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Can Soap Dispensers be Used for Hand Sanitizer?

Can Soap Dispensers be Used for Hand Sanitizer?

Can Soap Dispensers be Used for Hand Sanitizer?


The simple answer is yes, but if you’re looking to see if your current dispensers are suitable for hand sanitiser gel then you may need to check a few things first, as you could damage them in the long run or they may not work correctly. Read on so you don’t make that mistake.


There are models of soap dispenser that are made to house both liquid soap and alcohol based consumables, without the need to change any parts. So, the dispenser you have may already be equipped to deal with both. Some can only take liquid soap because the insides and valves are only suitable for this, as alcohol may damage the materials of certain dispensers. There are also ones that only take foaming soap.

However, some models of soap dispenser have different inner tanks but the same outer casing, meaning you can interchange the tanks and valves to suit various soaps. For example you may have a Cleanflow 1500ml Lever Operated Liquid Soap and Hydroalcoholic Gel Dispenser which can interchange between foam soap, liquid soap / alcohol gel or spray by changing just the insides and pumps, not having to change the full unit.

So, you have to be careful to make sure you have the right materials and valve in the unit so that it firstly will dispense the right soap / gel, but also won’t damage the unit in the long run.


So what should you look at for bulk soap dispensers that work with alcohol?

  1. The valves and inner tanks should be resistant enough to work with alcohol as it is more corrosive than normal soap. The life time of the pump using normal soap will always be longer than using alcohol containing liquids and gels, but the pump should be resistant enough to increase the longevity of the unit.
  2. If the inner tank is easily changeable you may only need to change it without the need to change the entire dispenser – saving you money in the long term. You will need to make sure you know the model of dispenser you have though so that you can match up the right internals.
  3. The material of the tank should be made of plastics that are not degradable by any contact with alcohol.
  4. This is just an ideal, but the tank should be provided with a (removable) lid, so that there is no chance of evaporation of the alcohol. This means you can take off the lid when you use liquid soap and put it back on with alcohol-based products. The Cleanflow 900ml Bulk Fill Liquid Soap and Alcohol Gel Dispenser has an open tank for when you use liquid soap, for ease of filling, but it comes complete with a lid you can put on top of the tank when you use alcohol gel. Like the Cleanflow 1000ml Bulk Fill Push Button Liquid Soap Dispenser some dispensers will already have a closed tank so this shouldn’t be an issue if you have all the other things right.


If you are unsure if your current soap dispenser is suitable for hand sanitizer or alcohol gel then please do not hesitate to get in touch and we can see if we can advise you the best we can.

We also have a great range of the best hand sanitiser dispensers so if you want to make totally sure you have a dispenser suitable for both liquid soap and alcohol sanitising gel then this section is well worth a look here


For more information or for help in finding your ideal washroom product, please contact us on 0114 3540047, use our contact us page by clicking here or click to visit the website .

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