Customer Reviews

simplehuman Sensor Pump, for Soap or Sanitizer, Black, 14 Ounces

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(56)

 

 

Hi. After reading all the comments about little or no soap being dispensed, I thought the following info might help. In the spot where the soap dispenses, there is a very small plug which controls the flow which you need to gently pull out and release (not break off) in order to break the vacuum seal. This information is not included in the regular instructions, but rather is written on a small 2-inch square piece of paper in the box. I was getting very frustrated because I had "primed" the soap dispenser at least 30 times and nothing had come out. I noticed the small plug, and while looking through the box again found the small piece of paper with the additional instruction. After that, it worked great! I use a generic version of Soft Soap, and we find the lowest setting dispenses more than enough soap.

These soap pumps are incredibly simple, have great looks, function very well, are reliable, hold a lot of soap, and have a few features which are useful. The other reviews on here go into more detail about these attributes so I will not bother repeating the details. Unfortunately, the pumps may not function reliably directly out of the box. The two pumps that I received this week both experienced the same issue. It took 2 minutes to fix both of them with a simple modification.

Before making the modification, it is worth trying an adjustment which is buried on Simplehuman's website in the FAQ section for this product. It states:

"I'm trying to prime my sensor soap pump but soap isn't coming out. What do I do?

Air bubbles may have gotten trapped in your soap pump during shipping. To release the air bubbles, locate the notch on the nozzle of your soap pump (where the soap comes out). Turn the notch with your fingernail, paperclip, or small screwdriver, then try to prime again. You may also try tapping your soap pump onto the countertop to release the air bubbles. If you still have difficulty, just call up our customer service team: 888-988-8880. (Mon.-Fri., 8am-5pm PST)"

The notch they mention is a tiny slit in the center of the nozzle. The nozzle itself does not move but that slit is on a rubber disc that can spin around. I used the end of tweezers, stuck it in the slit, and spun it around a few times. You can also try pulling it out of the nozzle slightly being very careful not to pull it too hard. It can stick out from the nozzle by a couple millimeters but it is very hard to get a grip on it so it can be pulled out. You probably do not need to pull it outward, spinning the disc around should be enough. I did not try tapping it on the counter top, if all else fails it is probably worth a shot.

The modification that was required to fix both of my units was explained in a comment on another review. The problem did not appear immediately after setting up the pumps. They appeared to work fine for a few days, then pretty much simultaneously the problem began happening on both of them. When attempting to get soap I would hear a pop noise which sounded like air being sucked into the nozzle. Subsequently, no soap would dispense on that attempt. If I tried a few times I would eventually get enough soap to wash my hands. I also noticed air bubbles entering the reservoir from the bottom where the soap is supposed to be pumped through. I want to be clear that this happened on both of my pumps so I do not believe that either of my units are defective.

After some testing I found that removing the reservoir cap not only solved that problem, it caused the pumps to dispense much more soap. The pumps were also quieter. When the covers are on it appears that a vacuum forms in the reservoir as soap is dispensed. Eventually this vacuum becomes strong enough to pull air in through the nozzle when a user attempts to dispense soap. The air eventually makes its way into the reservoir as I explained above. This problem not only causes little to no soap to be dispensed every four to five attempts, it may also cause damage to the pump itself.

The solution is to prevent the vacuum from ever forming in the reservoir chamber. By heating a needle, pin, or paper clip until it is red hot it can be poked through an inconspicuous location on the cover. Next to the rubber handle is a good choice. Just be careful when doing this, and make sure to poke it starting from the underside because the center handle is actually larger on the underside. This tiny hole allows air to enter the chamber as soap is pumped out of it. I was worried that the holes would end up looking like a melted/burned mess but they look fine, almost like the cap was designed with them. This adjustment does result in irreversible damage to the product, but considering that the hole is only on the reservoir cap, you could always get a new cap (should be cheap) if this adjustment goes horribly wrong for you. This has been done on at least 3 pumps and it has worked perfectly with all of these attempts.

After making these adjustments I could not be any happier with this product. My soap pumps function perfectly, every single time they are used. I run them both on the minimum setting which provides plenty of soap. One dispenses hand soap and the other has dish soap. Surprisingly, the dish soap dispenser tends to dispense slightly more soap than the hand soap unit even though the instructions suggest that more viscous soaps may require a higher dispense setting.

If I did not have to make a modification I would have given this product 5 stars. Both of my pumps are definitely 5 star products now that I have modified them. Out of the box there are too many variables, you could end up with a 1 star product that barely works or if you're lucky you may never have a problem. I deducted one star because of this design flaw, but there's nothing stopping you from making these adjustments to get that 5 star performance.

Own two of these Simple Human Sensor Soap Dispensers and at first I had the same opinion of a few others...with the control set at maximum it sure didn't put out nearly as much Soft Soap as the old type hand pump it replaced. Then I made another discovery that all should consider a possibility. Do we really need as much soap as the old pumps dispensed? I found that indeed for years I had been using more than was necessary...the amount dispensed by the Simple Human Soap dispenser was quite adequete for normal hand washing and if I had especially oily, grimy hands it was no problem to wash, rinse, and then re-wash.

Yes it took me awhile to adjust to the fact that it just didn't require as much soap product as I was accustomed to using but the net effect is the bottle of Soft Soap now lasts much longer and my hands are just as clean as ever.

Good product that economically and reliably will help you keep those hands clean...with less soap than you are used to using(and perhaps wasting).

I purchased these at Bed, Bath & Beyond with one of 20% Off flyers they send me almost weekly, net cost was $31.95 ea.

Wanting an automatic liquid soap dispenser for the kitchen, I set out to find a device that was stylish and performed well. I checked the Internet and found several rave reviews for the Simplehuman Sensor Soap Dispenser. After looking into this product I decided that it would look great in my kitchen, and it sounded like a solid performer. I had a hard time finding a merchant that sold this unit, so I purchased it directly from the Simplehuman web site. It arrived in just a couple of days. I installed 4 AA batteries and filled it with liquid SoftSoap. I primed the unit, as suggested, by holding down the constant feed button until liquid soap starting coming out. I then stuck my hand under the unit. It made a slight sound, while displaying a pretty blue light, but no soap came out. I adjusted the little wheel, which is supposed to control the amount of soap that is dispensed, and tried the unit again. This time just a tiny dab of soap came out into my hand. I cranked up the adjustment wheel all of the way and waved my hand under the dispenser again. A slightly larger dab of liquid soap came out into my hand. Not nearly enough for washing adult sized hands.

I repeated this over and over again but the dispenser just didn't output nearly enough soap. I called the Simplehuman customer support line and told them about the problems I was having. The woman was extremely friendly and apologetic, and agreed to send out a new Sensor Soap Dispenser right away. After another couple of days my new dispenser arrived. After installing new batteries and more liquid soap, I started testing the new unit. This one worked slightly better, but still did not dispense nearly enough soap, even when at the maximum setting. Since it did push out enough soap to wash a small child's hands, I decided to keep it and put it in my children's bathroom. After posting some comments on an Internet chat site, it was recommended to me that I try the Simplehuman Sensor dispensor one more time. I went back to the Simplehuman website and ordered another unit. My new dispenser arrived in about 2 to 3 days and again I installed new batteries and more SoftSoap liquid hand soap. Again I was only able to get the tiniest little dab of soap, even when selecting the highest output setting. I decided to add some water to the soap and stirred it up well. Still no better ouput was produced by the Simplehuman Sensor Soap Dispenser.

I have tried three of these units and unfortunately I had very poor results from each of them. One was sent back to Simplehuman and I threw one away. My children are still using one in their bathroom, but they have to wave their hands under the dispenser at least twice in order to get enough soap. I am extremely dissapointed with this dispenser, which bums me out because I really wanted to like it. It really looks awesome! Unfortunately, in the case of the Simplehuman Sensor Soap Dispenser, form does NOT equal function. I gave it several chances, with three new units (directly from Simplehuman), and all performed very poorly. I have to give this a solid thumbs down. My rating is 1 out of 5 stars, just for the sexy look of this dispenser.

My Simple Human soap dispenser works beautifully now, but didn't function at all as received. My experience may explain why some have reported little or no soap is dispensed.

After installing batteries and filling the device with soap, I found that the pump would run when called upon to do so, but absolutely no soap was dispensed! I was ready to drive back to the store for a refund, but decided to take a gamble on being able to get it going and save a trip. As it turns out it was fairly easy to fix and it does really work very well now. In fact, even on the minimum setting it dispenses more than enough soap.

I did the following: I removed the soap and batteries, then took off the bottom of the dispenser (screws). This revealed the pump, which I removed by taking off the drive belt and the two screws that go through the pump. I found that the hole in the bottom of the clear plastic tank that lets soap into the pump was not fully formed. I broke out a very thin section of plastic where the hole should have been, re-assembled the dispenser and it has worked fine since. I suspect that one cavity of the mold for the tank is worn or broken and thus some of the dispensers let little or no soap enter the pump. Obviously, there is inadequate quality control in this manufacturing process.

When this product works it's fantastic, I love it. However I'm now on my second one and I don't plan to buy another.
The problem is that for some reason soap somehow keeps getting into the guts of the product where the computer chip is. I've cleaned it out and dried it off to get it to work again only to have the problem occur a month later. It finally stopped working so I bought another and now I'm having the same problems again.
Please simplehuman. Fix this product so that will not happen anymore.

We purchased this item at a home goods store. After three months of use the battery compartment was corroded and the unit failed to operate. After one month, I saw the problem developing and removed the batteries, cleaned out the compartment, removed/sanded the slight corrosion and made sure I tightened the screw that seals and holds the battery compartment properly and firmly. Two months later the unit failed and would not operate.

The design is flawed. Either soap leaks into the battery compartment or water does. The batteries need to be moved to the top and sealed against all moisture. I am currently researching our next purchase, but the batteries wil not be on the bottom!

Received this product Dec. 2007 during family Christmas swap. All I can say is WOW. We've used different liquid soaps, including SoftSoap and Method. We have ours on the minimum setting and its in our bathroom. We've received nothing but compliments from our guests. We're planning to purchase another unit for our kitchen.

When I first bought this unit, I was in love with it, and told all my friends about it. Then I bought the second one, this one the battery couldn't stay in because the screw was not long enough to screw the cover back on. Well, no big deal I went and exchanged for another one. Then 7 months later, the first one I bought died. I put in brand new batteries. That did not solve the problem. I read the other reviews with instructions how to fix this problem. I am sorry, I don't have the patience nor the talent to go through those steps. A soap dispenser that costs $40 should never require users' repairs nor should it break down after 7 months of useage. If I have done this feedback when I first bought it, it would have been a 5 star, but not now. Simple Human ... are you reading these reviews?

UPDATE: Fixed the "no soap coming out" problem by burning a small hole in the cover using a paper clip heated with a lighter. Took about 1 min. to do. I really like the item other then the "no soap dispensed" design flaw so took the time to fix it. Burn the hole from the inside out, and put it near the handle and you won't even notice it.

Great modern look, I really like the the form and function. But, I also had the problem some others have mentioned here with the amount of soap dispensed. After a several uses only a few tiny drops came out.

Fixed this simply by removing the filler cap, which had created such a tight seal that there was a vacuum in the soap chamber. Once I took the top off and released the vacuum, it worked like a champ again.

It was filled to the top with soap, which coated the edges of the cover and created a (too) tight seal. It may be just not filling it all the way to the top solves the problem. If not I'll drill a tiny hole in the cover to eliminate the vacuum situation. Appears the designers overlooked this detail, so only 4 stars.