Help me understand soap foamers - same as "soft soap" dispensers?

[AmyY]

I've been reading the threads about uses for Dr. Bronners and also the ones about soap foamers, and I've decided once my current chemical stuff (labeled "natural" of course!!! : ) runs out I am switching to the Dr. Bronners mixture in a soap foamer. What I'm not clear on is what exactly is a soap foamer, and none of these threads I've read explains it - clearly I'm such a newbie that even the first step is confusing to me. Oh well ya gotta start somewhere...

I do have lots of soft soap dispensers in my house, since I've been using SoftSoap, Dial liquid, etc for years : . Are those soap foamers? Do I just need to start putting the Dr. Bronners/water mixture into those? Or is a soap foamer something else entirely? I am prepared to purchase if need be, there is money in the budget now that I switched to cloth TP!! But I just need to know what exactly I'm looking for, or if I actually have it right now and just don't know it.

Thanks!

[AmyY]

forgot to subscribe to my own thread

[mzfern]

Soap foamers have a pump that creates lots of foam from a watery soap. I’ve seen a few sold at Whole Foods with natural-ish soap in them, and Dial and Bath and Body Works both have soap lines that come with a pumper. Also, Kind Hearted Women sell an empty bottle and I think someone found them on Ebay.

You can put a dilution of Dr. Bronners in the liquid soap containers you already have, if you like, but the soap will be very watery and you’ll probably go through it a lot faster. The foam from the pump makes your soap last longer because you use less while feeling like you’re using more.

[EricaLeigh]

Both of my soap foamers are recycled Dial Complete foaming pumps. It works & I'm recycling. BTW that dial complete caused my hands to crack so badly. My exema that was better started up again. Dr. Brommers doesn't irritate me at all! So unless you already have them (dial foaming bottles) in the house I wouldn't reccommed buying them just to recycle them. Just MHO. Pampered Chef used to sell them too.

[Irishmommy]

I had a pampered chef one, and all I can say is, DON'T use soap with lotion in it. They really do mean it!!

[blessedwithboys]

heres a picture...you have to scroll down a bit

[prairiechild]

I diluted Dr. Bronners soap and put it in a foam bottle. After several days, it turned cloudy and smelled odd. Since I was taking a microbiology class, I knew these were signs of bacterial contamination. (As I recall, it takes ten million bacteria per cc of liquid for visible cloudiness to occur.) So instead of using the foam bottle, I now use a small spray bottle. It spritzes out just enough for one usage but I don't have to deal with the water growing bacteria.
Prairiechild

[DandK]

So I could refill the Can do bottle and use that then?

[hubris]

Just wanted to add...yes, a foam pump is different from a normal soap pump. It somehow aerates the soap solution so that it comes out foamy. If you use a normal Soft Soap pump with a soap/water solution, all you'll get coming out of it is soapy water.

[thyme]

I love these. About 5 years ago I wanted to buy three, one for each bathroom, and I was searching online. The Pampered Chef ones were kind of pricy. I found a place that had blue plastic ones for $8 each, so I ordered 3.

Well, I had not read it carefully because it was $8 per DOZEN so I ended up with 24!!! I gave them away to everyone I knew and ours are still working and I use them at my friend's houses all the time. Of course I have no idea where I got them from so I am not being very helpful with this story.

[thyme]

OK, I had to search! This is something similar to what I bought.
http://www.forsoapmakers.com/shop/sk...ylg-60x200.jpg

[AmyY]

Thanks for the info - did anyone else have the bacteria problem?

I love all the links too, I plan to browse and buy soon! Woohoo!

[lilyka]

If you have hard water Dr. bronners turns into a funk inside the soap foamers. I recommend working with the smallest amount possible..

CanDo isa can do. I prefer the cheaper bottles i got at bath and body works over the pampered chef ones. the soap scum left by dr broners clogged and ruined my bottle in a matter of weeks.

[cornflake girl]

Does the soap and water separate so that you're always having to shake it up, or does it stay mixed?

[messy mama]

Nope, you don't have to keep on mixing it.

To cut down the forming of bacteria, I use distilled water add TTO and I also add a few squirts of GSE. My soap is not cloudy at all, so hopefully it is bacteria free.

[oneotamama]

I just wanted to say that I love my soap dispenser from Kind Hearted Women. I've had it probably a year and it still works great. Even w/ds and dh using it as only men will :LOL However, I had a Pampered Chef one and was really disappointed. The button thingie that you push down always "stuck" on it and I'd have to manually pull it back up. Big hassle!

[MarieGale]

About using Foam Pump soap dispensers

Hi,

I just noticed that Thyme posted a picture and link to my site www.ForSoapmakers.com about the foam pump bottles. I have a lot of information about using them.

The foamers - almost all of them - are made by Airspray, Int'l (www.airspray.net). They work by pushing the soap liquid through a very fine mesh screen, causing it to foam.

The liquid used in the bottles must be water-thin. That means that most commercial soaps have to be diluted. Usually a dilution rate of 1 part soap to 4 - 6 parts water is about right, but you should try it with the particular soap you are using. Due to issues of both bacteria and minerals in the water, it's best to dilute with distilled water.

Selection of the soap to use is also important. Many commercial soaps have thickeners and/or binders in them to make them feel more gel-like. Good for "soft-soap", but not good when you are trying to dilute it. If it takes so much added water to make it water-thin that the foam is watery, then you are having to add more water to compensate for the thickeners.

Natural soaps, like Dr. Bronners, usually work pretty well. You need to check and make sure that they are made with POTASSIUM hydroxide, not sodium hydroxide. It will be on the ingredient label as Potassium hydroxide or maybe be listed in the chemical name of potassium olivate or postassium ___ate.

Don't use dissolved chunks of bar soap ... that is soap made with sodium hydroxide (on the label as sodium hydroxide or sodium ___ate). Sodium soaps are BAR soaps and no matter how much you dilute the soap it still tends to want to harden ... even if it is in a goobery gelly-like stuff. And that will clog the mesh on the foamer screen, making it stick and stop working.

Another issue is getting liquid into the foamer air chamber. Most of the foamers on the market are NOT designed to go under running water. Doing so can put water in the air chamber and stop them from working.

You can clean the mesh screen if it gets clogged (carefully take it apart, rinse and put it back together). If you get water or soap in the air chamber, turn it upside down and pump the liquid out.

Most of these points and some others about using the foamers are covered in an article here

I hope that helps. If there are any other questions about using the foamers, feel free to email me or post here.

Marie Gale
www.ForSoapmakers.com

[napless]

I love soap foamers! I use just a squirt of Dr. Bronner's and fill up the rest of the foamer with water.