Review (5/5): Winner compared to Method (pre-mixed), Clean Revolution (liquid concentrate), and EKR (tablets)
I was determined to find a cost effective alternative to store purchased refills. I purchased these all on Amazon. Bottom line is Method, Clean Revolution and Prime Household tablets are all 'good'. I don't recommend the EKR tablets.
Here is my rank and input from 2 others in my house:
#1 Prime Household Foaming hand soap ($0.90per refill, 50ct pkg) Pros: Nice lemon scent (more pleasantly noticeable than the other 3), most ecologically friendly packaging (no water, bulk bag), easy to refill, least cost (50ct pkg) Cons: Foam is a slightly less smooth than Method/Clean Revolution
Result: If you like the environmentally friendly package and the least cost buy this.
#2 Clean Revolution liquid concentrate ($1.40 liquid concentrate, $1.44 pre-mixed jug per refill) Pros: light citrus scent, very smooth foam (like method), nice soapy feel. Cons: mixing the concentrate liquid (1tbls/15ml per 9oz bottle) is a pain, buying the pre-mixed jug is not ecologically friendly, cost is higher, The other 2 scents in the 3 pack of concentrates aren't great. The citrus was the best.
Result: If you don't care about the environment or the added cost, buy the pre-mixed citrus jugs over prime household tablets (it has a slightly better smooth feel, but not by much).
#3 Method ($1.62 per refill) Pros: nice very light laundry detergent scent, very smooth foam (like Clean Revolution), nice soapy feel. Cons: shipping the pre-mixed bag is not ecologically friendly, cost is higher
Result: If you really want pre-mixed, stick with the Clean Revolution jugs and save some cost.
#4 EKR Foaming Hand Soap Tablets ($0.75 per refill) Pros: Cost, Cons: Smell (3 people said this: ok grapefruit, light chemical, bad aloe/little awful), not as 'soapy'.
Result: All 3 people in the house ranked this at the bottom. Only buy this if you want the absolute cheapest option and don't care what it smells like. The feel isn't horrible, but not as good as the others.