Customer discovers unexpected issue after taking apart soap bottle: 'Fortunately it seems this can be fixed'

One dissatisfied customer took apart a bathroom product to see if they could make it work better — but their path to improvement was not straightforward.

"Like many before me who have posted here, I was interested in doing something to make my Blueland hand soap pumps stop sticking and pump better," said the original poster. "However, since I am a dumba** I did not take a moment to understand the anatomy of the pump first before taking it apart."

The original poster described how they opened not one but two hand soap pumps over their sink and heard something small go down the drain both times. They couldn't find the part, but when they put the pumps back together, they didn't work.

"Fortunately it seems this can be fixed!" said the original poster after some trial and error. "There may be multiple things you could use but I found some cheap pushpins we had and was able to easily pull the metal pin away from the top bead with pliers."

That tiny plastic bead was all they needed to not only get the pumps working again but also to fix the original problem.

"This allows the pump to draw up the soap and I get nice foamy soap again," they said. "Certainly you could also contact the company to see if they'll send you new pumps but this may solve your problems with lower waste."

Preventing waste was important to the original poster, who shared their experience in r/ZeroWaste. This community encourages saving money and protecting the planet by reusing, repurposing, repairing, recycling, and otherwise keeping all kinds of belongings out of the trash.

Blueland is already a good choice for minimizing waste as a result of its zero-plastic packaging and reduction of water to lower shipping weight, and now you may be able to make its products even longer-lasting and more effective. That's just one of the ways you can save money with eco-friendly cleaning products.

"Thank you for posting this solution!" said one commenter. "I did the exact same thing as you (took my pump apart over the sink and must have lost a piece), but after following your thorough instructions, my pump is fixed! Thank you!"

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to buy a refillable product? Saving money Reducing plastic waste Using less shelf space at home Getting easy refill deliveries Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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