Hi! Since liquid soap is so cheap I want to cheap out by making it cheaper. I pretty much always dilute it which extends its life but the resulting runniness lead to some soap escaping the hand washing my money straight down the sink.
This pain is unbearable and I’m thinking to add a little bit of corn or potato starch, agar or some such from the pantry to increase the viscosity How bad of an idea is this? I figure soap doesn’t really allow for microbe life and starch tends to be quite anti microbial. Same goes for dish soap. The soap is dumpstered so switching to hard soap isn’t cheaper and I haven’t found a foaming dispenser in the trash (yet). But soap is rare in the trash so I want to make last. Alternatively anyone know if a a regular pump can be made foaming or have other creative solutions?
I would look for a soap dispenser that dispenses smaller amounts instead. Not only is diluting it going to be a lot of work, doing it too much can cause it to weaken to the point stuff can grow in it - if you insist, xantham gum is your best bet.
Getting a new dispenser also spending tho. I tried modifying my old dispenser with a ziptie around the neck but the dispenser broke very quickly, which I think was due to the force you expect to put into it. But thats just a guess, could’ve been a bad pump too
But thats what lead me to looking into dilution/gelling.
But yea buying gum is another purchase whereas i already have plenty of starch.