Software
Houzz Logo Print
a1an

Who makes the Best Soap Dispenser - I Ripped out my Grohe Tonight

12 years ago

So tonight, was the straw the broke the camels back....

I ripped out my Grohe Soap Dispenser.

The 1st blunder was when the kitchen was done...we somehow overfilled from the top and the bottle leaked out dripping antibacterial soap on the cabinet. Who ever knew that soap was so caustic....that it *singed* the exposed plumbing parts to a degree, if not damaging a 6" oval of the veneer on the inside cab.

I've tried the never mt soap dispenser (did not work unless I watered down the soap which I preferred not to do). Filling up is a chore as filling up from the top of the counter doesn't really work (due to viscosity of soap).

So tonight, again, we get ~soap blowout~, where soap has been leaked into the cab. The ISSUE with the design is that the bottle just fits into the tube via *clips* that sit via pressure holding the bottle.

Whereas in my Kohler Hi-Rise, their design is set so the bottle is secure, threaded onto the *stem* so that this soap ~blowout~ would not occur.

OKAY. So tell me GW gang. Who else makes a soap dispenser that is SECURE to the bottle connection.

Love to hear the design setup on KWC or Waterstone..

Comments (32)

  • 12 years ago

    Love my waterstone!
    It is still a top fill but the finish held up fine when i over filled, DH once and once by me.
    I do not have the never mt but it supposedly works.
    Started out using dial without any problems. I read on gw that some use 7th generation - one dispenser and use for hands and dishes. I bought some bbb soap in sale to try and it also works.

    Bottom line- no blowouts while using pump action and siap did not hurt the finish when we over flowed it- and i can assure you that DH left most of the mess for me when i returned several days later

  • 12 years ago

    Unless you're using a Never MT, I believe all of the soap dispensers are filled from the top. It would be a total PITA trying to remove the bottle from under the sink and then replacing each time you needed to refill the soap! Mine were always easy to fill but I always ended up overfilling. I've got two Waterstone soap dispensers and love both of them. I use Dawn in my Never MT and haven't had any issues at all. Works great.

    It sounds like the clips on the soap dispenser were the problem. Haven't ever heard of that. On all the other soap dispensers I've had the bottle screwed into the dispenser from the bottom. I never used the Waterstone bottles but they were definitely screwed securely to the dispenser. The clips sound strange.

  • 12 years ago

    Definitely screwed on! - I agree with Pooh - filling from the bottom would be a PITA.
    I want to get a Never MT but was peeved at the shipping costs, so hoping to find a few friends to buy a the same time.

    Pooh - you must be part of the Dawn Patrol group! Crack of Dawn on the computer etc.

    Got to get to work - I had a reprieve and don't teach today until 8, so only need to get there by 7 or 7:15 (I did some prep on Sat)

  • 12 years ago

    We have two NeverMTs. We use the big soap container from Costco. No issues stopping up.

    a2gemini - buy a bunch of NeverMTs (I think offer was buy 3 and get 1 free when we purchased) and then give them out to your friends as gifts when they admire yours.

  • 12 years ago

    It's funny how you read so many + reviews on the Never MT....

    I must have tossed out like 4 on the trash....1 of them being the only one I used.

    We use the softsoap gallon jugs.
    Maybe it's the design of how the *air* is drawn in - but I don't like watery soap....and this was the only way I could get the Never MT to work. And this was also with the shortest tubing run as possible - jug under the dispenser in the cabinet.

    And yes, the Grohe is a piss poor design at best.

  • 12 years ago

    I'm always overfilling mine. Putting a straw or something thin in it while filling will keep from having all the bubbles. Plus a glass measuring cup with the correct amount of soap. Never a problem with etching. Go for a new one that screws in.

    There is a how-to on Family Handy Man for a diy MT, using your existing pump. The size of the tubing is important.

  • 12 years ago

    we have a grohe and have had no problems at all!

    I have been wanting to get a never mt as well--A2-I'd go in on shipping with you!!

  • 12 years ago

    U guys do know all you need is the right *tubing& sized for your dispenser...drill hole in cap, put tubing in...maybe add another small hole for air and Viola - you have your Never MT

  • 12 years ago

    We have Moen soap dispensers in our MB and a cheapy stainless steel one from HD in the kitchen . I used to unscrew the bottle to refill them. My DH rigged up a homemade Never MT on each of them after reading about it on GW and we love it! We use the Sam's Club soap in them and have never had a problem.

    All of mine just sit in the hole, no clips- no threading.
    BTW, are you sure that the dispenser pump was working? We have had those blow out before.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade Never MT directions- scroll down

  • 12 years ago

    The blow out is 1 bad design.
    Second, the bottle if knocked --- which it has not for me *cause the bottle is behind the sink* .

    There are 4 clips that for a circle.
    How the bottle is affixed is that you push the bottle up, and the 4 clips put pressure on the inside of the bottle....and that is all that is holding the bottle in place.

    Hence, there is no *positive seal* where the bottle meets it's connection point....

  • 12 years ago

    From day 1, we have used our Grohe soap dispenser with a Never-MT hook-up, and a large Palmolive soap bottle. DH had to dribble soap into the top of the Never-MT tubing to get it started initially, but knock on wood, no issues. I've replaced the large soap container a handful of times in the 5 years since we completed our reno, swapping out one Never-MT cap for another when replacing one size soap bottle for another. That's as involved as it got.

  • 12 years ago

    I am happy with two KWC ones that we have had now going on 2 years. I fill from the top - just lift up the pump and squeeze it in. I generally use TJ's dish soap.

  • 12 years ago

    It's post like these that make me want to go out and always give the Never MT another try ;-)

    I gotta say I hung onto it, tried it about 5X with no luck over the course of 2 1/2 years and then decided to trash it.....

    How watered down or liquidy is your soap...

  • 12 years ago

    I could never get my never MT to work, either. Gave up. It worked for a day or 2 then I could never ever get it to work.

  • 12 years ago

    Bought two huge things of Dawn at Costco, hooked up the Never MT and never looked back. No need to water down the soap. No problem with it clogging up. Maybe your soap is the problem.

  • 12 years ago

    Never watered down our soap either. DH just primed the tubing, like I said (dribbled soap down from the top), and that's it.

  • 12 years ago

    I bought a Franke dispenser. I "rolled my own" Never MT, and I use Dawn liquid. I have had no problems with the homemade Never MT, and I did not even have to prime it. I just pumped enough times to "dispense" the air in the tube. I sort of expected to have an air leak that would allow the column of liquid to fall, but this has not happened.

  • 12 years ago

    Have been using Never MT with my Brizo soap dispenser for two years. No problem and soap is not watered down. Smart and Final large bottle of dish soap with one replacement--no spilling, no air clogs, no problem.

  • 12 years ago

    I have something that works like a Never MT but I purchased it at Ace Hardware. I love the fact I can hook up a Costco size Dawn container and am set for quite awhile. (I had the little bottle in the past, set it out for my son to fill but unfortunately he thought the bottle was still attached under the sink. You can imagine my reaction when I heard him say, "How much does this thing hold?" Luckily he had only emptied about 1/2 of the jumbo size bottle of soap into the abyss under the sink!)
    My problem with soap dispensers is not the tubing it is the metal pump part. It always seems to get hit sideways and breaks. I'm hoping my new Delta one works better but won't know until my new kitchen gets done.

  • 12 years ago

    I have two Graff dispensers attached to Never MTs in large bottles of Dawn with no water added. One has worked flawlessly for years. The one at the prep sink is used less and sometimes requires a single pump to prime it and the second to get soap. I may get an inline backflow valve in the aquarium supplies to replace the valve in that NeverMT line. That's it. Simple, effective and no spills.

    Yes, you can DIY, and if you only do the tubing, that's simple enough. If you do the tubing, the backflow valve and the cap drilled out tot he right size to hold the tube adn protect against spills (and keep the soap from thickening over time) it wasn't worth it to me. I just did their buy 3 get one free nad made the best deal I could. I used 2, gave one to my KD and told her she should buy them for all her clients and gave one to my dad, I recently reclaimed that one when he sold the house. I found it in the garage -- still in the bag. I will probably use it in the bathroom or utility room. Oh no -- I may have to order more ad figure out who gets the extras! LOL

  • 12 years ago

    All this +++ talk and I just made my own for the Kohler Hi Rise --- I had this soap dispenser on standby for the laundry countertop. We'll see how well it continues to pump after a couple of days.

    Me wonder if the *design* of the dispenser comes into play on how well the Never MT works or not. Granted the only thing I can come up with is the air holes required to created the suction for the soap

  • 12 years ago

    Old Bat - I am thinking of doing that or DYI - I sent a message out to my high end "running" group to see if any interest - but none so far. Giving one to KD is a great idea - then only 2 more to figure out...
    We are doing bathrooms next - anyone use the Never MT in a bathroom?

  • 12 years ago

    I have a Grohe and a Never MT...works perfectly. I use the Kirkland soap and use it as is...not watered down.

  • 12 years ago

    Is it me, is it the soap....sigh ;-/

    So after so many +++ feedback about this thing Again, I went ahead and DIY on both the Kohler AS well as my previous older Grohe. The Kohler was okay after getting it primed but soap would not come out ~fluid-smooth~ but in spurts. The Grohe took forever to get primed and after doing so, it seemed to viscious for the setup.

    I suppose the soap can be the root problem ....but I like this soap for handsoap .

  • 8 years ago

    I have a Grohe soap dispenser ....and faucet! Both are pure junk, bought them at Ferguson plumbing. Both Grohe and Kitchen Aid products were so disappointing!

  • 8 years ago

    WB -


    I've got all Grohe in our kitchen, bar and laundry faucets.

    Sofar, the Kohler in the kitchen and the Moen 3942 work great....unlike my others.


    It's funny. It's like Kitchen Appliances IMO. The cheaper they are, the more reliable and easier they are to use and run !

  • 8 years ago
    A1an....Think you are exactly right! Plumber needed the bar faucet right away and forgot that in my order from Ferguson, so went to Home Depot bought Kohler faucet....cheapest, but best sink in the house!
  • 8 years ago

    Just for clarity. Love our Grohe faucets. Have had Kohlers. Reliable as well.


    JUST not a fan of the Grohe soap dispenser..

  • 8 years ago

    We had a Blanco soap dispenser. In fact we had five of them because it never worked right and they kept sending replacements. I think I'd be hard pressed to get DH to install one in the new kitchen. Sigh.

  • 8 years ago
    cpartist...thanks, good to know , because you just don't know. Doyou go cheap, or buy what I think is quality? Although I was thinking of going with an inexpensive brand since the Grohe was definitely poor quality at best. I had installed a Blanco sink and faucet in the last house. They did work very nice...I went on some of Ferguson recommendations and didn't buy what I knew
    worked. Wbsimply/Orient Bay1322
  • 8 years ago

    Actually my faucet in the last house was blanco and it worked very well. Just the soap dispenser was garbage. We picked that one because it had the longer spout. Can't stand the ones with the short spout where you pump it and it runs down the side of the sink. Not sure what I'm going to do, since my main sink is on the island and I dislike having a soap dispenser sitting there.