Cloth Diaper Sprayer

What is a cloth diaper sprayer, and do you really need one?  Read on to find out why we love our diaper sprayer, and why we think it’s a worthwhile investment for families using cloth diapers.

What is a diaper sprayer?

Our diaper sprayer
has been a lifesaver! Also called a minishower, it is a spray wand that
hooks up directly to your toilet, and is designed to rinse poopy
diapers into the toilet, eliminating the messy need for dunking and
soaking!

Do I need one?

If your biggest concern with cloth
diapers is handling poop, the cloth diaper sprayer may become your most
essential cloth diapering accessory! The diaper sprayer makes it easy
to clean up sticky, stinky messes, and can extend the lifetime of your
diaper by preventing staining and odors from setting in.

Dads
love diaper sprayers too! If your husband is on the fence about
cloth diapers, a minishower might be just what you need to convince
him to give them a try. Whenever someone asks my husband about using
cloth diapers, the sprayer is one of the first things he mentions!  In fact, my husband has said many times, if it hadn’t been for our diaper sprayer, he would have quit using cloth diapers long ago!

How much do they cost?

Cloth diaper sprayers usually cost between $40 and $50. This can seem expensive, but keep in mind that a cloth diaper sprayer:

1. Can eliminate the need for flushable cloth diaper liners
2. Reliable,
   made of high quality professional plumbing grade materials, such as
   simple push-in hose connectors, and quality brass, chrome and ceramic
   parts
3. Package contains everything needed to install the
   minishower yourself, with easy-to-follow instructions, and even
   toll-free customer support if you run into any problems. NOTE: Be sure
   to turn off the water while you are hooking it up!
4. Can be used for lots of other uses, such rinsing and cleaning toilets, showering your house plants, or as a hand-held bidet.
5. May extend the life of your diapers by preventing staining and residue build-up

If you’re not sure about spending the money on a diaper sprayer, keep in mind that used diaper sprayers tend to hold their value well.  If you buy a brand-name diaper sprayer, you can usually resell it wherever you sell used cloth diapers for at least half, and sometimes as much as 75% of the original purchase price!

Do you really want to dunk all of those messy diapers?

The
poop of breast-fed babies is water soluble, and does not need to be
rinsed before your diapers are added to the diaper pail. If you are
using baby formula or once you introduce solid foods at 6 months of age,
the texture and content of your baby’s diapers will change. Here’s
when dunking and soaking will become part of your cloth diapering
routine.

With a minishower, you won’t ever have to dunk and swish
your diapers again! You simply hold the diaper over the toilet and use
the cloth diaper sprayer to rinse any messes straight into the toilet.

Tip:
When you first start using the sprayer, don’t turn open the valve up
all of the way. It usually takes a bit of practice to perfect your aim
and sprayer angle, and this is best done at lower pressure so you don’t
end up spraying some of the diaper contents onto your hands (or worse!)
Once you get better at it, you can open up the valve and enjoy the
benefits of rinsing your diapers with full water pressure.

How does it work?

A
diaper sprayer hooks directly into your toilet plumbing. Diaper
sprayer installation is very easy. You will need to make sure your
toilet has a flexible supply line (if not, these are between $5 and $10
at most major hardware stores).

It took me about 20 minutes to
set it up following the instructions that were included. You won’t need
a plumber to hook it up for you, as long as you or someone you know are
strong enough to tighten the plumbing lines yourself.

It’s
always a good idea to turn the pressure-control valve off when the
diaper sprayer is not in use. I’ve never heard of a line breaking, but
if your hose did get punctured, you could end up with water all over
your bathroom.

Popular Brands

• Bumgenius is the brand I have and love.  It is made with commercial grade plumbing components that have stood the test.  It sells for $59.95 from Purrfectzone diaper sprayer.  Please note, US retailers can’t ship BumGenius items outside of the US.
• At just $38.95, the OsoCosy sprayer, available from ClothDiaper.com is a popular budget choice.
• Canadian retailer offers a wide selection of diaper sprayers by popular diaper brands including FuzziBunz, AMP, and BumGenius.
• You can also find cloth diaper sprayers on Amazon.com, starting at $39.95, and they qualify for free super-saver shipping.

Conclusion

We wouldn’t have cloth diapered without our trusty cloth diaper sprayer.  If you’re thinking about using cloth diapers, but are concerned about handling messy diapers later on, we think the cloth diaper sprayer is a worthwhile investment in your sanity!