Why No Auto Soap Dispenser?

During a recent road trip I noticed that the men’s washrooms in the rest (or service) areas along the highway (on I76/I80) had auto-starting water faucets and auto-starting hand dryers. However, all the soap dispensers were the old fashioned kind — pump by hand. Why is that?! Shouldn’t the highway authorities be using technology to encourage the motoring public to wash their hands?

A sink in an Indiana rest area bathroom

A sink in an Ohio rest area bathroom

3 comments

  1. In my experience the soap dispenser is always the least likely item to be motion sensing. I wonder if they are more costly, or damage more easily, or if they are just not considered when designing the loo.

  2. I’m happy to report that on a recent cross-country drive (all east of the Mighty Mississippi), I discovered that many of the newer rest areas seem to have the auto soap-dispensers.

    Ah, the unstoppable march of technology.

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