Help me find a bidet/diaper sprayer that works and doesn't leak.
October 19, 2013 3:40 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for a diaper sprayer for my toilet. I've looked around at diaper sprayers and handheld bidets, but they all have ominous negative reviews about leaking.
Every diaper sprayer and handheld-sprayer-type-bidet I've seen online has many reviews saying that after a couple months the hose or the connection started leaking (sometimes catastrophically). Some reviews say that the sprayers don't leak as long as you turn off the supply valve to the sprayer after every use, but who wants to do that?
Surely there must be a simple diaper sprayer out there that doesn't require a valve shutoff and won't leak. I would appreciate it if anyone has information about where to find it! Thank you.
PS: Please note that I need one that attaches to the toilet supply line with a hose, not an in-toilet mounted bidet, since the primary purpose is for diaper spraying.
Every diaper sprayer and handheld-sprayer-type-bidet I've seen online has many reviews saying that after a couple months the hose or the connection started leaking (sometimes catastrophically). Some reviews say that the sprayers don't leak as long as you turn off the supply valve to the sprayer after every use, but who wants to do that?
Surely there must be a simple diaper sprayer out there that doesn't require a valve shutoff and won't leak. I would appreciate it if anyone has information about where to find it! Thank you.
PS: Please note that I need one that attaches to the toilet supply line with a hose, not an in-toilet mounted bidet, since the primary purpose is for diaper spraying.
Response by poster: Hmm. I appreciate the info k8t - if others want to advise against using a diaper sprayer, could you also include what type of cloth diaper you used (including whether you used disposable liners or not, and other relevant info)? Thanks!
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:20 PM on October 19, 2013
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:20 PM on October 19, 2013
We used BumGenius 2.0s and some FuzziBunz. We stuffed with microfiber inserts. Disposable liners weren't around back then.
posted by k8t at 4:24 PM on October 19, 2013
posted by k8t at 4:24 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: We used this tutorial to make a diaper sprayer. When my child was exclusively breastfed (6 months for us), we didn't use it at all and just let the poop get washed out in the washer. Once he started solids, it was a rarity to have to use it because the poop was more "plop-able" to be graphic. Occasionally a runny, sticky poop made the sprayer a godsend though. We had a shutoff valve, per the tutorial and it wasn't difficult or onerous to use at all. The pressure is really high on ours, so I can see why leaks would occur without the shutoff valve.
posted by chiababe at 4:27 PM on October 19, 2013
posted by chiababe at 4:27 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: +1 "not needed." I used all sorts of brands, mostly "all in ones." I tried a disposable liner briefly, found them high hassle for low reward. (Fussy to place in. Kid shifts about, so does liner. After repeating this ten times with no poo, the novelty wears off.) As per k8t, it's either, uh, a pre-poo sort of substance, or it shakes off. Generally.
I was not above using my washing machine as a wet pail and occasionally running it on a rinse cycle if something needed it. If this was bad for my washer it hasn't done anything to demonstrate that. One assumes they are made to deal with mud.
posted by kmennie at 4:30 PM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was not above using my washing machine as a wet pail and occasionally running it on a rinse cycle if something needed it. If this was bad for my washer it hasn't done anything to demonstrate that. One assumes they are made to deal with mud.
posted by kmennie at 4:30 PM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
We use flip inserts with thirsties covers. Never used a sprayer. I really liked disposable liners (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004N3C2YM).
posted by avocado_of_merriment at 5:29 PM on October 19, 2013
posted by avocado_of_merriment at 5:29 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: Another vote for the diaper sprayer not being necessary. I used mostly BumGenius 3.0, some Flips, some prefolds. I used liners sometimes, but didn't find them especially helpful. For the few occasions the poop wouldn't peel off easily into the toilet, I used a rubber spatula to scrape. I always did a pre-rinse in the washer, and this system worked for us for 3 years.
posted by Empidonax at 5:33 PM on October 19, 2013
posted by Empidonax at 5:33 PM on October 19, 2013
Response by poster: Ok, this went in a different direction than expected, but that's ok.
As long as this thread has become reasons *not* to use a diaper sprayer, could we also fact-check the information I've gleaned from the internet about how to de-poop diapers?
1. Breastfed poop can be put right into the washing machine along with the diaper (this seems...wrong...to me, but not for any scientific reason, and as kmennie says, washers are meant to deal with worse, so we'll try it)
2. It's usually possible to shake solid-food poop into the toilet
3. It's sometimes necessary to clean solid-food poop off the diaper if it's too sticky, and the ways one can do that are:
...a) by swishing the diaper in the toilet (seems yucky)
...b) by using a diaper sprayer (seems less yucky)
...c) by using a dedicated spatula (seems a bit annoying)
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:50 PM on October 19, 2013
As long as this thread has become reasons *not* to use a diaper sprayer, could we also fact-check the information I've gleaned from the internet about how to de-poop diapers?
1. Breastfed poop can be put right into the washing machine along with the diaper (this seems...wrong...to me, but not for any scientific reason, and as kmennie says, washers are meant to deal with worse, so we'll try it)
2. It's usually possible to shake solid-food poop into the toilet
3. It's sometimes necessary to clean solid-food poop off the diaper if it's too sticky, and the ways one can do that are:
...a) by swishing the diaper in the toilet (seems yucky)
...b) by using a diaper sprayer (seems less yucky)
...c) by using a dedicated spatula (seems a bit annoying)
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:50 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: Breastfed poop will indeed just rinse right off in the washer without any additional steps/handling necessary. We used the disposable liners once we'd started on solid foods and it was easy for both us and our daycaare provider. Never needed any dedicated sprayer, so no risk of plumbing leaks.
posted by goggie at 6:13 PM on October 19, 2013
posted by goggie at 6:13 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: Well, as another data point, we had many months of "transition" poop, as my son was eating some solids but still mostly nursing. It wasn't ploppable, let me tell you! My dad and I built a sprayer with a shutoff valve, and I was very happy to have it.
The shutoff valve is not too onerous, keeps away leaks, and (perhaps most importantly!) keeps a curious toddler from spraying the whole bathroom.
Plus, I figure the sprayer will come in useful during potty training.
But you can just wait and see if you think it will be useful, given your washing habits and your kid's bowels. Maybe the liners will work for you, or dunk-'n-swish...
posted by wyzewoman at 6:40 PM on October 19, 2013
The shutoff valve is not too onerous, keeps away leaks, and (perhaps most importantly!) keeps a curious toddler from spraying the whole bathroom.
Plus, I figure the sprayer will come in useful during potty training.
But you can just wait and see if you think it will be useful, given your washing habits and your kid's bowels. Maybe the liners will work for you, or dunk-'n-swish...
posted by wyzewoman at 6:40 PM on October 19, 2013
We removed the diaper sprayer due to leaking, plus it was too high pressure and splashed poopy water everywhere (yuck). What works great for us is a handheld shower head on an extra long, stretchy hose. We already had a showerhead on a hose, so it was easy to replace. Obviously this won't work if you don't have a shower next to your diaper cleaning toilet.
Yes, breastfed poop can go straight in the washer - we had no problems with that. We're in the in-between "peanut butter poo" stage, and spraying is necessary. Dunking is gross and doesn't work great, and I was not all interested in having a poop spatula.
posted by Safiya at 7:15 PM on October 19, 2013
Yes, breastfed poop can go straight in the washer - we had no problems with that. We're in the in-between "peanut butter poo" stage, and spraying is necessary. Dunking is gross and doesn't work great, and I was not all interested in having a poop spatula.
posted by Safiya at 7:15 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: We have this sprayer. This first one we had did develop a leak, after 2 years. We bought a new one and the quality of the components had definitely been improved. Been using it a year with no problem.
We use bumGenius 4.0s and Rumparoos - no disposable liners.
The shut-off valve is a trivial part of the process. If it adds more than 2 seconds to the process, I'd be shocked. The valves are adjustable so you can control the strength of the spray... You'll know the sweet spot after your second or third diaper.
And, piling on, exclusively breastfed poop can definitely go straight into the wash. It can stain the diaper, but nothing that drying in the sunshine won't fix.
posted by Jacob G at 7:29 PM on October 19, 2013
We use bumGenius 4.0s and Rumparoos - no disposable liners.
The shut-off valve is a trivial part of the process. If it adds more than 2 seconds to the process, I'd be shocked. The valves are adjustable so you can control the strength of the spray... You'll know the sweet spot after your second or third diaper.
And, piling on, exclusively breastfed poop can definitely go straight into the wash. It can stain the diaper, but nothing that drying in the sunshine won't fix.
posted by Jacob G at 7:29 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: We use the BumGenius diaper sprayer, and while I know there are lots of reviews that indicate people had issues with leaking, I have not personally had that problem. We even got ours second-hand, so it's been in use probably 3 years now, at least. Now, as far as not needing it--uuuhhrgh I guess we might be unlucky in that department, but my 2-year-old's poops are rarely the "shake into the toilet" type. Far from it! Plus, we send him to daycare with cloth diapers and rinse them out at night--but that point, everything is pretty well adhered (*shudder*). I honestly would have given up on cloth by now without the sprayer. Yes, you have to be careful to avoid getting poop water everywhere but it is certainly better than any alternative I can think of. Seconding above that it is no big deal to turn off the sprayer each time--we don't do it anymore, but there were some months when my son was very interested in the sprayer so we had to do that anyway.
While the baby is solely breastfed, yes, you really can throw those diapers straight into the wash. Aaah, those were the days! You could always wait until your kid is on solids before you buy a sprayer, to see if you might luck out and have the shake-able poop type.
(For the record, we use Tots Bots EasyFits and love them. We'll use a disposable liner when we're at home but not at daycare; they make poops easier to clean up but don't eliminate the need for a sprayer completely.)
posted by Jemstar at 8:39 PM on October 19, 2013
While the baby is solely breastfed, yes, you really can throw those diapers straight into the wash. Aaah, those were the days! You could always wait until your kid is on solids before you buy a sprayer, to see if you might luck out and have the shake-able poop type.
(For the record, we use Tots Bots EasyFits and love them. We'll use a disposable liner when we're at home but not at daycare; they make poops easier to clean up but don't eliminate the need for a sprayer completely.)
posted by Jemstar at 8:39 PM on October 19, 2013
We use a butter knife to scrape off any poo that doesn't shake off into the toilet. (It has a rubber band on the handle so we don't mistakenly use it on food). Works great. And yes, breastmilk poop washes right out.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:53 PM on October 19, 2013
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:53 PM on October 19, 2013
Best answer: I've used our Osocozy diaper sprayer maybe every other day for the past six months (more the first month or so). Our guy tends to go once a day now and we have been pretty good with predicting when to put a paper diaper on. Turning the little lever on before washing the diaper is trivial. I do keep a wash cloth on the floor for little dribbles as I put the sprayer back in the holder. The dirty diaper goes in a plastic bucket filled with hot water and oxygen bleach powder. There was something tricky about the installation for our toilet so I would suggest making sure you have someone on hand who is good with things like that- I would suspect the failures mentioned by users online are due to improper installation. In our bathroom the sprayer is at the perfect spot to spray down the end of the tub after I've cleaned it so we'll be keeping the sprayer even after babies are out of diapers. Breastmilk poops are much nicer but, completely to my surprise, breastfeeding didn't work for us so I'm glad we have it.
posted by betsybetsy at 9:48 AM on October 20, 2013
posted by betsybetsy at 9:48 AM on October 20, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks very much to everyone for your information and advice!
I think we'll hold off on deciding about the diaper sprayer until we start feeding our baby solids.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:06 PM on October 21, 2013
I think we'll hold off on deciding about the diaper sprayer until we start feeding our baby solids.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:06 PM on October 21, 2013
Response by poster: Also, just to clarify - I wasn't worried that closing the valve would be too difficult or take too long, I was just worried about a system that required us to remember to close the valve *every time* or else risk catastrophic flooding, as it seems some of these sprayers are designed.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:07 PM on October 21, 2013
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:07 PM on October 21, 2013
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Breastfeed poop washes easily. Once baby was pooping solids, we just shook it out into the toilet.
Cloth diapers lasted 3 years and are still in good shape.
posted by k8t at 4:17 PM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]