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The best automatic soap dispenser might seem like a frivolous expense. Sure, handwashing is of the utmost importance, but pumping your own soap is not a monumental lift. However, putting our top pick from Hanamichi on your countertop offers a few plusses a manual dispenser can’t: It greatly reduces drips to minimize the amount of gloopy excess soap on the counter and can prevent the spread of some germs by removing a dirty soap pump numerous people touch every day. It can make one more thing in the kitchen seamless and the right one can add a little flair to your kitchen too.
To figure which would do all that best I repeatedly washed my hands using six different automatic soap dispensers. I assessed everything from ease of set-up to efficiency in soap dispensing to determine which dispensers are worth your money—and I’ve got the blistered hands to prove it. Read on for more information about our top pick, as well as more information on how I tested and other soap dispensers I tried.
Best soap dispenser How we tested What we looked for Other soap dispensers we tested The takeaway
Everything about the Hanamichi felt easy, from setting it up to the actual act of hand washing. It has a medium-sized capacity—13.5 ounces—but it’s easy to track how much soap is left thanks to the model’s clear container. Adding the soap worked like a breeze thanks to a pretty spacious opening on the back of the dispenser, making it easy to pour the liquid in without getting any down the sides or on the table.
Some dispensers I tested recommend sticking to lighter, liquidy types of soaps because thicker solutions can clog the machines—making them more high maintenance. The Hanamichi though could accommodate any type of soap and simply recommended something with a low concentration of alcohol. The Hanamichi also had a smartly designed infrared motion sensor, which equires you to stand closer to the dispenser than some others, avoiding accidental spills. I especially liked how the soap volume control worked. The dispenser features a “+/-” button right beneath the power button that allows you to adjust to three different amounts. The lowest setting dispensed what I found to be the equivalent of two pumps of soap. One seemingly small feature I actually found quite useful is that the Hanamichi lets you know what setting you’re on with a light that flashes, once, twice, or three times depending on the amount chosen. Other models didn’t provide this sort of clear information and that led to a lot of guesswork and over- or under-soaping.
I’d only change the amount of soap the Hanamichi dispenses. The highest setting offered a copious amount of soap and I don’t actually see much use for it. But lower settings are entirely appropriate so it’s a small gripe for an otherwise well-functioning automatic liquid soap dispenser.
Yes, there was a lot of hand washing, but there was more than that. I noted set-up, such as if a dispenser required AAA or AA batteries or if it had a more convenient rechargeable one. While batteries are generally pretty easy to change, it does mean you always have spare batteries lying around. But even if you do, all battery compartments are not created equal—some require you to loosen tiny screws, which can take some time and fiddling around, whereas others offer a simple sliding or twist-off compartment. I also noted any soap limitations to assess how high maintenance each model might prove for the average buyer. I used regular old antibacterial liquid hand soap from Dial for all the models, except the Simplehuman and Umbra.
Then I looked at size and curb appeal. Were any of the models on the bulkier side? Could they easily fit on a smaller countertop and not take up too much space? Were they an eye-sore? Did they have a clear container so you could see when you might need to refill the soap? As I was filling up each model with soap, I also took note of which ones featured a small or large capacity, and what that might mean over time.
Last came the hand washing. Typically you should use about two pumps of soap when washing your hands. With a bottle of lotion on standby to save my thoroughly dried out hands, I investigated the range of the motion sensors, how responsive they were, and if they delivered that two-pump minimum (or more).
The point of getting an automatic soap dispenser is to make your life easier, so the set-up for the soap dispensers—powering it, filling it—needed to be easy and low maintenance. It was also better if there were no irritating soap requirements and it was big enough that it didn’t need constant refilling.
When it came to actual function, I focused on how much soap got dispensed and how quickly it responded to motion.
I really liked the Secura’s large 17-ounce capacity and the clear container to track how close it was to empty. Considering its capacity it managed to have a small footprint on the countertop (you can also make it a wall-mounted soap dispenser if you wanted to keep it off the counter entirely). Controlling the amount of soap was also quite intuitive. The Secura used a smooth dial on the base of the dispenser to adjust how much soap comes out. Unlike the Hanamichi though, you can’t really tell what you’ll get from setting until you use it. The dial doesn’t have any markings other than “on/off” at the top and “max” on the bottom. The other problem with the Secura was the battery compartment. I had to take out little screws to open it, which felt tedious compared to models that had a compartment that simply slid open. It also had some soap limitations: It can’t use foaming soaps at all.
Secura Automatic Liquid Soap Dispenser
The Simplehuman sensor pump was the only dispenser with a rechargeable battery. The company says one round of charging with the included USB cord will last three months, helped by the fact that you can turn the dispenser on and off. In terms of which soaps you can use, Simplehuman does recommend using their in-house liquid soap (if you’ve ever bought a Simplehuman trash can, you’ve experienced similar recommendations around trash bags), claiming the consistency will prevent the machine from clogging. We tested with the included Simplehuman lavender soap, but representatives do say you can use most any type of soap though (with the exception of foaming soaps and exfoliants). There were only two soap options, but I liked the way you chose between them: If I wanted two pumps of soap, I just waved my hand directly under the motion sensor (as marked by a single drop up top) and if I wanted a more generous amount, then I just waved my hand further down the body. So what’s the catch? The $70 price tag is more than double the cost of everything else tested. Despite how well it works you just shouldn’t need to spend that much on a soap dispenser. But if you’re already into paying a lot for your Simplehuman trash can, you’ll be happy with this.
Simplehuman Rechargeable Sensor Pump Soap Dispenser
The Umbra was the tallest of the soap dispensers at 10 inches in height and was disappointing from the moment I put the soap in. The instructions say to avoid using “gel-based or thick soaps” as well as hand sanitizers, but it struggled with to dispense even the liquidy Dial Complete. Even when soap did come out it was cloudy and pale instead of clear like it was supposed to be. I tried with some Mrs. Meyers soap and a little bit of residual water, which worked better. But between the soap issues and a motion detector that was slow to respond after a few hours of inactivity, the Umbra fell short.
Umbra Otto Automatic Soap Dispenser
If you’re a reality T.V. fiend like me, then you might recognize this automatic soap dispenser from the apartment of Brett Brown in Love Is Blind season four. The PZOTRUF was relatively short at 7.4 inches high, but actually took up more space than most because its protruding spout makes it extra wide. I found the bulk disqualifying, but the large, push button interface for adjusting the amount of soap was nice.
PZOTRUF Touchless Dish Soap Dispenser
The Commercial Care touchless automatic soap dispenser was also short—7.4 inches high, same as the PZOTRUF—and had the smallest capacity of anything tested at 7.5 ounces. A bigger problem was that it was completely opaque, which meant I couldn’t see when it was running low. Actual soap dispensing went fine, but it was hard to tell how or if you could adjust the dispensing settings or if you had to just move your hand away.
Commercial Care Touchless Soap Dispenser
For a simple, affordable, and intuitive automatic soap dispenser, get the Hanamichi. It’s got a good soap capacity while not taking up much room on your countertop and it’s super easy to adjust the soap settings on as well. The Simplehuman is also a worthy contender if you’ve got more of a budget to work with, and the Secura also offers an alternative affordable option with an even bigger soap capacity (if you’re willing to compromise on a more ambiguous interface).
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