Liquid Hand Soap Refill for Dispensers - suggestions?

My sister dilutes her dish washing soap (she uses Palmolive) and just uses that in her dispenser. It works great.

Quote from SueM : My sister dilutes her dish washing soap (she uses Palmolive) and just uses that in her dispenser. It works great.

Thanks for the suggestion! I recently switched from using Palmolive for decades to Dawn Power Clean, I like it a lot better for the pots and pans. I thought of diluting that but I was afraid it may be too corrosive for the in-sink soap dispenser [rohlhome.com] which has a narrow nozzle. I recently had that replaced under warranty because soap always came out from under the pump onto the top of the sink instead of squirting out the nozzle. I was afraid Softsoap was adding to the issue by being so gunky. In the interim I picked up this counter top dispenser [amazon.com]at Home Goods, I've since gone back and bought more for the bathrooms, I really like it's long nozzle and rubber base and it handles the Dawn and the Softsoap just fine. But Palmolive has always been said to be gentle on hands so that may work. And for some reason many car manuals recommend it for washing cars. I do still use Palmolive in a spray bottle for the granite countertops - highly diluted though, too watery for hand soap, but I should try what you are saying. Has anyone used the Kirkland eco friendly dish soap? That may be good to dilute too and may be gentle as well....

Another member here, aggiemom, has a blog where she gives recipes for making soap--frugalnotcheap.com. I'm trying out my first recipe of clothes detergent and it has been gentle but clean on my clothes. There was also one for dish soap, I believe. I had a sd on a huge bottle of Palmolive so I have to go thru before trying that recipe

Quote from SueM : Another member here, aggiemom, has a blog where she gives recipes for making soap--frugalnotcheap.com. I'm trying out my first recipe of clothes detergent and it has been gentle but clean on my clothes. There was also one for dish soap, I believe. I had a sd on a huge bottle of Palmolive so I have to go thru before trying that recipe

Thanks, I looked but the recipe is for foaming soap dispensers and I don't have any of those. The trick for opening those non-refillable bottles is pretty neat even though I don't have a use for that currently.

Quote from silvery79 : I always buy the Softsoap antibac stuff at Costco when they do the coupon thing. But I'd like to move away from the gunkiness of it and I would like to avoid antibacterial soap in general. I swung by Target but they just had Softsoap in the large refills, same with Home Depot.... wondering what brands are at Walmart. Any decent not too thick liquid hand soap refills out there? What brands? Method, Jergens, Dial, any good store brands? -want to avoid antibacterial soaps -want to avoid very thick and gunky soaps to avoid clogging stainless steel built in soap dispensers -large refill bottles preferred to keep cost down

Softsoap does make some non antibacterial soaps, but they are all the same thickness. My favorite generic brand is Walmart's Equate Light Moisturizing Hand Soap it's a pinkish-orange color. They also make a Hand Soap with Aloe Vera that is very effective. Neither of them are as thick and messy as Softsoap and are a lot easier to wash off.

Quote from SueM : Another member here, aggiemom, has a blog where she gives recipes for making soap--frugalnotcheap.com. I'm trying out my first recipe of clothes detergent and it has been gentle but clean on my clothes. There was also one for dish soap, I believe. I had a sd on a huge bottle of Palmolive so I have to go thru before trying that recipe

You're sweet! Watch the laundry soap with whites. Ours got dingy over time and my older son's cub scout uniform faded pretty badly. Could have been because I wasn't very careful about washing in cold water, but who knows? My husband made me quit using it because of the issue with the whites not staying white enough. I switched to the All F&C pods and love them! They prevent everyone from using too much detergent.

Anyhoo - I'm off topic. I don't like the orange hand soaps. They don't wash cleanly. I don't like the ones that are milky looking, either. Give me generic clear hand soap or nothing!

I like the dish soap idea, and would consider stocking 2 varieties of soaps in your case OP. Use the Dawn for the dishes and the Palmolive for your hands. You're going to buy two kinds of soap anyway, right? And dish soap is cheaper if you dilute it a little bit.

Quote from johnlawwhiskey : Softsoap does make some non antibacterial soaps, but they are all the same thickness. My favorite generic brand is Walmart's Equate Light Moisturizing Hand Soap it's a pinkish-orange color. They also make a Hand Soap with Aloe Vera that is very effective. Neither of them are as thick and messy as Softsoap and are a lot easier to wash off.

Thanks for that suggestion! I highly appreciate it.

Quote from AggieMom : Anyhoo - I'm off topic. I don't like the orange hand soaps. They don't wash cleanly. I don't like the ones that are milky looking, either. Give me generic clear hand soap or nothing! I like the dish soap idea, and would consider stocking 2 varieties of soaps in your case OP. Use the Dawn for the dishes and the Palmolive for your hands. You're going to buy two kinds of soap anyway, right? And dish soap is cheaper if you dilute it a little bit.

Yeah I hate the orange ones, at least the Costco antibac Softsoap one was clear. I've never purchased a milky one but I haven't liked them when I've used them at people's houses but then I don't know what brand I was using I think I will stick with 2 kinds, I rather like the way the Progressive dispenser can squirt straight into a pot for soaking with Dawn, the built in dispenser is closer to the small disposal section of the sink, so better for the hand soap.... So yeah I think I'll try both the Walmart Equate Aloe Vera one mentioned by johnlawwhiskey and if I don't like that, then I'll consider watering down the Kirkland stuff too. Since that stuff is green I think it might be even milder than Palmolive watered down for the granite, so it might work for hands too, dunno. I literally only put a few drops of palmolive in about 2 cups of water for the granite countertops and use this sprayer bottle [walmart.com] I got from Walmart. I use that same bottle for my Bona floor cleaner because it's a huge spray radius and disperses the product pretty well in 1 squirt. Once I accidentally got Pledge overspray from furniture on the wood floors, oh boy, took lots of vinegar and water to get rid of that residue so that it was not a serious slip hazard. I have since abandoned Pledge, it always seems to leave too much of a build up anyhow. And since we're going off topic anyways, lol. for laundry, I've been using Purex Natural Elements for several years and I've never had issues with stains and I mostly use cool or warm water (except for kitchen towels, I use the hot). It's probably one of the cheapest ones out there too when you get it on sale and/or Target clearance, etc.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.

I always buy the gallon (or largest, not all contain 1 gal.) of the silvery-white thick soap. I haven't found there to be much difference as far as brands (tried many name brands & off brands) go as long as you stick w/ the silvery-white thick kind. All of that type is non-antibacterial & contains mosturizers. They seem to be gentler on the hands. When I open a new jug I pour about 1/3 of it into an empty 2 liter soda bottle. I fill up the jug w/ water, throw in a few marbles for mixing, then I shake the #@^* out of it. Now I'm ready to fill my soap dispensers & there's plenty more for refills. It's a lot easier to dilute the soap then than when you wash your hands. You're not only saving money on soap but on water also. Lowes Hardware & Sam's Club have the best prices by far in our area.

Your method of blending seems really neat. Thanks for the tip.

I use the Method brand from Target. Love this stuff. Scents are not overpowering like Palmolive Original, and it's suppose to be health conscience. This is the only brand I stick to for house hold cleaning. Their refill bottles aren't humongous though...

Quote from sandrineXD : I use the Method brand from Target. Love this stuff. Scents are not overpowering like Palmolive Original, and it's suppose to be health conscience. This is the only brand I stick to for house hold cleaning. Their refill bottles aren't humongous though...

Thanks for your input. I think I've only bought Method hand soap once I think b/c of after xmas clearance. I never tried their dish soap but as you say their refills seem small and the stuff is pricey. Thanks for your input.

Ok so I'm liking the Kirkland dish soap, and I love that there is no need to water down because it's very thin compared to Softsoap and even the Equate hand soap and it smells citrus-y so yay. Gentle on the hands too. Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Quote from sandrineXD : I use the Method brand from Target. Love this stuff. Scents are not overpowering like Palmolive Original, and it's suppose to be health conscience. This is the only brand I stick to for house hold cleaning. Their refill bottles aren't humongous though...

I also use this and love it! Agreed on the smaller bottles, but its just me and my husband so we don't go through TONS...