A soap dish is a shallow, open container or platform where a bar of soap may be placed to dry after use. Soap dishes are usually located in or near a sink, shower, or bathtub. Most soap dishes are made from waterproof materials such as plastic, ceramic, metal, or glass, though some are made from bamboo. A china saucer [1] or sponge may serve as a soap dish. A soap dish accommodates bar soap, whereas a soap dispenser accommodates liquid soap or foam soap.
Elements in the design of a soap dish include safety, ventilation, cleanliness, placement, aesthetics, and cost. When a soap dish is part of a bath accessories set, coordinated group design may be utilized. Notable soap dish designs include Leonard L Hierath's May 2018 US Patent #US-9962042 Article Support (soap dish) US Patent and Trademark Office; Robert A. Pitton's 1956 US patent for a reversible, hemispherical soap dish [2] and Bernard Cohen's October 2017 design for the "SoapAnchor" [3] (patent pending).
Because of their intended use in wet and potentially hazardous environments, most soap dishes are designed with safety in mind. Such features include unbreakable materials, non-slip surfaces, rounded edges, and secure installation elements (e.g., wall mount hardware, a suction cup, or non-skid feet). Depositing or retrieving a slippery bar of soap is facilitated by an open (or semi-open) sided design or by a shallow lip.
A bar of wet soap relies on ventilation to dry. A number of design elements may be used to increase ambient airflow around the soap, including vented surfaces or surfaces interspersed with bumps, ridges, or slats. Mechanical ventilation has not yet become a widespread design element in soap dishes.
Because of their association with hand washing and hygiene, soap dishes themselves are often the focus of cleanliness. To aid in cleanup, some self-draining soap dishes are designed to allow soapy residue to collect in a compartment below the raised bar of soap. Other such soap dishes funnel the soapy residue directly to the adjacent sink or bathtub, necessitating strategic placement of the soap dish.
Most soap dishes are standalone accessories whose placement is at the user's discretion, though some are a built-in feature of a sink, shower, or bathtub. Standalone soap dishes may be entirely portable or may include options for semi-permanent or permanent installation on a horizontal or vertical surface. Locating a soap dish outside the perimeter of a faucet's or showerhead's stream helps the soap to avoid excess erosion. [4]
Though utilitarian in purpose, soap dishes may be given aesthetic treatment. A soap dish in the form of a whale, for example, was patented in 1961 by Sonia Adelson, with "the mouth portion thereof being adapted to receive and dispense a bar of soap in an amusing, novel and useful manner". [5] Another example is the "Bodoni Soap Dish", a February 2013 design by David Strauss that was inspired by the legacy of Massimo Vignelli. [6] [7]
A soap dish played a role in a seminal event in the 7th century when Byzantine Emperor Constans II (630-668) was assassinated with one. [8]
A classified ad that appeared on 25 March 1820 in the Sydney [Australia] Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser lists auction items that include soap dishes. [9] The Oxford English Dictionary gives a later "first evidence of use" for the term soap-dish as 1837 [10] (in The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens).
A pewter soap dish made in Meriden, Connecticut between 1807 and 1835 is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. [11] An 1887 medical journal discusses an operating table that includes a built-in soap dish [12] and an 1892 book on industrial arts shows a soap dish attachment for a scrub bucket. [13] A toy porcelain soap dish likely from the 1890s was unearthed by archaeologist Laurie A. Wilkie at the Oakley Plantation in Louisiana. Wilkie explains in detail the facts surrounding this soap dish that led her to interpret it to be "a little material embodiment of someone's love for a child". [14] By the late 19th century, Sears Roebuck & Company was influencing the spread of the soap dish in American households. [15]
A pocket-sized metal soap dish emblazoned with two crossed swords that was in use during World War I (1914-1918) is in the special collections of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. [16] In 1919, Witter Bynner immortalized a soap dish in his poem entitled I Evade, [17] which is reproduced here in its entirety: "The look in your eyes / Was as soft as the underside of soap in a soap-dish … / And I left before you could love me."
A gold-plated soap dish was one of over 60 artifacts from Saddam Hussein's private airport and palace that were returned to Iraq by the US government in March 2015 as part of an Iraqi national project to preserve its cultural heritage. [18]
A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies heavily on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, typically between 45 and 75 °C, at the dishes, with lower temperatures of water used for delicate items.
A sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing. They also include a drain to remove used water; this drain may itself include a strainer and/or shut-off device and an overflow-prevention device. Sinks may also have an integrated soap dispenser. Many sinks, especially in kitchens, are installed adjacent to or inside a counter.
Bodoni is the name given to the serif typefaces first designed by Giambattista Bodoni (1740–1813) in the late eighteenth century and frequently revived since. Bodoni's typefaces are classified as Didone or modern. Bodoni followed the ideas of John Baskerville, as found in the printing type Baskerville—increased stroke contrast reflecting developing printing technology and a more vertical axis—but he took them to a more extreme conclusion. Bodoni had a long career and his designs changed and varied, ending with a typeface of a slightly condensed underlying structure with flat, unbracketed serifs, extreme contrast between thick and thin strokes, and an overall geometric construction.
Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors.
Dishwashing, washing the dishes, doing the dishes, or washing up in Great Britain, is the process of cleaning cooking utensils, dishes, cutlery and other items to prevent foodborne illness. This is either achieved by hand in a sink using dishwashing detergent or by using a dishwasher and may take place in a kitchen, utility room, scullery or elsewhere. There are cultural divisions over rinsing and drying after washing.
Ivory is a flagship personal care brand created by the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), including varieties of white and mildly scented bar soap that became famous for its claim of purity and for floating on water. Over the years, the brand has been extended to other varieties and products.
Josephine Garis Cochran was an American inventor who invented the first successful hand-powered dishwasher, which she designed and then constructed with the assistance of mechanic George Butters, who became one of her first employees.
Tadelakt is a waterproof plaster surface used in Moroccan architecture to make baths, sinks, water vessels, interior and exterior walls, ceilings, roofs, and floors. It is made from lime plaster, which is rammed, polished, and treated with soap to make it waterproof and water-repellent. Tadelakt is labour-intensive to install, but durable. Since it is applied as a paste, tadelakt has a soft, undulating character, it can form curves, and it is seamless. Pigment can be added to give it any colour, but deep red is traditional. It may have a shiny or matte finish.
A washstand or basin stand is a piece of furniture consisting of a small table or cabinet, usually supported on three or four legs, and most commonly made of mahogany, walnut, or rosewood, and made for holding a wash basin and water pitcher. The smaller varieties were used for rose-water ablutions, or for hair-powdering. The larger ones, which possessed receptacles for soap dishes, were the predecessors of the modern bathroom wash basin, or sink. Both varieties, often of very elegant form, were in extensive use throughout a large part of the 18th century and early-19th century, eventually disappearing with the advent of modern indoor plumbing.
Dishwashing liquid, also known as dishwashing soap, dish detergent, and dish soap is a detergent used to assist in dishwashing. It is usually a highly-foaming mixture of surfactants with low skin irritation, and is primarily used for hand washing of glasses, plates, cutlery, and cooking utensils in a sink or bowl. In addition to its primary use, dishwashing liquid also has various informal applications, such as for creating bubbles, clothes washing and cleaning oil-affected birds.
Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier.
A cricothyrotomy is an incision made through the skin and cricothyroid membrane to establish a patent airway during certain life-threatening situations, such as airway obstruction by a foreign body, angioedema, or massive facial trauma. Cricothyrotomy is nearly always performed as a last resort in cases where other means of tracheal intubation are impossible or impractical. Compared with tracheotomy, cricothyrotomy is quicker and easier to perform, does not require manipulation of the cervical spine, and is associated with fewer complications. However, while cricothyrotomy may be life-saving in extreme circumstances, this technique is only intended to be a temporizing measure until a definitive airway can be established.
Massimo Vignelli was an Italian designer who worked in a number of areas including packaging, houseware, furniture, public signage, and showroom design. He was the co-founder of Vignelli Associates, with his wife, Lella. His motto was, "If you can design one thing, you can design everything," which the broad range of his work reflects.
Passive cooling is a building design approach that focuses on heat gain control and heat dissipation in a building in order to improve the indoor thermal comfort with low or no energy consumption. This approach works either by preventing heat from entering the interior or by removing heat from the building.
Bathtub refinishing also known as bathtub resurfacing is the process of refreshing the surface of a worn or damaged bathtub to a like-new condition. This process starts by accessing the damages that the bathtub currently has and determining what repairs need to be made. Some things that help determine if the bathtub needs to be repaired is if it has chips and cracks, rust, corrosion or does not hold water anymore. If a bathtub has serious rust or corrosion than the bathtub most likely can not be repaired properly, and it should be replaced. If the bathtub is not holding water and has chips or cracks you can repair these issues using Bondo or another type of polyester putty.After bondo or polyester putty is used on the bathtub the surface is prepped with an acid etching. Etching and wet sanding provide mechanical adhesion and clean the surface. Porcelain, enamel, and fiberglass tubs are non-porous and do not provide a good substrate for the new coating to attach to. Etching the surface provides a porous surface that will allow proper adhesion. Another possible method is to apply an adhesion-promoting bonding agent like silane to the surface before applying the coating. The two methods can be used in unison or independently. The greatest adhesion is generally achieved by using both methods together however, some newer refinishing processes claim they do not require the use of etching, by relying on silane alone.
A dish drying cabinet is a piece of kitchen shelving placed above the sink, with an open bottom and shelves made of steel wire or dowels to allow washed dishes set within to drip into the sink and air dry.
Shaving soap is a hard soap that is used to produce lather with a shaving brush. The lather it produces is used to coat the face during shaving, softening the hair in preparation for shaving.
Palmolive is an American multinational brand of a line of products produced by Colgate-Palmolive. The Palmolive brand grew from one product, Palmolive bar soap. Made of coconut, palm and olive oils, Palmolive bar soap was introduced in 1898. Originally, the bar soap floated like Proctor & Gamble's Ivory bar soap. By the turn of the 20th century, Palmolive bar soap was the world’s best-selling soap.
A washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common by the end of the 20th century, the washboard has become better known for its secondary use as a musical instrument.
Dishwasher detergent is a detergent made for washing dishes in a dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent is different from dishwashing liquid made to wash dishes by hand.