Bottle O' Dish Soap?

Updated on September 26, 2014
O.O. asks from Beverly Hills, CA
25 answers

There's a social media group that was talking about the ugly old bottle of dish soap on the counter by the kitchen sink.
Usually mine is in the cupboard beneath the sink, but there are times it's sitting out for a day or two. Anyway, tons of people were posting their solutions to the ugly bottle.
There were oil bottles, wine bottles with pouring spouts, mason jars with pumps, plastic condiment bottles, etc.

They looked SO cute! (Well, not the plastic squeezie ketchup bottle!)
Do you use anything other than the bottle the the dish soap comes in?

( I know this is not a life changing topic or a thought provoking question--just looking for good ideas, 'cause I never really thought about it before--have you?)
TIA

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So What Happened?

Agree that there's room for error with an oil bottle or wine pourer...
This IS pretty though:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8psdZ...

Veruca--that was a common complaint about the bottles/spouts--I wonder if there's a spout that works better than others?

JB: I do like the Methos bottles too! Much less ugly.
Molly: it's a household organization group. There are tons more like it.

Featured Answers

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M.O.

answers from Dallas on

I have never thought about whether or not my soap bottle was cute enough to be seen on my kitchen counter.

I'm kind of shocked there is a social media group dedicated to this.

5 moms found this helpful

F.W.

answers from Danville on

I keep a small size dish liquid out. Under the sink I keep the HUGE refill container.

I never really thought much about it before...I mean most of us 'do' dishes...yes?

***thinking I may have to drink a bottle of wine tonight...and get a spout tomorrow...win win!!! lol***

5 moms found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

I've always just kept a bottle of dish soap on the counter and never thought about disguising it. But now, thanks to this post, I feel like I need to go out and find something fancy to put it in.

4 moms found this helpful

More Answers

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I never thought of a bottle of dish soap as being particularly ugly.
It's utilitarian and not likely to break if it's knocked over like a glass container might.
And keeping substances in original containers is a good way to be sure what they are (it's a safety thing - I'd hate to reach for the ketchup and squirt soap on any food!).
Besides - I like Dawn and I love the blue color of the soap - but it is usually under the sink in the cupboard.
Maybe I am out of the loop but do people really spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff?

6 moms found this helpful

V.S.

answers from Reading on

I put soap in a glass bottle meant for olive oil. The metal spout was constantly getting clogged. I took the spout off and the soap poured out too quickly and was wasted. After about 6 months of that, I got fed up and put the bottle it came in back on the counter. Too frustrating.

5 moms found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Boston on

Great question and Molly O. I'm with you on this. So funny the things that bug people. The dish soap is the least of the ugly things in my kitchen. If you notice the dish soap among the harvest gold 1978 stove with only 3 working burners, the matching microwave with analog dials, the dusty ceiling fan, the windows with the broken cranks and the green linoleum floor, more power to you!

That said...part of what I like about the Method cleaners that I buy is that the bottles are rather attractive. Not as attractive as nice glass bottle with a pump, but not your standard ugly cleaning bottle. I leave it right there on the sink, next to the sprayer hose thingy that's missing the trigger.

5 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Our daughter and I have discussed this, I would end up dropping the glass, so instead we place it in the cabinet. Slippery containers, are not my friends.

4 moms found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

I have hand soap, dish soap and lotion in a chrome "crate" and they are in nice pump bottles...so they don't stick out like the ewwie-gooie soap bottles.

similar to this - but it holds three bottles.

http://www.amazon.com/InterDesign-Twigz-Scrubby-Center-Br...

4 moms found this helpful
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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

I have better things to do with my time and energy than look for ways to make the dish soap cute.
It sits on the side of my kitchen sink in the bottle it came in from the store.

3 moms found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Detroit on

I replaced my kitchen faucet with a new fancy schmancy O. that hangs over the sink and has an attached sprayer head. Now, where most people keep their sprayer, we made into the soap container. The sprayer hole on the sink was converted to a spout pump which underneath the sink is the bottle which holds the dish soap. So, you lift up the spout pump and squirt your soap down into the bottle from the top of the sink. Fill it up as it holds about 16 oz of soap, and it's all set. It is wonderful. No soap bottles on the sink.

3 moms found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Atlanta on

we don't have an ugly bottle. We have a built in soap dispenser in our sink. So the answer is NO. We don't have to deal with the ugly old bottle of soap.

I don't think putting soap in oil or wine bottles is cute. Mason jars? Yes. I've seen a LOT of great uses for mason jars!

3 moms found this helpful

O.H.

answers from Phoenix on

This is funny. I just posted about the olives and how uncool I was since I just buy pitted ones and don't go to fancy parties that serve olives with pits. lol

Anyhoo, I keep the original bottle with the soap in it right by the faucet so my daughter can do the dishes. I'm not big on everything matching and cutsie. If we have a party, I will put it under the sink but otherwise I don't care. And no O. else has said they do either so I assume I'm good. =0)

3 moms found this helpful
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F.B.

answers from New York on

We have something similar to Markasa. It is a purpose build soap dispenser. The bottle sits under the counter, and the stainless steel spigot above. Works well.

Best,
F. B.

3 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Houston on

I got away from any bottles you have to pick up because I couldn't make my peace with germy chicken hands and picking up the bottle to dispense soap. We have the built in soap dispenser in place of the sprayer hose. It's super convenient because I can wash dishes quickly and easily and ditto for any dirty hands. Previously I had used a glass pump dispenser. For me it is not the look but the hygiene and convenience side. Filthy hands are so much more easily addressed with a pump soap method. With all this said, though, I never gave a thought to another person's choice. For me the soap bottle on the counter reminds me of my grandma's house which is comforting and nostalgic. :)

3 moms found this helpful

K.A.

answers from San Diego on

My bottle of dish soap is almost always sitting on the counter. It might get put under the sink now and again. I don't hand wash everything daily as I have a dishwasher to do the bulk of my work for me. I don't buy a very big bottle and it lasts me quite a while because I don't use it for every dish so it really doesn't take up much space on the counter.
I never even thought it should be something to worry about. I mean I guess it's sort of like hand soap. But I do that because I buy those huge refill bottles and fill the dispensers as needed in any of the 3 bathrooms and kitchen with the same bottle until it's empty. That gets put in the cupboard. You're using the dish soap in the same room all the time, it just doesn't strike me as something to worry about.

3 moms found this helpful
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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

I bought pretty bottles w/a pump (1 for the kitchen & ones for the bathrooms.). I refill them w/the big bottle of hand soap.

I just like the look. It's prettier. I got the idea from a model home or HGTV probably. ;)

2 moms found this helpful

C.T.

answers from Santa Fe on

first world problems! :)

2 moms found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Wausau on

I have a regular bottle of dish soap under the sink, but I keep a foaming bottle out all the time. I use it for handwashing too, which is amazing when you're cooking with fats. (I've never bought the spendy refills, I just use 1/3 regular Dawn and 2/3 water.)

My kitchen is circa 1975, so worrying about how a dishsoap bottle looks would be silly. If the industrial brown linoleum and brass drawer handles don't bother me, a plastic bottle by the sink sure won't. ;-)

I do enjoy seeing what people come up with for clever functional decor though.

2 moms found this helpful
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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

when we remodeled our kitchen I bought a faucet that had an in counter soap dispenser. My mom had O. at some point and I LOVED it. Prior at another house I had bought a cute bathroom soap dispenser to put dish soap in. It did require regular cleaning so it would clog up. We were in a rental at the time and it can be difficult to put your personality into your home in that situation and it was O. small thing that let me do so without costing too much money. Otherwise the bottle would be under the sink. But bathroom pumps are great for use in the kitchen.

2 moms found this helpful

R.X.

answers from Houston on

I do not like the pretty ones with metal/or metal looking tops because when they rust from the acid in the soap, it looks horrible--bath and kitchen sink areas.

I have pretty soap containers that I put out when I am entertaining, but for day to day when it is only me---ugly store bottles that the soap comes inside.

Sometimes is it refreshing to have these type questions.

Thanks

2 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

i have two black and stainless steel OXO pump containers that I bought on sale about 8 years ago. O. is for dish soap - the other is for liquid hand soap. Not very unique, but rather attractive on the kitchen island by the sink. I have been surprised how long they have worked.

2 moms found this helpful
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R.K.

answers from Boston on

A new faucet got me to change recently. Target's bathroom soap dispenser (tinted and tough glass with stainless steel pump) looks great in the kitchen and doesn't clog. (Yet!)

1 mom found this helpful

J.S.

answers from St. Louis on

Mine goes under the sink as well.

I would be worried about using a ketchup bottle I can imagine O. of my family members pouring that on a burger.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.K.

answers from Los Angeles on

I used to have a Victorian house so I put the dish soap in an old colored bottle with a cork. My hand soap stayed in a pump bottle. My only issue was if I changed brands it took forever to rinse out all the old stuff before putting the new brand in. But as long as I stayed with the same brand it was fine. I just rinsed off the outside every so often.

1 mom found this helpful
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X.Y.

answers from Chicago on

I don't like anything on my counters. I think the standard soap bottle is ugly too, so it stays under the cabinet. Even with a cuter bottle, I would keep it under the cabinet.

1 mom found this helpful
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