The life-changing magic of foaming hand soap
Why we are super into mechanically foamed hand soap

Maybe foaming hand soap isn’t exactly life-changing, but it is a great sustainable option for your hand cleaning needs!
By foaming hand soap we mean a liquid soap diluted with water, and used with a mechanical foaming soap pump. If you prefer your soap in bar form we have that as well, locally made in Kitchener.
The main benefits of foaming hand soap for us boil down to the three R’s!
Reduce
With a pump designed to mechanically foam liquid hand soap you can use liquid Castile soap concentrate and dilute in a ratio usually between 3:1 and 5:1 (5 parts water, 1 part soap). Adjust the dilution ratio to get your preferred amount of lather.
Diluting the soap like this significantly reduces the amount you use in each hand washing session. It also cuts down on packaging and shipping since the soap is sold undiluted and all that water doesn’t have to be shipped with it. Even if you pump twice to get a really good lather going, you are still using much less soap than you would with a traditional liquid hand soap.
You can use liquid hand soaps and concentrates, but Castile soaps are a great option because they use only basic ingredients and many brands have a thinner consistency that works well in foaming pumps.
Learn more about Castile soap in the Soap making 101 section of our Testing Liquid Hand Soap article.
Reuse
Using soap concentrate with a reusable pump (such as the ones we carry—or make one yourself), you can eliminate one-time-use hand soap pumps. This reduces the amount of waste produced as well as the amount of energy used for recycling — reusing and reducing are always better than recycling!
To get the most use out of your foaming hand soap pump, try some of these tips:
- Make sure that whatever soap you are using is diluted enough that it is a similar consistency to water. The recommended dilution is usually 5:1.
- Some soaps such as Dr. Bronner’s do better with a higher dilution ratio. If your pump is clogging, try adding more water.
- Clean your pump regularly to prevent clogging. Remove the pump and clear out any visible soap buildup from the dispenser with a toothpick or brush. Turn the top upside down, and run the opening under warm water. If you can remove the tube, it may make this easier. Then pump several times to clear water out of the mechanism again.
- Another way of cleaning the top is to remove it and soak for 5–10 minutes in warm water, or water with vinegar, but if the pump you are using has a finish, there is a risk of damaging it with this method.
- Glycerin and coconut oils are particularly prone to clogging. If you find this is an issue, you can switch to another vegetable-oil based soap (like Green Beaver!) or dilute more.
- The pump can also become clogged if it is only used infrequently. Try sticking with foaming soap pumps in high-traffic areas of the house, or rotating your soap pumps.
- Hard water can cause damage to the pump mechanism and the finish over time. You can dilute with distilled or filtered water to help with this issue.
- Part of the foaming soap pump mechanism is a fine mesh screen that allows for the foaming to take place. If your soap has any added particles in it (moisturizing beads, exfoliants, etc.) they can clog the screen and the pump will stop working. Avoid soaps with any sort of particles in them.
Recycle
Finally, the bottles that Castile soaps come in are recyclable, and since you are diluting you will go through fewer bottles in a year. One bottle of Green Beaver Castile soap could fill a 14oz pump six or more times! This is in comparison to the refill containers available for some other brands like method, which come in packaging that isn’t recyclable in Waterloo Region, and aren’t carried by our distributors.
For all these reasons we think reusable mechanical foaming hand soap pumps used with diluted Castile soaps are a great sustainable option for every room in the house where you wash your hands. We have even heard kids get a kick out of using them!
We are excited to launch with Canadian-made Green Beaver Castile soap in unscented, lavender, and mint, and reusable hand soap pumps from InterDesign in glass, ceramic, and aluminum to make it easier to switch to foaming.
Try our Care Package service which keeps you stocked with sustainable versions of household products featuring our lowest prices, monthly order reminders, and $5 hand delivery in Kitchener-Waterloo. Try the service for free for 4 months, cancel any time. If the service works for you, the yearly fee is $48.
