With six people in our family, one of whom has some obsessive compulsive tendencies with regard to possible germs, we wash hands a lot. We used to go through quite a bit of soap. Afterall, it’s fun to play with soap and water.
In an effort to conserve some money, I began making our own foaming soap. Making might be a little misleading. I still buy liquid soap. However, I now thin it down so that I can refill our foaming soap dispensers.
I use 3 tablespoons of liquid soap for every 1 cup of water abd mix well. This is actually a great job for the kids. I usually ask who wants to make potions and have several volunteers on my hands.
living peacefully with children 
I *love* the foaming soap because it keeps the little ones from using GOBS of it! My 12yo still goes overboard with that, but it isn’t so drastic.
So… with this recipe I can refill the foaming soap dispenser? That would be awesome! I’ve been buying the big generic refill bottle, but have recently been considering making my own household cleaners. You’re using dish soap or actual liquid hand soap? and not the already-made-for-foaming stuff?
Do you have any trouble with it foaming up while you’re trying to mix it?
Thanks for the info!
I buy liquid hand soap. You can buy large containers of liquid soap at stores like Target. The hardest part is looking for non-antibacterial versions. You can also buy more expensive types of liquid handsoap at Whole Foods or order them through a coop like Frontier. We mix ours in a big container, stirring with a spatula and then refill our old foaming soap dispensers. I find that the cheap foaming dispensers eventually quit working, but we can refill them for quite a long time. Letting the kids make potions while mixing up our new foaming soap extends the life of the dispenser, as my younger children are less likely to make soap by adding water to dispensers which are low. Adding plain water to foaming soap dispensers ruins them.