Foaming Hand Wash Savings

I'm a firm believer in having soap of some description available to keep hands clean in my home.  I've tried many different soap products over the years.  A bar of soap might be the cheapest option but it has it's drawbacks.  If the soap dish isn't cleaned or wiped regulary the bar of soap ends up sitting in a pool of soapy water. getting softer by the minute.  I'm also not keen on the idea of everyone putting their dirty hands all over the same bar of soap.  Germs - mmmm  !!

Automatic soap dispensers leave drips of soap on the bench.  I've come across this many times when I'm cleaning client's homes.  I've accidently set them off when my hand gets too close.  They are expensive to buy in the first place and the refills are costly too.

Liquid hand soap dispensers are what my family has been using for years.  I don't mind them but it's hard to find a cheap refill.  I've tried making my own liquid hand soap with varying degrees of success.  Mostly it ends up goopy and clogs the dispenser.

The latest trend is foaming hand wash.  I'd heard you could get empty foaming soap pumps in the $2 stores but I couldn't find one.  Then I  saw foaming hand wash on sale at a local chemist for $1.99 .  I thought I'd give it a go and I must say I love it.  Those of you who know me know that I don't usually rave about any new product or trend simply because I don't buy them.   But this is a great product.

The bottle has a sturdy base making it easy for little kids to use.  It doesn't drip and you only need to use a little.  It feels luxurious on the hands and smells divine.  When the bottle was half empty I refilled it with water to see if it still worked and it did.  Then I got some shower gel out of the cupboard and thought I'd make my own.  After all,  foaming hand wash looks just like ruuny shower gel.

Here's what I did -

Use 1 part clear shower gel to 4 or 5 parts water.   Shake well and refill the pump.  How easy is that ?

Hand wash pump,  diluted shower gel and full strength shower gel 

 

If your foaming hand wash pump is empty them make it up in that.  If you have a bigger bottle of any type with a removable lid then use that.  Then you can continue to refill the pump when it gets low.  The shower gel can be colored as long as you can see through it.  I've used creamy shower gels and they do work.  Just not as well and the clear ones. 

  

Foaming hand wash refills are available in the stores but cost almost $6.  This will refill the pump bottle about three times.  I buy 500 ml shower gels on sale for $2.50 and can get 8 refills for the pump.  This costs 31 cents per refill. A bit of a bargain if I do say so.

Why don't you have a go of making foaming hand soap yourself.  I'd love to hear how you go.