English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Русский
Español
简体中文
हिन्दी
日本語
A hand soap dish or bottle of commercial soap can get in the way and clutter the countertop around your kitchen sink. A handy alternative is to install a built-in liquid soap dispenser. A sink with a soap dispenser is convenient and they come in many styles and finishes to match your faucet. Some faucet kits even include a matching soap dispenser.
Adding a soap dispenser to a sink can be a very easy DIY project, especially if your sink’s deck has an extra hole for it. Sometimes your sink soap dispenser is not working because it’s clogged or damaged. In that case, it’s also easy to tackle a replacement soap dispenser for your kitchen sink.
Before You Begin
If there is no available opening, it is also possible to drill another opening in the sink or countertop to mount a soap dispenser. But the way in which you drill a hole in your sink for a soap dispenser depends on the material of your sink. It’s easier to cut a hole in a stainless steel sink deck yourself using a special drill bit called a metal hole saw. However, sinks made of other materials, such as stone or porcelain, likely already have pre-drilled holes in them that are usually hidden until you punch out the core of the hole for access. If you need more holes in stone or porcelain, it can be very tricky unless you have the right drill bits and expertise.
What You’ll Need
Equipment / Tools
- Channel-type pliers or basin wrench
Materials
- Soap dispenser kit
Instructions
How To Install a Kitchen Soap Dispenser
-
Insert the Straw Into the Dispenser
Remove the knockout opening on the top of your kitchen sink. Insert the pump handle fitting through the escutcheon plate. Use the foam or rubber washer it came with to seal the top portion.
-
Center the Dispenser
Make sure to center the soap dispenser. In many cases, the hole is larger than the housing of the soap dispenser, and this leaves you some room to center it as you like.
-
Tighten the Mounting Nut
From under the sink, thread the mounting nut onto the soap dispenser tailpiece, and hand-tighten it to keep it in place. Before you tighten it all the way, double-check the position of the soap dispenser on top of the sink. Use a pair of pliers or a basin wrench to tighten just slightly more than hand-tight.
-
Attach the Pieces
Screw the bottle to the soap dispenser housing from under the sink. This needs to be just less than hand-tight.
-
Fill the Dispenser
Now you can fill the dispenser with soap by lifting straight up on the soap pump to remove it and pouring the soap in from the top. Use a small funnel to help get the soap in the opening, if necessary.
-
What is the extra hole in a kitchen sink for?
Kitchen sinks tend to come with pre-drilled holes for faucets and extra holes for side accessories such as sprays, soap dispensers, lotion dispensers, and air gaps. You can replace a sink sprayer with a soap dispenser if you make sure you remove the sprayer housing and also match the hole’s diameter to the soap dispenser.
However, if you are thinking of replacing an air gap with a soap dispenser, check with a plumber first. An air gap is required by the plumbing code for accidental water backflows from a dishwasher.
-
How much does it cost to install a soap dispenser?
Installing a soap dispenser is easy if you already have the hole. If you need a new hole drilled in your sink to add a soap dispenser and you prefer to hire a plumber for the job, the cost can run from $50 to over $300, depending on where you live. Typically a soap dispenser install costs about the same as a faucet install.
-
How do you fill a soap dispenser under the sink?
A sink soap dispenser works in the same manner as a bottle of dish detergent on your counter or a countertop soap dispenser next to the faucet; however, the bottle itself is hidden and allows you to pump out soap into your sink using one hand. You typically take the pump off the soap dispenser and fill it from the top with liquid dish detergent. However, you can also unscrew the soap dispenser from below, fill it, then screw it back on, but it’s easier to do so from above.
-
Which side of the sink should the soap dispenser be on?
The answer depends on your sink’s design and set-up, as well as personal preference. If you have a double sink and you tend to wash dishes on the right and dry them on the left, then the dispenser should go on the right. For a single basin sink, either corner would work.
Read the full article here
