Does commercial foaming soap save water? I Dolphin Solutions

12 August 2022

Reading time: 3 minutes

Implementing water-saving solutions in a commercial washroom is gaining more traction than ever. Building owners and Architects who have increasingly tough sustainability goals in their projects are looking for more ways to save water and energy when installing sustainable washroom products. One of the main questions we get asked is, “Where else can I improve on my sustainability goals in the washroom?” – believe it or not, the secret lies in choosing the correct soap.

As a provider of all commercial washroom products, including handwashing soaps, combined with our extensive experience, we analyse the sustainable impact of our products to give you advice and solutions to achieve your commercial washroom sustainability goals.

Let’s look at how to save water with commercial foaming soap and the other benefits of commercial foaming hand soap.

How does commercial foam soap save water?

Water consumption can be reduced by up to 15% during handwashing with commercial foam soap due to its water-based content and lathering properties before a user needs to wet their hands. All it takes is a pump from the soap dispenser, an easy lather, and one water activation to quickly wash it off.

The viscosity of commercial foam soap is lower and lighter, and it spreads further on a user’s hands, enabling effective cleansing. Unlike using commercial liquid soap, users spend less time washing their hands and use less water to wash the foam soap off in this process.

The general handwashing habit with traditional liquid soap is to wet one’s hands before dispensing the soap – this helps to activate the lathering of the soap during the cleansing process. The next step is to turn the tap on again to wash the soap off, and due to the higher viscosity of liquid soap, a more vigorous action is needed to wash it off using more water. This process takes longer than necessary and wastes water by using the taps at least twice for a longer duration.

Save more than water

Not only is commercial foam soap an excellent choice to improve water consumption in the washroom, but it can save energy and utility costs. How does such a modest consumable do so much more? We’ll tell you.

Energy savings

Heating water requires energy, and due to the short time it takes to wash off foam soap, less water needs to go through the heating process when a tap opens, thus saving energy.

Commercial foam soap also impacts green building certifications (especially NABERS UK) as this measures the real-life energy consumption of a development.

Merely swapping out liquid soap for commercial foam soap combined with the water and energy savings qualities can ultimately put more credits on the scorecard.

Cost savings

Commercial foam soap produces less product to achieve the same handwashing result as traditional liquid soap, and this creates a ripple effect of other benefits such as:

Less frequent soap stock replenishment – saving you money
Less servicing – it produces less than half of the amount of soap product compared to liquid soap, thus lasts longer
Time-saving – due to less servicing/replenishment required to refill
Reduces packaging – fewer orders mean fewer manufactured packaging and this is good for the environment

The significant reduction in utility costs due to water and energy savings is a huge benefit. Imagine the number of people washing their hands daily, then imagine how this figure accumulates and equates to the monthly utility bill. If you are not taking every measure possible to reduce water and energy costs, you could end up with a whopping amount to pay at the end of the month.

Considering energy costs have increased by 54% in the UK this year, combined with more people diligently washing their hands to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, building owners and tenants must find every avenue they can to cut costs.

Benefits of commercial washroom foaming hand soap

Every little bit helps

Up to 65% of water usage occurs in commercial washrooms daily, and to be able to reduce that figure will require exploring all avenues of where to save this precious commodity.

The first step is understanding and appreciating that each water component in the washroom has a vital role in reducing water and energy consumption. Making yourself aware of the impact these elements will have on your sustainability goals puts you in a position to make greener choices and become a leader on the path to net zero.

Are you ready to start your green building journey and save water with commercial foaming soap? View Dolphin’s range of commercial soaps and soap dispensers to get you on your way and chat with our project team about how you can achieve your sustainability objectives.