To Spray or Not To Spray – That is the Question!
For 15 months we chose not to use a diaper sprayer out of pure frugality – I didn’t see the need to spend any money when our ‘system’ for dealing with poop was still working. Then one fine day a Knickernappies Diaper Sprayer (thanks Diapers, Etc) showed up in my mailbox and I HAD to give it a try. I immediately assumed my gender neutral position and decided that I could install this simple piece of plumbing equipment, right? Neither hubs or I are incredibly handy but the diaper sprayer came with all of the pieces and simple, easy to follow instructions to install.
I stepped into the bathroom and conducted a test – I turned off the water supply from behind the toilet and flushed to see if the tank emptied as the directions said it would. Then I flushed again, and again – HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM! We’ve feared for months now that we may have had a slight leak in the toilet (house was built in the 80’s and the bathrooms are ANCIENT!) – this confirmed my fear. We’ve talked for months about completely over hauling both bathrooms to make them a little more modern (and a little less Florida Grandma style) but we are stingy with our money and keep putting it off (OK – we’re lazy)!
So for weeks this beautiful diaper sprayer sat in a basket above the toilet waiting for the day I would fix our leak. Oddly enough about a month later we experienced another leaky situation – our kitchen sink sprung a leak that needed to be repaired immediately! When talking with the repairman (who happens to be a family friend) I asked about the other leaks in the house and how difficult it would be to fix those while we’re at it. So one fine summer day we finally got all of our leaks repaired – and a new kitchen sink to boot! He was even kind enough to install my lovely diaper sprayer for me – which according to him “took him seconds to install.”
The Aftermath:
Now I have a diaper sprayer that still sits peacefully in the bathroom waiting to be used. It’s installed but it rarely get’s used – at least to the capacity I would have anticipated it being used. There are two issues that arise really:
1. My daughter RARELY poops at home! She is at a babysitters house all day and LOVES to poop at her house. She will honestly hold in her poop all weekend when she is home with us so she can poop at the sitters. It’s actually not a bad problem to have – afterall no one really enjoys poop do they?
2. FORCE! The force behind the diaper sprayer is actually incredibly strong. It seems like everytime I use it I struggle to keep the water IN the toilet – leaving me with a wet messy bathroom to clean up. This is actually a “Like” and a “Dislike” – the extra force really helps remove that sticky nasty in-between solid poop.
I guess I’m a “No Spray” girl – we normally use flushable liners in our diapers, especially if she’s been holding it in for a while. That way most of the poop can be removed with a simple plop into the toilet. Then whatever is left gets rinsed off in the sink (and yes, I’ll sanitize the sink when I’m done) before I put the diaper in the dirty pail. Maybe if we had started with the sprayer in the early days of easy, breastfeeding poop it may have come in handy.
Diapers, Etc: I realized after doing some homework on Diapers, Etc that they are actually a local company – they are located in Lutz, FL. They sell a variety of cloth diapers, diapering accessories and an assortment of organic and eco-friendly baby products.
BUY IT: Want to buy your own diaper sprayer and judge for yourself, visit Diapers, Etc. The Knickernappies Diaper Sprayer sells for $43.99 – add a few new cloth diapers to your order to be eligible for free shipping on orders over $75.
WIN IT: Want to win your very own Knickernappies Diaper Sprayer – compliments of Diapers, Etc.? To be entered to win you MUST leave me a comment below telling me how you handle the poop in your house – do you spray, dunk, swish, etc? Be sure to tell me WHY you want to win a diaper sprayer in your comment and leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.
BONUS POINTS: Earn one extra bonus point for each of the following – leave a comment for EACH bonus step you complete.
1. Twitter Love to @TheEcoChic, @DiapersEtc, and @EcoChicParties
2. Check us out of Facebook – and if you ‘Like’ what you see then ‘Like Us’
3. Tweet about this giveaway including a link back to this post.
RULES: Winner must be over the age of 18 and a resident of the continental United States. Giveaway will close on September 15th, 2010. Winner will be contacted using the email address they register with and must confirm their winnings within 48 hrs of notification. Prize is provided by Diapers, Etc.
GIVEAWAY ENDED 9/15/10: ECO-ngratulations Kristen! You will be receiving an email from me about how to claim your prize! Thanks for visiting and entering.
Disclosure: In case you didn’t realize it already – Diapers, Etc. provided me with a Knickernappies Diaper Sprayer for review. Your results may vary and you may fall madly in love with your diaper sprayer. Either way – show a little love to Diapers, Etc because they are nice people.
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I follow @theechochic on twitter
I currently am a “dump” it in and swoosh if needed kind-of-girl 🙂 I’d love to have a diaper sprayer for those “in-between” poos that don’t just dump in. nnrobin.sayers@yahoo.com
I follow @ecochicparties on twitter
I like Diapersetc on FB
tweetnhttp://twitter.com/ShortyRobs/status/22673330961
We have 2 in diapers. With our 1 month old we just wash it in the washer since she is exclusively breastfed at this point. With our toddler, we use the liners. I would love to have the sprayer because I hate dealing with poop and the liners don’t always work wonderfully. nnszogediek at yahoo dot com
I follow @TheEcoChic, @DiapersEtc, and @EcoChicParties on TwitternnID: @szogedieknnszogediek at yahoo dot com
We just got ours in the last few months too, but I actually love it – my son somehow manages to out-poop the flushable liners and gets poo all over the inside of the diaper. We were having to do laundry every day until we got the sprayer!nnTip for dealing with the force: when pulling the trigger, point the sprayer INTO THE TOILET rather than on the diaper when initiating the water stream. Then, holding the trigger so the spray of water is constant, move the stream onto the diaper. That way, you have the ability to control the angle at which the water hits the diaper and it does not ricochete off the diaper and splatter everywhere!
OMG! We to have wanted to buy a sprayer but opted out since Eli only poops 1 a day. But it would be so awesome to win one. We’d use it just to rinse out the poop “stain” from the prefold. We currently just plop it out, lol. nvetsmom_rgv(at)yahoo(dot)com
I “like” you on facebooknvetsmom_rgv(at)yahoo(dot)com
I follow all on twitternvetsmom_rgv(at)yahoo(dot)com
tweeted:nhttp://twitter.com/vetsmom_rgv/status/22776102346
I’m currently spraying diapers in the utility sink. While this is working for now, I’m a little worried that things are going to back up one day and I’m gonna have a terrible mess 🙁 I would love to have a diaper sprayer to allieviate this worry!rnwazzuroo at gmail dot com
I’m currently pregnant, but I am planning to cloth diaper, and I must say that I am a bit intimidated about what to do with the poo. I’m leaning toward spraying, especially at first. This will be my first baby so the learning curve is pretty steep and having a sprayer ready would make things a little less scary.
I follow your @TheEcoChic twitter account.
I also tweeted the giveaway: http://twitter.com/HerNewDeal/status/23011873177
I dunk and swish, but I’d like to use the sprayer instead because it seems less messy than my current method.
tweeted http://twitter.com/helenlamby/status/23013467175
I follow on twitter!
I use flushable liners, but really want a sprayer because the liners are starting to give dd a rash!nhusskl at comcast.net
I like you on facebooknhusskl at comcast.netnkristen huss
I follow all three on twittern@hussklnhusskl at comcast.net
I tweeted! http://twitter.com/husskl/status/23021545124nhusskl at comcast.net
My baby girl is only 3 months old, so right now I don’t do anything with her poo since it is water soluble. However, I would love a diaper spayer for when she gets bigger. I think hubs would be more comfortable using one 🙂
I like you on FB
We handle our poops by twisting the diaper and shaking, trying to get a good “poop roll.” Sometimes it works perfectly, and sometimes not at all. That’s pretty much why I want to win a diaper sprayer! My only concern is what will happen when my son discovers it, but I think the convenience would be fantastic! Plus, then my husband might be more likely to use cloth all day instead of trying to catch poops in a disposable 🙁
I like you on FB!rnrnwendykate99 at yahoo dot com
I tweeted! @ABCGPrnrnhttp://twitter.com/ABCGP/status/23085148753rnrnwendykate99 at yahoo dot com
Ok, full disclosure. We just shake the poop off into the trash can (we typically have a full bin of trash to take out every 1-2 days, anyway. But sometimes, the poop doesn’t just fall off. These are the moments when we curse cloth diapering because we take a wipe and just scrape it off. It is completely disgusting. I would LOVE to try a diaper sprayer.
I’m following all three on twitter (turns out I was already following all of them, actually!). @tiffanyblogs
Just liked you on facebook!