The most common reason that people are leery to cloth diaper is because they do not know what to do about poop. Having someone’s bowel movements swishing around in my washing machine is not exactly my idea of a good time. Luckily for us all, there is the diaper sprayer. I chose the AquaNexis based on its combination of affordability and good reviews. I’ve been using it for a few weeks and I gotta tell you what I think! Check out the demo video at the end, too.
I do have affiliate links here but no one’s given me anything for free! I’ve spent my hard earned money on things which clean poop, and am telling you about my adventures because I love you that much. You’re welcome.
Here’s generally how a diaper sprayer works: it attaches to your toilet (well, technically the water line) and essentially shares the water which is used to flush. Like a vegetable sprayer in your kitchen sink, or (dare I say) a bidet, you have a nozzle which shoots water. In this case, you hold a poopy diaper over your toilet and hold the sprayer in your other hand. Water comes out, poop plops in the toilet. Flush the poop, toss the wet poopy-less diaper into the wet bag. Sounds like fun, huh?
I realized shortly after my daughter started solids that I really was going to need one of these things. I had one instance of zucchini chunks in my washer after the diapers were done, and that was the only motivation I needed.
If you are cloth diapering, you have a few options when your kids start solids. (Their poop is undoubtedly going to change, from being a gooey liquid to having more of a solid shape). Honestly, you could stop using cloth if you really wanted to; but of course then you’re paying for disposables, and over time you are going to end up spending way more money. Some people use a spoon or a spatula and scrape the poop out while holding the diaper over the toilet. Others hold of the diaper on one end and dunk the entire thing in the toilet, swishing it around until the poop comes off. Another option is to use disposable liners, which lay in the diaper and are thrown out after each use.
You probably can see major flaws with each of these options – they’re either super expensive, super gross, or both. At least I can, for me and my family. (And by “my family” I really mean me, since I’m the one dealing with the diapers anyway. Let’s be real here).
Luckily, someone thought about making a diaper sprayer! After I admitted to myself that I needed one of these things, I headed over to Amazon. Scrolling through the options, the AquaNexis honestly seemed like a good balance of not being super expensive, and not having horrible reviews like some of the others. So I bought it.
My husband was able to install it in just a few minutes. The sprayer did come with all of the necessary parts, and everything functioned perfectly from the get-go. One of my biggest pet peeves is when things do not work like they’re supposed to, so I am glad that we did not have to buy additional parts from the hardware store. He did say that one of the washers was a little difficult to see in its bag, so just be careful before you throw out the trash.
I was able to figure out the sprayer on the first try without reading instructions, and I am merely a person of average intelligence. Even with my tiny hands, the sprayer is very easy to hold and maneuver while holding a diaper in your other hand.
I know that it just sits on my toilet all day, but I really do like the design too – it is very simple looking, and there are no words or icons on it at all. Good ole simple stainless steel.
It also says on the box that it comes with a one year limited warranty; I honestly did not look into it and doesn’t appear like I’ll need to, but I’ll come back and update if something goes awry!
There are two things which I really love about this thing: firstly, it comes with a mount which has the simplest design. Instead of sticking something onto the side of your toilet with adhesive, it just hooks onto the reservoir of the toilet. You lift up the lid, hang the hook, put the lid back down.
My favorite favorite thing about this diaper sprayer is the nozzle itself. The button which you push to control the water instantly responds to the pressure. In other words, I can make the spray very gentle, or I can squeeze the handle all the way down to make it very forceful. And the action on the handle is the perfect sensitivity – it transitions smoothly. My small hand is able to get exactly the pressure that I want.
Overall
Love love love. Love the simplicity, love the design, love how effortlessly easy it is to use. The AquaNexis does exactly what it says it will do. As far as the product itself, I have no complaints at all!
Unfortunately, you are probably going to get a little bit of spray on you. This is not the fault of the AquaNexis, it is just the nature of spraying diapers over the toilet. I do not consider myself to be a particularly squeamish person, but even for me that is pretty gross. So I have ordered a Spray Pal and plan on keeping that in a small trashcan by the toilet. I will let you know what I think of that!
Other Suggestions
Since we need all the help we can get when it comes to poop, I’ve come up with a few more tips to keep you clean and happy.
Some type of spray guard is ideal. Like I said, I have ordered the Spray Pal and I have heard great things about it, but I cannot speak from personal experience yet. What I can tell you from personal experience is that you are going to get some toilet water – and possibly some flying wet poop – on your legs or your shoes, if you just use a diaper sprayer. Even one as great as the AquaNexis.
It would also be great to have a little wet bag which stays by the toilet, specifically for sprayed poopy diapers. I change my baby on a changing table which is in my bedroom, and I do not feel like wringing out a sopping wet poop diaper and carrying it across the carpet. You could even use a command strip to hook it onto the toilet. Then, when it is time to wash diapers, you just grab this bag in addition to your other diapers. I have not noticed a smell from the diapers after I wash them, so you could also just use a laundry basket or trashcan with a liner for the diapers you have sprayed.
Find a routine which works for you. Once you have a diaper sprayer, you can decide if it is better for you to spray each diaper as you get it, or if it is better to spray all of them right before washing. I definitely recommend spraying the poop out of soon as possible, just to prevent stains. I know that is not always possible – remember that hanging diapers in the sun after washing will really help with any stains!
I also suggest that you keep an eye on the area around your toilet, just to make sure that your sprayer does not start to leak.
Remember: just because you love your fluff, does not mean that you have to love playing with poop! Luckily for everyone, there’s the AquaNexis.
Check out the AquaNexis in my video below on how to spray and clean cloth diapers.
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