topic Re: Pump bottles on lotions in Beauty

Pump bottles on lotions

AngelPuppy1 — Thu, 23 May 2019 09:30:33 GMT

Maybe it's me but the older I get, the more frustrated I get with these pump bottles that most body lotions come in from drug stores! Not only are a lot of them hard to get started -- that twistie, turny thing -- but once the lotion gets down to a certain point, you can't get any more lotion to dispense! You can tell that there is quite a lot more in the container but forget trying to use the pump to get it out! So, what do you do? Take the lid off and pound and hit the container to disburse the lotion? This you have to keep doing every time you want to get a bit of product until you feel the container is empty. Time consuming and a pain!!!

Or do you just get disgusted and throw the bottle out because you don't want to deal with it? This seems like a waste. I have done both things, depending upon my mood! Just venting here! Anyone else???? Should be a better way. Of course, there are jars and tubes but usually the lotions I want are not in these vehicles!!!! Thanks for reading!

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Chicagosuburbangirl — Thu, 23 May 2019 09:33:49 GMT

So true!

I remember my mom or grandma asking me to help open these contraptions.

Now I am the one asking hubby for help.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

shaggygirl — Thu, 23 May 2019 10:48:04 GMT

A little gadget called a Flip It. It's a little stand onto which you turn your bottle upside down and store it that way. You get every last drop out. If the Q doesn't have them I know Amazon does.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

avid shopper — Thu, 23 May 2019 10:48:27 GMT

This has been a pet peeve of my for most of my life. At my age now, I prefer pump containers but I get every drop of product out! The manufacturers want us to throw out the containers before they are empty....more money for them. I cut the container open and then put a piec of plastic wrap over the open end. I even open up toothpaste tubes and get every drop out. My thanks go to a teacher I had in high school who taught a class he called "Consumer Economics" and he taught us this kind of stuff.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Eileen in Virginia — Thu, 23 May 2019 11:56:17 GMT

I buy most of my lotions online. They have a screw-on cap when they’re shipped and come with the pump on the side. I save the screw-on cap to use when the pump doesn’t work anymore. I then store the bottle upside down so the lotion’s easy to squeeze out. I find I’ve got almost 2 weeks worth of body lotion left in the bottle. That’s too much lotion to throw away!

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

ValuSkr — Thu, 23 May 2019 12:04:28 GMT

Yes, I find both situations annoying - the new pump is hard to open / get started, and the pump can't get to the last 1/4" or so in the bottle. For me, the guilty party is Softsoap. I do as you do - remove the pump, invert the bottle, and shake.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Shanus — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:06:31 GMT

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:
Maybe it's me but the older I get, the more frustrated I get with these pump bottles that most body lotions come in from drug stores! Not only are a lot of them hard to get started -- that twistie, turny thing -- but once the lotion gets down to a certain point, you can't get any more lotion to dispense! You can tell that there is quite a lot more in the container but forget trying to use the pump to get it out! So, what do you do? Take the lid off and pound and hit the container to disburse the lotion? This you have to keep doing every time you want to get a bit of product until you feel the container is empty. Time consuming and a pain!!!

Or do you just get disgusted and throw the bottle out because you don't want to deal with it? This seems like a waste. I have done both things, depending upon my mood! Just venting here! Anyone else???? Should be a better way. Of course, there are jars and tubes but usually the lotions I want are not in these vehicles!!!! Thanks for reading!

@AngelPuppy1 I get it. Pumper containers get more confusing to get started...press and turn, but which way? Can’t see the tiny arrows 😳!! I save or purchase empty bottles w/ flip tops and that’s what I use. I prefer smaller sizes and transfer a month’s worth at a time. Many cleansers, etc. that came w/ a pumper are in plastic flip tops or screw ons next to my sink or in my medicine cabinet w/ other skincare...always transferred from larger sizes to eliminate too much dipping/bacteria.

Vit. C serum is the exception. I purchased a dark glass bottle w/ dropper (WholeFoods or online). I pour in 1/2 of the serum & refrigerate until I use what I have. My serum lasts twice as long before oxidizing. ***Once it starts turning yellow, the active ingredients are losing their strength.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

vermint — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:13:22 GMT

@AngelPuppy1 I keep a couple of flip-top lids (that came on other products) around for just this reason. When the product no longer pumps, I toss the pump, put on a flip-top lid and turn the bottle upside down. This usually works just fine. If the product is really thick, I might add a bit of water & shake it well to make it pour better.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

SilleeMee — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:19:39 GMT

The problem with most pumps is that the tube going down is not long enough to reach the product when it gets low. So what I do is add a piece of plastic tubing to the end of that pump tube so that it extends all the way down to the bottom of the bottle. The difficult part of this is finding a piece of tubing that will fit. I found some tubing at hardware store and bought a few different sizes. This is no guarantee that it will get every last drop but it will get a lot more out of your bottle than if the extension wasn't there.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Lipstickdiva — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:46:04 GMT

Funny you mention this because I almost went all Freddy Krueger on a new bottle of Cetaphil face cleanser this morning.

I tried twisting/turning the pump to get it started, the way I thought it should but nothing happened. I had to get my reading glasses to see the stupid arrow on the bottle and make sure I was twisting in the right direction. Yep. I spun that thing what seemed like 75 times and the pump didn't release. Luckily I still had the used up bottle so I'll just dump the cleanser into that.

Then I got into the shower and am nearing the end of my 32oz. Living Grace body wash. Can't get it out using the pump anymore. So I had to take the lid off and dump the product onto my bath sponge.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Sooner — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:56:34 GMT

I hardly ever buy anything that doesn't have a pumpin it. I hate when they are difficult to open.

When they get to where they won't pump product any more, I toss them. I figure by then the stuff is old and should be pitched anyway.

You'd save more money by eating a peanut butter sandwich at home and not going out once I'd guess, when it comes to economics against how much money you save by fighting with it to get the last drop out.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

SilleeMee — Thu, 23 May 2019 15:54:24 GMT

@Sooner wrote:
I hardly ever buy anything that doesn't have a pumpin it. I hate when they are difficult to open.

When they get to where they won't pump product any more, I toss them. I figure by then the stuff is old and should be pitched anyway.

You'd save more money by eating a peanut butter sandwich at home and not going out once I'd guess, when it comes to economics against how much money you save by fighting with it to get the last drop out.

In my case that would be a considerable amount for the lotion I buy...it's not a cheap lotion so I would like to get my money's worth by not wasting it.

The lotion I buy is thick and when I turn the bottle up side down the lotion doesn't move...I guess that would make it more like a cream rather than a lotion.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Peaches McPhee — Thu, 23 May 2019 14:49:49 GMT

Have you ever purchased "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray? Every single time, the pump gets clogged beause the pump is relatively small and the liquid is thick. About 2/3 of the way down on the old bottle, I open a new bottle, and then transfer the contents of the old bottle into the new bottle, when there is room.

Every single bottle.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

vermint — Thu, 23 May 2019 15:23:08 GMT

@Lipstickdiva Those Cetaphil bottles are the worst! I don't even bother with the pump anymore for those...I just toss it, and put on a flip--top cap. Saves time!

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

wilma — Thu, 23 May 2019 15:41:13 GMT

I turn my lotion bottles upside down when they get low. When I want to use it, I remove the pump and just shake or squeeze some out. For soaps I will add a bit of water to the container.

It is much more frustrating when the pumps don’t work in the first place. I actually have a few spare pumps that I have used to replace non working ones.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

jlkz — Thu, 23 May 2019 15:55:49 GMT

@avid shopper

I have cut the ends off tubes...IT concealer and IT CC foundation.

Then I roll or fold over the end but only after I clean out any product or it will ooze out the cut end.

Then I place a very small clamp on the end and place them topside down in my makeup carousel.

It can get messy: have Q-tips and tissues handy as well as something to use as a small scraper. ( some paddles came with other makeup kits. )

However, once done, you get product that comes out smoothly until you need to cut open the tube.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Nightowlz — Thu, 23 May 2019 15:59:16 GMT

I cut the bottle, tube or whatever it comes in in half so I can put the rest of the product in a smaller container to finish using it. I have been doing this forever.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

SeaMaiden — Thu, 23 May 2019 16:06:51 GMT

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:
Maybe it's me but the older I get, the more frustrated I get with these pump bottles that most body lotions come in from drug stores! Not only are a lot of them hard to get started -- that twistie, turny thing -- but once the lotion gets down to a certain point, you can't get any more lotion to dispense! You can tell that there is quite a lot more in the container but forget trying to use the pump to get it out! So, what do you do? Take the lid off and pound and hit the container to disburse the lotion? This you have to keep doing every time you want to get a bit of product until you feel the container is empty. Time consuming and a pain!!!

Or do you just get disgusted and throw the bottle out because you don't want to deal with it? This seems like a waste. I have done both things, depending upon my mood! Just venting here! Anyone else???? Should be a better way. Of course, there are jars and tubes but usually the lotions I want are not in these vehicles!!!! Thanks for reading!

@AngelPuppy1 So What I do with the larger containers of say hand lotion when they are too low to pump out is to take a very sharp Serrated Knife

and very carefully saw the plastic container inhalf. ThenI just dip it out or put the remaining in a small dish that I wrap with saran wrap on top. A hassel...YES. But I get at least a week or more out of the product doing this.. Call me cheap! LOL!

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Porcelain — Thu, 23 May 2019 16:15:00 GMT

I just turn the bottle upside down, lean it against something, and leave it balancing that way. Then each day I unscrew the pump cap thingy and pull product off the pump tube and from around the top of the inside of the bottle. I can usually get a week's worth more product out of it that way.

If I were really serious about it, I'd get a spatty. But I'm not quite that serious.

Re: Pump bottles on lotions

Grouchomarx — Thu, 23 May 2019 16:34:32 GMT

Wanna hear something funny? Once a product (body wash, lotion, etc) gets near to the end, I feel disgusted with it and I can't wait to throw it away! I don't want the last ounce of whatever it is. I know, it's a weird mental disorder. So I never find myself trying to squeeze the last drop out of anything.

I do agree that the twisty turny things to start a pump can be difficult enough to make me wanna chuck it across the room.