Unclogging a SimpleHuman 8 Oz. Stainless Steel Rechargable Soap Dispenser

The SimpleHuman automatic soap dispenser is a touch-free pump that puts soap or sanitizer in your hand when you place your hand under the sensor. These are great in dispensing soap without having to touch anything but over time the soap can dry out (or if you use too thick a soap) and form a blockage in the dispenser port.

If this happens, the pump will whine but not dispense any soap. Sometimes you can flush it with water or thinner soap but if the blockage is too thick the only way to fix the problem is to disassemble the pump and remove the blockage.

Note: You can dissemble the bottom of the pump to access various parts of the pump but this instructable is only to clear a blockage at the top of the dispenser. This is the most likely cause of a blockage and fortunately, the simplest to fix.

1. Something to separate the bottom of the dispenser beak. I used a utility knife.
2. Something to clean out the blockage. I used a toothpick.
3. Small Philips head screwdriver.

It is recommended to turn off the soap dispenser before starting the disassembly. Press the minus button (-) for a couple of seconds until the light blinks red.

Unlike other SimpleHuman automatic soap dispenser, this one is much easier to remove a soap blockage. Of course this depends on where the blockage actually is. The soap is drawn through a hole in the bottle of the soap reservoir by a pump. This pump forces the soap up through a clear plastic tube to the top of the dispenser. The plastic tube is attached to a right angle bracket which directs the soap downward past the rubber output which acts like a pair of lips to prevent the soap from leaking after it's been dispensed. All in all, a much cleaner and simpler design than previous dispensers.

There is a single screw on the bottom of the dispenser beak. Once you remove the screw, you need to remove the black plastic housing on the underside of the beak. You may find it necessary to put a spudger (I used a utility knife) to separate the bottom and top. Set the bottom plastic and screw aside.

It's not necessary to do this step but you may want to do this or it may fall off by itself. There's a small rubber light guide that has two holes -- a round hole for the LED output and a square hole for the IR sensor input. This is necessary to keep the LED separate from the sensor or the pump wouldn't work. If it falls off (or you decide to remove it) remember to replace it before closing the pump back up.

The soap feeder tube is wedged under the LED circuit board which can be detached by unscrewing the single screw near the end. Slightly bend the cable and board away from the feeder tube to gain access to the tube and right angle attachment.

Note: The screw is attached with a very tiny black plastic right angle piece with a hole through it. When re-attaching the circuit board, don't forget to put the screw through the plastic holder. The edge of the right angle hangs over the end of the circuit board nearest the tip of the beak.

The drip supressor is held on to the right angle feeder by friction. It slides off. It's probably clean but check it to see if there is any hardened soap there.

Remove the right angle feeder from the clear plastic tube. Just wiggle it until it comes off the plastic tube.

This is the likely place for a blockage to occur. If the soap isn't in constant use (and probably over time as well), the soap starts to solidify and slowly forms a blockage here. Clean out the residual and hardened soap using a small implement like a toothpick. Attack the feeder from both sides until it is clear of soap residue. Because of the super tiny right angle, I wasn't able to find anything small enough to run through the entire feeder like I would cleaning a straw so I just slowly picked at the mostly hardened soap until it seemed clear.

If you are lucky, and this is where the blockage was, it has now been removed and the soap will flow again. Perform the disassembly steps in reverse. Turn on the soap dispenser by pressing the plus button (+) for a couple of seconds until the light turns green.

Enjoy the automaticlly dispensed soap.