Bathroom Butler Soap Dishes and Baskets

Twenty six wall mounted soap fittings from Bathroom Butler, doing one of two jobs. Eighteen are sized for a bar of soap and eight are sized for bottles. Worth knowing before you scroll: the titles use rack, shelf, dish and basket fairly loosely, and so does the product type behind them, with the same 4630 appearing under both labels in different finishes. Read the size and the shape, not the noun.

A Soap Rack Is Built to Drain

This is the part that separates a stainless rack from a moulded dish. The 4630 in the 4600 Series is a set of evenly spaced bars with a raised bar front and back, measuring 188mm wide by 130mm deep. Water runs straight through it and air gets underneath, so the bar dries between uses rather than sitting in its own puddle. The raised bars stop the soap sliding off when it is wet.

Placement is more open than the category names suggest. Bathroom Butler specifies the soap rack for use in the shower, alongside the bath or above the basin, so a basket is not automatically a shower fitting and a dish is not automatically a basin one. The real question is whether you are parking a bar of soap or a bottle, and after that, where the tiling gives you a sound fixing.

The Larger Baskets Are for Bottles

Eight fittings here take shampoo, conditioner and shower gel rather than soap. The 9115 is a corner shower basket, the one to reach for when the only free surface is the angle between two walls, and the 9122 combines a shower basket and a soap basket in a single fixing. Integrity and Elemental do the same thing in their own idiom with a combined shower and soap shelf. The wider 330mm bottle racks mostly sit on the shower caddies page.

Fixing and Finish

The numbered stainless series are Grade 304 stainless steel on the brand's patented RIGID Loc mounting, a double screw wall fixing designed so the fitting stays locked and does not need retightening, which matters on something you push a wet hand against daily. Finishes run polished and brushed stainless steel, matt black, champagne gold and chrome. If you want the soap fitting to match, work from the range: 8500 Series, Felicity, Integrity, Elemental and Lavish all appear here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a soap dish and a soap basket?

On this page, less than you would expect. Bathroom Butler and the store labels use rack, shelf, dish and basket loosely, and the same 4630 model appears under both labels depending on finish. Judge it by size instead. Eighteen of these are sized for a bar of soap, and eight are deep enough to take shampoo and shower gel bottles.

Will a stainless soap rack stop soap going soggy?

That is exactly what the open bar construction is for. The 4630 is a set of evenly spaced bars, so water drains straight through and air circulates underneath rather than the bar sitting in a pool. A raised bar front and back keeps the soap from sliding off while it is wet. It will not dry soap that is permanently under a running shower head.

Can a soap rack be fitted inside the shower?

Yes. Bathroom Butler specifies the soap rack for use in the shower, alongside the bath or above the basin, so the same fitting works in all three positions. What decides it is the wall rather than the product: you need a sound substrate for a double screw fixing, and it helps to keep it clear of the direct spray.

What should I use to hold shampoo bottles?

Look at the deeper baskets rather than the soap racks. The 9115 corner shower basket uses the angle between two walls, which is often the only spare surface in a small shower, and the 9122 pairs a shower basket with a soap basket in one fixing. The wider 330mm racks are listed on the shower caddies page.

What are they made of and how do they fix to the wall?

The numbered stainless series use Grade 304 stainless steel, which Bathroom Butler adopted in place of chrome plating because it resists rusting, staining, peeling and flaking. They mount on the brand's patented RIGID Loc system with a double screw wall fixing, engineered to keep the accessory locked to its mounting rather than working loose over time.