What is it and what does it do???
The Foamy bottle allows you to dispense foam, directly from the bottle, onto your hand! They are designed to work with liquids that are virtually as thin as water (ie low viscosity). Foamy Bottles ARE NOT designed for use in the shower - the mesh screen inside the chamber needs to be dry to function properly. So keep these for the edge of the bath, on the vanity and kitchen sink.
Inside the cap is a pump, which contains a mesh screen that mixes air and the liquid soap and produces the foam. The mesh is very, very fine and easily become clogged up. The manufacturers suggest that no solid particles, including micas and pigments used for colouring, be added to the liquid soap. These particles do not dissolve, they are dispersible, meaning that they will continue to remain particles in the solution and clog the pump. If colouring the liquid soap, a water-soluble dye should be used. However, with attractive labelling, these natural coloured bottles with their white pump closures, dress your product up to look professional and functional.
What kind of Soap do I use?
You can use many different liquid soaps for our foamy bottles, but they should be made using Potassium Hydroxide (KOH), not Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). We stock Organic, Regular Castile and Goatsmilk Liquid Soap Bases as well as Liquid Soap Pastes which all work well in our pumps. If you are making your own products with our Surfactants, you will not need thickeners or SCI granules - as these will make the formulations too thick. If you make a gel from Cold Processed soap, even heavily diluted with water and runny, they won't work very well for very long, as a true liquid soap will. They will begin to clog the mesh and eventually stop the pump working altogether. The best products to use are those which create a thick and frothy foam. Differing recipes and/or brands will require a slightly differing dilution ratio of water to soap.
If using a commercial base, try and use one that contains few thickening agents if at all possible and again, you will probably need to experiment with brands and soap/water ratios until you find the best one and best rate. All soaps need to be diluted with distilled water to work effectively. It is a case of diluting it enough to still enable lather, but be nice and thin for the pump.
How do I Dilute the Soap?
As a general guideline, you can dilute regular liquid soap by approximately 2 - 4 times. ie a ratio of 1:4. When you first trial the bottles, it is a good idea to keep a record of your experiments until you find the optimum rate for dilution. I suggest placing approximately 30mls of liquid soap into the bottle and 30mls of water into the bottle, and then pump the foam and test it for lather and consistency. In this way, you can slowly dilute or increase your product volume until you have just the foaminess you prefer.
Note: Cold Process soap made "liquid" by soaking shreds or bars in water is NOT suitable for foamers and will ruin the pump mechanism.
Filling
Don't over fill the base as the pump fitting does need some space when screwed down. If you overfill, you can get liquid into the air chamber, and so this will damage it. The best way is to measure the liquid in a jug and pour this into the container.
Only tighten the Table Top Foamy Pump Lid until finger tight, if you over tighten the closure a vacuum will form.
Trouble Shooting
The pump is refillable and re-useable. The manufacturer has tested the mechanism and found they last for up to 12,000 pumps! However, if you have a problem, these tips should help:
No foam!
Is the soap dilute enough? If it is too thick and you persist it can permanently damage the mechanism. This is why its good to get the dilution rate worked out first.
It's not working now! - Is the screen clogged?
Tinsy particles are the enemy of Foamy Bottles! If you are infusing Herbs or Soapwort, you will need to infuse using a sealed bag, or a filter paper to ensure there are no little pieces floating in there. This is why no micas or glitters are suitable for the pumps. Empty the container, clean the screen and flush with water (it wont' foam).
It won't pump Foam
The best way to avoid this is to avoid water into the air compartment. To ensure it pumps freely for ages and ages, just ensure you don't clean the pump under running water or by submerging it in water. If it begins to stick, simply turn upside down (like an aerosol paint can) and pump it a couple of times.
How long has there been moisture in the Chamber?
If this has been a while, basically it has had time to break down, and the spring mechanism is unlikely to work again.