I'm Loving the Diaper Sprayer!

I just wanted to post today and say how much I love my diaper sprayer!

When I have a conversation with somebody about cloth diapers, usually their first impression is that I must spend hours each day crouched over the toilet, up to my elbows in poopie water as I scrub out the diapers. "Wow, that's too much work for me, I mean all that washing by hand!"

Well, I don't wash diapers by hand. We have this new invention called the washing machine and it does the job for me. Oh, you have one too? Oh right, I can tell you're concerned about washing out the poopie diapers in the toilet. I promise it's not that hard. You can just hold one corner and swish. Or get yourself a diaper sprayer, it makes the diapers come really clean with minimal effort, and you don't have to get your hands wet or soiled.

At this point in the conversation, the person starts to think that maybe I'm not just some kind of crazy hippie masochist. Let's face it, thinking about rinsing out a diaper in the toilet is usually the main reason that sends most parents to the disposable diaper aisle in the grocery store. (Interestingly enough, disposable diapers also should be rinsed out. Check the tiny wording on the package. It's illegal to throw poop in the garbage.) My diaper sprayer makes the job so quick and easy. They are relatively inexpensive (about $35 for my mini shower) and quick and easy to install. It's just like having a kitchen sprayer on your toilet. The same water that comes from your house plumbing into your toilet tank is temporarily diverted into the sprayer. You can purchase one of these sprayers at various online diaper shops, or make one yourself from a kitchen sprayer.

I've had my sprayer for several years, and the pressure can be small or great depending on the kind of water pressure your house has. The mini-shower has an adjustable valve that lets you lower the pressure, and in my house we use it about half-way on. It takes a bit of experience to get the pressure high enough to get the diaper clean, yet low enough to not have to wash poop off of your bathroom walls!

At one point a few months ago, I decided to buy something totally indulgent when my parents gave me some birthday money: a potty pail. This ingenious invention is quite simple, really. It's just a bucket with a hole in it, and an attachment to make it rest on the rim of the toilet. I'm sure I could have made one myself, but hey, it was my birthday. I can not begin to describe how much I love this bucket! My reason for buying it was that the pail promised to contain the overspray so I wouldn't have to wash my bathroom walls anymore. After using it, I realized that it was helpful for more reasons. For one, it lets the diaper rest on the bottom of a relatively clean bucket instead of in dirty water in the toilet bowl. All the offending solids slide nicely down the hole and out of site. This makes rinsing out the diaper even easier. And secondly, my potty pail came with a lid, which means I use it as a second diaper pail for hiding the diapers that need to be sprayed. It's very convenient. I'm not ashamed to admit that I have let as many as four poopie diapers wait in the potty pail until I am ready to throw all my diapers in the wash. At that point, I set the pail on the toilet and spray them all out. It's a super quick job, no bending down, no soiled hands, and is only done twice a week. I love it!

So, for all our readers with queasy stomachs that haven't gotten up the nerve to wash out a dirty diaper, try the sprayer or the pail. You'll love it too!