured the owner had broken their soap container, but I quickly realized that this was no accident, my friends. This was a stroke of genius.
No more refilling the soap container.
No more running out of soap every month.
No more back-breaking acrobatics while reaching under the sink trying to unscrew the soap container.
No more tears of anguish and frustration trying to pour liquid hand soap in to a 3/8" hole.
You too can do this. Just pick up three feet of 1/4" plastic tubing, cut it to length, and replace the little plastic tube coming out of your soap dispenser with this long tube. Now drop it in to a huge container of hand soap. That's it, that's all. The Home Depot by my house sells a twenty-five foot roll of this plastic tubing for under three dollars. Many hardware stores sell this stuff by the foot, and you can even cut it to length with a pair of scissors.
Now just sit back and marvel at your tricked-out hand soap dispenser.
Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minneapolis Home Inspections
