To spray or not to spray? When I began my cloth-diapering journey, I purchased a package that contained the basics (dry pail, liners, deodorizer, detergent, and a diaper sprayer). Sadly, when my sprayer came, it did not attach to our toilet. This was not the end of the road, just a hiccup. So, I shook the diapers in the toilet and rinsed them in the sink. This is not a bad option, but read further for an alternative. Thus, my husband journeyed to Home Depot and bought some new attachments that lengthened the tubing on the toilet. I thought my dreams had come true. Now those dreaded poop diapers would be a snap.
The sprayer was a great tool; I just needed to learn how to use it well. My first rinsing attempt lead to a bath, for myself and for the bathroom. As I navigated the gentle tweaking of the valve to get just the right amount of water pressure, the water and organic matter went flying. I tried again, hoping it would get much better. While my next several attempts got much easier, it was still messy.
I decided to bring the dry pail into the bathroom and pull it close to the toilet. This helps prevent dripping (huge move). I also used to lift the toilet seat before spraying. I did not want to get it dirty. However, the lid, actually, helps keep the splatter to a minimum. If you put the diaper sprayer below the level of the toilet seat, it works.
In the end, I learned a few things. Bring the pail to where your sprayer is located. Open the pail ahead of time. Pull out the liner, if it is a pocket, before rinsing off the bulk of the poop. Put the insert in the pail. Then, fold the diaper in half (opening side down) with the inside out. Rinse in a downward motion. Put the sprayer close to the fabric on a lower setting to prevent tones of splatter. It may take a little longer to rinse, but it will prevent bathroom clean up.
If you are using an all-in-one, you will most likely need to wring the diaper. I have heard that you can use tools (aka. tongs) to hold the diaper and press it against the side of the toilet bowl to remove the access water. I, admittedly, have never tried this myself.
My conclusion is that sprayers are great. They take some getting used to, I still am; however, it helps keep the diapers from staining as horribly. Cloth diapering can sometimes be a labor of love, but overall the sprayer makes it a little bit easier.
Ashley Williams is a 24 year old first-time mom to an amazing little boy and wife to a great husband. She is taking a year off school to be a stay at home mom. Before going back to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Ashley considers herself a “cloth diapering, baby food making, sling carrying, warrior momma” and loving every minute.
In her free time Ashley cooks, scrapbooks, goes to a mother’s bible study, watches TV, and sleeps (if she’s lucky).
Bryana is the owner of 
Becca is a part-time Spanish Teacher and part-time Stay-At-Home-Mom. She's a cloth diaper expert who enjoys spending time with her family, crafting and selling her wares in her very own
Julie is a mom to three kids including a set of identical twins. Through cloth diapering her twins she developed a passion for the industry and is an avid cloth diaper advocate. You can also find her on her blog
This is a hilarious article to find, as I have FINALLY gotten my sprayer hooked up (after months of having it) and finally started using it and this morning using it to clean and EPIC poppy diaper, I found myself destroying the bathroom. I was thinking it was just me, but I see I just need to perfect my technique. :) Thanks for sharing!
LOL! Beautifully written blog post…I had previously “poo-pooed” (pun intended) the diaper sprayer…that is until I got one and learned to use it. And now…I don’t want to live without it and unfortunately one has to once and awhile, like when visiting out of town. I haven’t yet suggested to my mom that she install one in her guest bath, wonder what her reaction would be to that?
I find that all that fuss over poop is entirely unnecessary. If the poop is solid and conveniently plop-able, into the toilet it goes. Otherwise, it goes right into the diaper pale and washed with all the diapers. They are washed with plenty of water (a “medium” size load gets washed in a “large” cycle) on hot and get an extra rinse cycle with a cup of vinegar. Then they are hung out on the line to dry in the sun. The sun disinfects the diapers and bleaches out any stains. They pass the sniff test every time! I do notice that my few AIO’s are harder to get clean than my prefolds, however. If you use mostly prefolds though, they are a breeze to clean an never require spraying or dunking/ swishing.
easier faster and cheaper is to go to the hardware store and buy a length of garden hose, a nozzle of your choice and an adapter (for the cold water tap) to turn your laundry tub into the spraying arena.
for less than the cost of postage on a pre-made sprayer you can make your own and have it the length you like and will allow you to spray in a side to side motion, I tried the little squirt sprayer and if you even think of spraying side to side it would throw a hissy fit and water/poop would go everywhere.
bonus points added when you start spraying other laundry items just because it’s easy and already there.
OMG!!! if i won, well i would spend the $500 on diapers, and more diapers. i would buy $100 worth of diapers for my 23 month old, and $300 in diapers for my baby boy due in November. I would buy $100 in cloth diapers for my nephew to start using CD’s. It would be like winning the lottery because we just started CDing in August and have only been able to buy 3 new diapers and the rest were passed down from a good friend. I still have less than 20 diapers…so i am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping i win ANYTHING!! wooo-hooo!!
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