Make Your Own Foaming Handwash

Foaming handwash is a great idea for a couple of reasons:

Kids: It's great for kids because the soap comes out already in the form of lather, so it really gets kids' hands clean. Often little kids don't work up a lather when using regular liquid soap so it washes off before it really gets their hands clean.

Skin: It's better for your hands if you wash them a lot. It's much less likely to make your skin dry out than regular bar or liquid soap.

So, how can you make your own? It's easy. First, buy a regular dispenser of foaming handwash such as Dial Complete, if you don't already have one. Go ahead and use it up, no need to waste what's in there. You'll notice a dispenser of this type of soap is much less expensive than a similar size of regular liquid soap, but you may notice as you use it, that you use it faster.

Before you've used up the contents of the dispenser, purchase a big bottle of liquid soap, the kind meant to refill a regular liquid soap dispenser. Store brand works just fine, and if you have dry skin you can choose a kind that has lotion in it too.

Don't buy the refill they make for the foaming handwash dispensers, and don't refill the foaming dispenser with straight liquid soap either. Instead, dilute regular liquid soap to make your own refill.

When your dispenser is empty, dump out whatever may be left. Rinse it out, especially if the color is different than that of the liquid soap you're using to make the refill. Then put about three-quarters of an inch of liquid soap in the bottom of the dispenser. Add water till it's mostly full - you have to leave a bit of room for the top since it's got a big plastic part that will displace a bit of water as you put it back on. I use hot water, it mixes more quickly with the soap.

Once you've added the water, put the top back on and screw it on tight. Then, shake it up, turning it upside down and right-side up a few times, till the soap and the water are mixed. That's all there is too it, you've now made the refill.

Buy yourself a big container of regular liquid soap refill and store it under your bathroom sink. Unless you have sextuplets, you'll probably still have that same bottle a year later, and you'll have saved a lot of money on liquid soap.

Eventually, the dispenser will start to malfunction and you'll find that it dispenses watery lather. Sometimes making a new batch of refill helps, sometimes not. The dispensers don't last forever, so you'll have to replace it every year or two, but if you add up the cost of one dispenser and one liquid soap refill, and compare it to other alternatives, you'll find you've saved a lot of money.