Tdesanti…in case you’re new here…Karin_mt is our stone expert, with years of experience in the field, and degrees in geology. I would listen to her. She knows what she’s talking about.

This guy is an idiot. Drill the hole and saturate the raw cut with Tenax Proseal. No plumber's putty or silicone please. Now the dispenser spout always drips into the sink instead of on your countertop. Now your hands are always over the sink when you're using the soap. Spilled soap gets trapped under bottles and since we're creatures of habit, we always put the soap bottle back in the same place.

Dribble some soap on a remnant, keep it covered and wet with a bottle for several days, and get back to us please.

Engineered stone. Different material, same effect, except this giant black island is probably ruined; your stone may be able to be poulticed.

Decisions decision!! I really love a soap dispenser.

Not as elegant as a built-in dispenser, but you can always get a battery operated dispenser with a spout that overhangs the sink. You don’t have to touch anything when getting soaped up, and as long as it overhangs your sink and your wet hands (which will be over the sink) any soap drips will not go on the counter or drip down the dispenser.

I had a similar problem with my wood counters in our scullery. We actually did drill a hole for a dispenser (actually installed a battery operated one that didn’t work well), and we simply removed it and covered up the hole with the Simplehuman battery operated dispenser.

Maybe they have some better, more attractive ones out there.

That being said, I do have an in-counter soap dispenser in our marble counters in the kitchen and the counter is completely unstained, but I’m careful when filling it to make sure the soap doesn’t drip all over the place. Been in the house 3 years.

"Tdesanti…in case you’re new here…Karin_mt is our stone expert, with years of experience in the field, and degrees in geology. I would listen to her. She knows what she’s talking about."

darbuka:

You are correct, and her participation here is greatly appreciated, however, Karin's expertise is literally "in the field". My experience is literally "in the kitchen".

It is the classic case of the academic being technically correct, but practically wrong. Engineers do this kind of thing too. Mathmatically perfect, but no way to cost effectively get the beam down the hill.

@joseph I was thinking the same thing about even the movable dispenser causing stains. That it will be a wet bottle and even more direct drip-age on the counter.
Any recommendations on how to test if my counter is sealed well? It was only just installed. But still are not using the kitchen until everything is installed and ready.
Also and recommended cleaning products?

tdesanti:

"Dribble some soap on a remnant, keep it covered and wet with a bottle for several days, and get back to us please."

Our kitchen designer advised against installing a built-in dispenser so we're planning to use the same Simple Human soap dispenser as nidnay's on this thread. We have them in our bathrooms and they go months on a single charge (uses a USB cord similar to a Sonic toothbrush). Prior discussion on soap dispensers.

The Simple Human dispensers aren't cheap, but you can use the occasional 30% off coupon from Container Store, 20% Bed Bath & Beyond coupons and 20% off promos at Simple Human's website, and last year I actually found them on Costco's website at a great price!

For those who have a built in dispenser or plan to use one, I highly recommend the NeverMT tubing system which you can find on Amazon. You can then use Costco size dish soap and allows us to go almost an entire year without refilling our sink soap dispenser!

Here's an old string that explains how it works. NeverMT discussion.

@Julie K….absolutely brilliant! I had never heard of that NeverMT dispenser tubing and will be installing some on my kitchen dispenser! They have several different brands available on Amazon. It definetly solves the issue of overfilling the despenser and prevents the potential spills as well as hardly ever needing to replace the bulk dish soap container.

Thanks for that tip!

"Our kitchen designer advised against installing a built-in dispenser..."

Did she substantiate her argument with pictures?

I like the soap dispenser with the Never MT. We remodeled in 2014, 6 people here, constant scratch cooking and mess. I’ve put 2 huge bottles of soap under the sink for the Never MT diring that time. Hint: use a piece of sticky velcro to help keep the bottle in place under there. In our case, its hand soap and our dishsoap is in a cruet.

Every time I reseal the stone, I make sure to do it twice at the sink area including around the soap dispenser.

I've had soap dispensers in my granite counters in current house and previous house and it was never a problem. The NeverMT has been around for a long time. Had it in my previous house and current house and love it.

i guess im just about the only one who didn’t know (about the NeverMT) :)

I am with @vinmarks - I've had soap dispensers in several different granite counters over 20 years, and never had a problem. I thought real quartzite was as dense as the denser granites. But the problem is, as we've seen so often on this forum, that many quartzites are either not quartzite at all, or have a mix of materials within the stone that make them less dense than true quartzite. Those are the ones that show stains from water and soap and oil. The OP has to make sure she has true quartzite, and then she should be fine with a soap dispenser.

As an aside, I don't see how a separate bottle of soap would drip less than an in-counter soap dispenser, and furthermore they often have drips down the bottle that eventually land on the counter, and furthermore, the bottles are prone to being tipped over when they are less full, so that they will drip out soap in that case. If the OP is getting a separate soap bottle, I suggest she get a tray to put it on.

Here was my experience with NeverMT:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4610657/check-your-never-mt-soap-dispenser

The reason our designer advised me against installing a soap dispenser is not because of drips/damage to our counter, but because the dispenser itself is so hard to keep clean. Most have grooves and a metal plate underneath that's hard to keep clean and dry. Additionally, I've had the pin break off on my current Franke dispenser.

YMMV but I'm pretty OCD about cleanliness and because of the flat top over time mine always show water stains on the top/bottom plate. It's also hard to keep the bottom totally dry.

I considered the KWC Zoe soap dispenser which matches the Zoe faucet we're planning for our coffee bar in our primary bedroom suite. Surprisingly both our designer and salesperson confirmed I'd probably experience similar issues with that model as well. Since counter space is tight we're planning to go without a built-in soap dispenser in our coffee bar and test whether I'm okay without it before we start our kitchen remodel next year.

Also, I've used the NeverMT on three dispensers over 14+ years and have never had leaking problems. Occasionally they do get clogs in the line which makes it difficult to pump soap, but when I do my husband always manages to get it working again! :-)

I found a youtube video of a hack of the neverMT and she put silicone or glue (can’t remember which one) around the area where the tubing met the dispenser in order to prevent leaks. Seems prudent to do so.

I'm all about cleanliness and have never had problems keeping the soap dispenser clean. I wipe any water around it up and the bottom piece screws off the countertop if further cleaning is needed. This is what my dispenser looks like.

"I suggest she get a tray to put it on."

As my picture indicates, trays and mats can exaccerbate soap damage.

Kitchen countertops which stain by soap and water???? What are we doing? I want to do more than look at my new countertop. Maybe I should keep that 40-year-old 4" tile countertop! It doesn't mind soap and water.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC - I said that about the tray because I can’t come up with how having a separate liquid soap bottle on the counter will be better for the OP’s quartzite than having an in-counter dispenser. Soap bottles at the sink can be problematic for drips for the reasons I said above.

@socks - I’ve had different granites in different homes for a couple decades, with in-counter soap dispensers. Never had a stain or any other problems. I don’t see how a tiled counter with its grout lines is better.

If the OP could test her counter with a sample piece then she could see if she has true quartzite which is extremely dense and should not stain from soap, then she could get the soap dispenser she wants.

my soap dispenser has never given me an issue with my quartzite counters.

We have two kitchen sinks on quartzite, both with soap dispensers. One developed a shadow three weeks after installation. We removed the dispenser, let it dry out, then the fabricator sealed the inside of that hole which was initially overlooked. That was May of 2018. Since then no issues. The nozzle overhangs into the sink so if any soap accidentally spills it doesn't land on the counter. I wish that I had put one in my powder room too.

I have the tube system soap dispenser (almost a full year) and LOVE it! The spout goes over the sink, not 1 drip anywhere. In fact, I'm putting one of those in the laundry room as well. Our plumber had never seen it, he ended up ordering it for his personal kitchen also.

Thank you all. I have nothing to indicate it is not a real quartzite. It’s only installed last Thursday. No real use since waiting for appliance install. From research the veining matches quartzite.

Is there a way I can test on it?

I think I’m going to do the dispenser and make sure to fully seal the hole.

Honestly it’s all the horrors stories on Houzz that make me question everything.
I had the dispenser on the granite that originally came with the house and never had issues. Plus if I saw water or soap drip page I cleaned it.

I agree with Joseph and see the resting water and soap drips being so much worse than then the dispenser. Like sitting and building up undercover.

@wilson what is your quartzite. Looks so similar to mine.

@tdesanti, The quarry tag was labeled as nuage macchio oro - Daltile Stone labeled it as Tahitian Cream. Mine appears to be grayer than yours.

"....she put silicone or glue (can’t remember which one) around the area where the tubing met the dispenser in order to prevent leaks. Seems prudent to do so."

Only if you test on a remnant ahead of time. Silicone can bleed irreparibly into certain quartzites. No plumber's putty either, I don't care what the pump manufacturer says.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC Misunderstanding…. the silicone was nowhere near the stone. Once the tubing is inserted all the way into the bottom plastic neck of the dispenser, it gets siliconed there. Here’s a snapshot of where the silicone is placed….

I keep my soap bottle in the sink on the grids. I didn't want additional countertop holes and accessories to clean around. I also prefer the freedom of squirting soap anywhere I want instead of from a fixed location.

I have Silestone Quartz counters. I have a built in soap dispenser installed when I renovated my kitchen 2 years ago. I never used it❣️I use my Palmolive bottle on my countertop. I love my Silestone: no stains, no chips, cleans up nice with dishsoap and water❣️