Yesterday I was filling up the soap dispenser when my husband walked into the kitchen and asked me what I was doing.
I thought it looked a little obvious but he was a little perplexed.
Mavis: I’m filling the soap dispenser.
HH: But it says hand soap on the bottle.
Mavis: What are you, the soap police?
HH: I thought you just bought that container at Costco a few months ago..
Mavis: I bought it like three years ago! {4 bottles for $9.99!} I like the container so I fill it up with dish soap when it gets low. You’ve never noticed this?
HH: Why don’t you just buy a new bottle of hand soap?
Mavis: Because Costco doesn’t sell it anymore. And it’s too expensive everywhere else. And anyway, what difference does it make? Soap is soap. I’ve been doing this for years.
HH: Well I don’t think you should put dish soap in a hand soap container.
Mavis: Well la dee dah…. Don’t you have high standards.
Husbands. They’re so strange.
How can they go 30+ years and not know the difference between using hand soap and dish soap and then all the sudden be outraged that you’ve been making the switcheroo all this time.
Do you do this at YOUR house? Do you keep containers that you like and just refill them with whatever is on sale?
Do tell.
Team Mavis or Team HH? I’ve got to know.
Nancy Settel says
Team Mavis and yes it is a husband thing if you ask me……
Diane Buckner says
Team Mavis! I’ve been known to buy something just for the container. But I take the labels off things—sort of an obsessive compulsive thing. Then if it’s confusing I make a nice plain label.
Linda says
Same!
Erin says
I definitely refill the soap containers I like but I don’t put dish soap in them. So I’m a 50/50 split between teams here. I buy castile soap in bulk, dilute it & add a little essential oil. Lemon in the kitchen. Orange in the bathroom. And as far as dish soap goes, every brand seems to have added way more fragrance to it (& advertised it on the bottles as if everyone will be excited about a bunch of overly perfumed dish soap) & it gives me a literal headache. I’ve had to stop buying it in bulk & just buy the fragrance free Palmolive at the grocery store now.
Yma P says
All praise for the fragrance free Palmolive!
Ramona says
I also get headaches from all the perfume smells added to about everything. Some products I can use, Dawn was one of them until a few years ago they changed and did ‘the new and improved’ fresh scent. I found two of the last large bottles of original scent. I just used up my last bottle of fragrance free hand soap that YES I do refill old containers.
Sandra says
I have been using the same foaming dispenser for years, too. I keep it by the kitchen sink and even use it to wash off the occasional plate or bowl. With the foamer you need to dilute it quite a bit, probably 4 parts water to 1 part dish soap.
Denise Cox says
Team Mavis. I’ve been doing this for years and no one ever notices.
Wendy C says
I refill for sure, but refill with hand soap.
Christa H. says
Yes- I refill all the time but I am a bit OCD so I like all items to match and wanted to save money over time and buying hand soaps with their random containers looked messy and got expensive.
I 2019 I bought inexpensive permanent containers for refills and we are still using them.
I bought 6 squared clear glass foaming hand soap dispensers from Amazon for all sinks in the house and fill them 1/3 with Dr. Bronner’s lavendar castille soap and the rest with water and shake to combine.
By the kitchen sinks, I put down 12×4 plain white ceramic platters beside each sink. On each one I put one of the hand soap containers, one taller and skinny squared off clear glass bottle with a liquor pour spout on the top that has my dish soap in it, and a bowl with a scrubbie. Everything looks neat and tidy and I have saved a lot of money over the years refilling.
Sue says
I have a dish soap dispenser mounted on the corner of my kitchen sink, fed from a gallon jug of dish soap beneath. There’s a bottle of foaming hand soap next to the dish soap dispenser that gets refilled at a 5:1 water-to-hand soap ratio.
If I’ve got super greasy hands, I use the dish soap. Otherwise, it’s hand soap, because dish soap is harsh.
I do refill hand soap bottles in the bathrooms with body soap from the showers. Quelle horreur! No one’s ever caught me, though.
So HH didn’t notice the lack of coconut/citrus scent all these years? Imagine that. ;^)
Tracey says
I do the same. I only replace the handsoap dispensers if they break (and they do), but I will splurge on a more aesthetic bottle and refill that.
Carla says
So I always buy the large bulk bottles of soap and refill the small containers in each bathroom/sink. During the Covid shortages, my MIL ran out of soap and needed another. The stores were completely sold out. I told her that I had extra and could refill her container. She looked at me blankly and said, “But I already threw out the empty one.” Refilling it clearly was a completely foreign concept to her. I was a little surprised because throwing something like that out when it’s not broken against my nature.
Nicole says
There was a long period of time, around Covid, that you couldn’t find the large bottles of Softsoap (hand soap) at Costco. That’s what I typically use to refill hand soap dispensers. It is available again at Costco in WA, maybe in Maine too.
Lori says
Team refill BUT I refill with hand soap. I am 1000000% team Dawn though. That’s all I buy for dishes and to add to vinegar and water for cleaning. To add to rubbing alcohol for cleaning eyeglasses. Dawn is the best!
Patti Vanderbloemen says
I! Too, ONLY buy Dawn! I refill my Hand Soap containers with hndaoap.
Kathy says
😉 soap police, it’s a husband thing, we have a leftovers officer who can’t find the dish soap in the built-in dispensers in the kitchen sinks – “that’s not Dawn” – okay again
Susan says
I refill but hubby is aware. I have tried to get away from store-bought stuff to get away from the chemicals and scents. I now use castile soap, water & essential oil for foaming hand soap. And for dish soap, I use Sal Suds, vinegar, jojoba oil, water and essential oil recipe.
Meg C says
I 100% refill hand soap & dish soap containers! I make my own foaming hand soap using castille soap & it is both very economical and easy on the hands re: doesn’t dry our hands out like other soap options (Plus, it doesn’t smell super strong like some brands do).
Although, I do use dish soap specifically for dishes – hadn’t actually thought to use it as hand soap, too. I guess the marketers have gotten to me over the years! LOL
If my husband notices with the dish soap (not brand loyal – I buy what’s on sale/best value), he’s not said. He definitely notices with the hand soap, but not in a bad way. 😉
Mary G says
I refill our handsoap bottles with bulk liquid handsoap, which I dilute with water for our foam dispensers. I think dish soap would be too drying for my hands, which tend to get super dry, especially in winter.
Laurie says
I have a glass container that I refill. I buy a very large box of soap from an environmentally friendly company I like, Attitude, and refill as needed. I buy dish and hand as I’ve read that dish soap is more harsh on your skin, but not sure if that is true or not.
Margo says
I mix water and Castile soap to make foaming soap and refill my containers in the bathrooms as needed. 1/3 soap, 2/3 warm water, stir gently, refill. I avoid the use of single use plastics, so I reuse whatever I can, and I save a lot of money mixing my own.
Mel says
So, I’m not opposed to this, but I did it once by accident with dish soap that was much thicker than Dawn, and it would not pump.
I’m also occasionally (but not always) partial to antibacterial soap, namely while potty training, and most dish soap is not antibacterial.
Linda M says
Team Mavis all the way!
Dawn S says
Definitely a husband thing – Team Mavis all the way. On a side note, didn’t he notice that it didn’t smell of coconut at all? lol
KC says
I definitely reuse containers, but dish soap rips through my hands if I use it too much (I have to use gloves to wash dishes in the winter or I get way too many cracks in my skin), so handsoap containers get handsoap (and hand-sanitizer containers get hand-sanitizer).
If I refill something with something else, though, I’ll usually pull off the label so anyone who has allergies/whatever will know that the label isn’t what’s inside and can be appropriately cautious. (some scented products give me hives; others give me a sinus headache; I have sympathy!)
Heather in Nevada says
Definitely agree. I do the same thing.
Deb from Ohio says
Team Mavis!
Julie says
Team Mavis!
debbie in alaska says
I’m all about the refill but not on board with using dish soap as hand soap — mainly it’s a smell thing.
Julie says
Refill for sure but with hand soap from Costco. I also refill foaming hand soap, one part water to 4 part soap.
Teckla says
So funny! Have refilled lotion, hand and dish soap for years. I just replaced my dish soap bottle a few months ago after probably 20+ or more years of use. It had an attached flip cap that finally broke off and the original, but much abused label on it. I prefer a squirt cap. Had a partial bottle of Palmolive with one that I had gotten somewhere when helping to clean, so I switched over to it. I’ll keep it until it cracks and leaks. Dawn is great for certain purposes, but I mostly use whatever is cheaper. 3-4 years ago I received a pretty 21.5 oz. bottle of lemon hand soap from Costco as a gift. It will take me another 3+ years to use it up. Doesn’t take much unless my hands are really grubby from gardening. It does smell nice, though. Funny thing about that, is I received another one a couple years later. Now I have a lifetime supply! LOL I should probably say I’ve been a widow for 22+ years so I really don’t need much. My husband was usually oblivious to most things like that–if it was by the kitchen sink, it was kitchen soap; if by the bathroom sink, hand soap. Men, they are funny!
TC says
Soap police definitely a husband thing, I refill with whatever I get for free and I don’t care as long as it saves money. I tell him if he wants something specific he has to go shop for it so i know it will never happen unless he orders it from Amazon. I often use dish soap to wash my hands but HH he has to have the hand soap and he hates it that when it gets low I add water to get the last bit out of it. LOL my mother used to say “What they eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve over” Keep it secret from now on. Ignorance is bliss.
Zadu says
I gotta go with Team Mavis. Please tell HH that it’s best that we husbands don’t ask too many questions. Just let the magic happen and say “thanks”.
Sue S. says
I used to refill the coffee c a n with decaf and hubby dub never said anything or noticed the difference. For soap I only use Mrs Meyer’s dish and hand soaps and buy the refill bottles. Dawn is too hard on my hands.
Suzanne Ragel says
Been doing the same for years. I use shampoo (yes,shampoo!) that I get on sale to refill hand soap containers. Even cheap shampoo is not as hard on your skin because of conditioners and it smells nice. BTW the “secret tip” came from a doctor.
Nancy says
I like that idea. I’m going to give it a try.
Dianne says
Refill. Do not put dish soap in a hand soap container though. Dish soap is very harsh on your skin.
Linda Sand says
I use blue Dawn for dishes as it was safe to use in our RV holding tanks. If my hands are really greasy I also use it to wash my hands. I use unscented Liquid Ivory otherwise for hands and body. The sink-sized Ivory pumps don’t hold up to refilling so I finally bought a simple glass bottle with pump for the bathroom sink. I used a Soft Soap dispenser for a while but it bothered me to have the “wrong” soap in it and the label refused to peel off.
Mrs. M. says
I do refill… I actually buy a more expensive hand soap (Meyer’s) and then dilute it with distilled water to make it into a foaming soap. I have a chemical sensitivity to certain scents, so I only use two scents of the many they offer. If I refilled a hand soap with dawn (I love dawn for dishes… have a recipe to make a refill for the dawn dish spray that makes a large bottle of Dawn last YEARS), I would label it as such. Personally, I would seek out Dawn for handwashing if I saw the handsoap was scented. But, I wouldn’t want to wash my hands with Dawn everytime.
So, I’m on the fence… team Mavis (refill and save money), but team hubby (don’t put dishsoap in a handsoap container).
Vivian Blossom says
A similar thing…tonight my husband noticed some dental picks on the table next to his chair. He asked me when I had put them there as he had never noticed them before. THREE YEARS AGO, I replied! What the heck?
Wendy Steele says
I have ceramic hand soap dispensers at my sinks—decor comes first!!! I either refill with Mrs. Meyers hand soaps or Zum Frankincense & Myrrh hand soap (my fav).
Gayle says
I love the fragrance of coconut sauce shampoo and that’s my go too for secret hand soap! I dilute it a little with water when needed.
Jennifer says
Do it all the time as does my husband. I broken my FAVORITE soap dispenser last year so I used a glass lotion dispenser. Works the same, just doesn’t match.
Melanie says
I buy the M&M big container at sams for 13.00 and once their are empty I use them to store my chocolate chips since I usually buy in bulk. I also buy the big container of animal crackers and refill with flour and rice. And I also have a mm container I fill with dryer lint for fire starters.
Michelle says
I save foam soap dispensers and dilute it. I noticed when the kids were little that less soap was wasted that way (they would start to rub their hands together and most of the liquid soap would just go down the drain). Fluffy soap was more exciting too. I recently asked for empty soap containers on our local buy nothing so I didn’t have to buy a new one when one broke
Carole says
I do it. I always got the Kirkland dishwashing liquid as it was a better deal to refill our dispensers. No longer available so I am using that enormous bottle of Ecco laundry detergent. Soap is soap