More Economical to Buy Liquid or Foam Handwash?

The palmolive liquid handwash refill 1L is regularly on sale for $6.60 but the palmolive foaming handwash refill 500ml is regularly on sale for $4.40 which is $8.80 converted to 1L. The answer might seem obvious but doesn't foam use less in general making it more economical?

Comments

  • I think you'll probably find arguments for both sides, really up to which one you prefer. Some say the foam handwash isn't as effective as standard liquid handwash. Some say foam handwash is more cost effective since it adds volume by air.

  • Please be careful as some foam washes have an ingredient that have been identified by the FDA as potentially unsafe hence can no longer be marketed….in the US.

    Triclosan is still on Aussie shelves.

    https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm378393.h…

    https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/…

    https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm205999.h…

  • This stuff is a bargain ALL the time:
    https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/505881/bal…

    Unless by economical, you meant more planet friendly? In which case, the planet’s going to hell regardless of which hand soap you buy.

  • +3

    I buy ~1L (32oz) Dr. Bronners Pure Castile Liquid Soap for $25 or so, and fill my own foam dispensers, diluting it with water in a 1 to 5 ratio.
    Yes, it's organic magical soap, but works out cheaper than normal soap.

    • I do the same, except I use whatever is the cheapest liquid soap I can find. Plus I think I dilute it a bit more.

      • Same here.
        Have been using the same foam dispenser for years with about 5% liquid soap solution.
        The mix is nearly clear but foam just as effective as the expensive stuff.

    • My partner used that stuff, it was a pain in the arse, it kept building up somewhere along the drain pipe and blocking it after a couple of months.

  • -4

    You don’t need soap to make hands clean.
    Water is all you need.

    • Depends if you are concerned about bacteria or not.

      from 44% no washing…Handwashing with water alone reduced the presence of bacteria to 23% (p < 0.001). Handwashing with plain soap and water reduced the presence of bacteria to 8% Source

      • What if you use this?

        • From preliminary observation, I theorise that my study would say that washing with that will reduce the presence of hands to 23%.

  • +1

    Cheaper to buy a bar of soap IMHO.

  • To answer OP, Foaming soap uses 40% less soap than liquid soap so $8.80 x .6 ($5.28) is the price equivalent.

  • I use homebrand dishwashing liquid $0.99/Lt

  • Do you use handwash regularly enough that this becomes an issue? I use like one refill a year or sometimes even longer.

    • No, it's just my transitioning to frugality has made me a bit OCD and this is my way of scratching an itch.

  • +2

    Foam is more economical with my kids, as they tend to fill their hands with whatever comes out the bottle.

  • +2

    Hi OP, you can use normal liquid handwash and make foam handwash from it. It was pointed out to me by some kind OzBer some time back. I always meant to try this, but just have not exhausted the foam handwash refill. But seeing your post, I wanted to confirm if it really works before sharing this. So I did just that. Happy to report, it works really well.

    If you google, there are quite a few references on this. Basically, it is just diluting the liquid handwash with water. Some accounts cite 1 part liquid handwash to 4 parts water. But just experiment until you get a result you find satisfactory.

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