Standard or Touchless Hand Soap Dispenser - Which is better?
In my opinion this is really a no-brainer (the Touchless Hand Soap Dispenser wins hands down) but lets go through the pro’s and cons of each and make an official decision 
Lets start off with a quick description of the two types of dispensers:
- Touchless Soap Dispenser – These Soap dispensers are battery operated and has some form of sensor that automatically dispenses soap into you hand when you hold it under the dispenser. They come with either normal liquid hand soap or the more popular Foam Hand Soap
- Normal Soap Dispenser – These come in all shapes and sizes and has a simple pump attached to the soap bottle. The user has to press down on the head of the pump to dispense soap. The standard soap dispenser also comes in two main types – Normal Liquid Soap dispenser and Foam Soap dispenser.
Pros of each type of Hand Soap Dispenser:
Touchless Soap Dispenser:
- No microbes building up on the dispenser as no dirty little hands needs to touch it.
- Can have added functions like hand wash timers, low battery warnings, and music.
- Always squirts out the same amount of soap.
- Looks great on a countertop
- Easy to use
Standard Pump Action Soap Dispenser:
- No Power needed
- No Electronics so less that can fail
- Never Accidentally squirt out Soap
- Cheaper
Cons of each type of Hand Soap Dispenser:
Touchless Soap Dispenser:
- Needs a power source
- Has more parts that can fail
- Some low quality units on the market
- Can squirt out soap accidentally
- More Expensive
Standard Pump Action Soap Dispenser:
- Hard to press for little hands
- Touched by dirty hands – can build up dirt and microbes
The Verdict
Personally, I prefer the Touchless Soap Dispenser – I just love the fact that my kids don’t have to touch the dispenser to squirt soap in their hands. The last thing I want is a colony of nasties on the head of my soap dispenser in the bathroom.
The fact that it makes it even easier for them to wash their hands – it removes a step from the process – definitely helps as well. I had both an automatic and a normal hand soap dispenser in the kids’ bathroom and, when they had both options, they used the automatic touchless soap dispenser every single time.
Regardless of which you prefer – it is very important to make sure you purchase a quality unit. There are many cheap, badly manufacture soap dispensers doing the rounds and if you get one of them, you will surely be sorry…