After getting fed up with poopy cloth diapers (even with my awesome flushable liners I use), I decided it was time to look into a diaper sprayer, which is basically a kitchen sink sprayer on a hose which attaches to the toilet’s water line. I wasn’t interested in buying one for $40 from the diaper companies, so we started looking online on how to make one ourselves. Unfortunately I only found a couple of tutorials, with no pictures!
So, Moondoggie will be offering his first guest post here on Gidget Goes Home with a step-by-step tutorial on making your own for about half the cost. These parts came out to around $20 at Home Depot and it took maybe 20 minutes to assemble. So without further adieu, here’s Moondoggie.
So Gidget told me one day that she was sick of sticking her hands in the toilet to get Chiquita’s poop off those cloth diapers. Before we started using cloth diapers, I would have never guessed that a kitchen sprayer next to the toilet would be so useful (when I told the guy at Home Depot what I was doing, he actually asked if I was making a bidet).
Anyways, here’s a list of the parts I bought for this diaper sprayer. We looked at several versions on the web that used barbed connections and hose clamps. You will find that all the connections in this design are threaded and (probably) less likely to leak.
-Kitchen Sink Spray Hose & Head Assembly
-Filter Connector Splicer (I think this is actually designed for a refrigerator water filter; it may also be called an “Ice Maker Supply Line”)
-Ander-Lign Compression Connector (1/4″ OD x 1/4″ MIP w/insert)
-“Adapt-a-Valve” T-fitting (3/8″ x 3/8″ x 1/4″)
-1/4″ Shut-off valve (update: picture now below!)
1) The first thing you need to do is turn off the water that feeds into the toilet supply line.
2) Next, unscrew the toilet supply line from the valve. At this point, I should tell you to make sure that you toilet supply line is flexible. The rest of the procedure won’t be possible if you have a rigid toilet supply line. You can replace your supply line if necessary (or just check all the other toilets in your house until you find a flexible one – that’s what we had to do). It is helpful to have a small dish to catch any excess water that may be left in the toilet supply line.
3) Install the Filter Connector Splicer (fancy name for PVC tube with threaded ends) onto the 1/4″ branch of the T-fitting.
4) Attach the toilet supply line to the upper leg of the T-fitting. For those that haven’t done much plumbing work (which includes me; I am only going off what I have picked up since doing this project), the connection on your toilet supply line is most likely 3/8″ compression threads and that’s what I have assumed as I wrote these instructions.
5) Now you can install the T-fitting onto the valve.
6) To prevent the head of the sprayer from being under constant pressure, install a shut-off valve on the end of the sprayer line. Install the Compression Connector in the other end of the shut-off valve (you will notice that the 1/4″ pipe threads go into the valve and the 1/4″ compression threads will be free for now). This valve goes in between the Compression Connector and the end of the sprayer line shown in this photo (see next step for updated photo).
7) Install the PVC tube onto the 1/4″ compression thread side of the Compression Connector.
8 ) As a general note, I was instructed by the guy at Home Depot (obviously not an Olympian) not to tighten the compression fittings too much. Doing so may shred the washers and leave you with a leaky system. Also, I realized as I was putting the instructions together that it’s possible to install the parts in a different order and still have everything hook up correctly.
9) Once all the connections are properly tightened, turn the water back on to the valve. You will need to play with the pressure to get the right flow out of the sprayer. Also, you may experience some odd behavior from your toilet bowl and tank(running water sounds). I have found that it is just taking the tank longer to fill up (I am not a toilet expert so there may be more to that explanation that I am not equipped to offer).
That’s it. You can now use it to get that poop off without sticking your whole hand in the toilet. And if you are really brave you can start a water fight with your kids (not recommended for bathrooms with carpet).
Disclaimer: The following instructions are for inspirational purposes only, and are not from a plumber, but rather a simple DIY family. Feel free to try out and share this tutorial!
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I never knew you could do this. Is this popular in the cloth diaper world? Good job Moondoggie:)
Where were you, Moondoggie, about 28 years ago?????? We had to get that poop off the old fashioned way!!
I used it today for the first time! awesome! The only bummer is that we had to attach it to the downstairs toilet and the diaper pail is upstairs… hmmm… might have to move it downstairs.
@Annie, not sure if it is super popular but a lot of cloth diaper-related companies are selling them these days. It should be popular though because it’s awesome!
Wow, I’m impressed with your ingenuity and Moondoogies skills!! I’m glad to be out of diapers here! We are all potty trained here! Well, except for Jason’s nighttime diaper!
Gidget, I am about to email you and announce YOU have won my cloth diaper giveaway! Yahoooo! This is so wonderful of you. I’ve grabbed this last photo for my blog but totally credited you 100 times over and even put the blog address on the photo. Is that cool? If not just give me a shout. I’m trying to drive people to this DIY idea. The email is on the way. Sweet blog.
This is so awesome! It’s so neat that you guys made your own. I like the way you think. I love that idea. Poopy diapers can be a nightmare. Every now and then, Drayden gets an explosive poop. Luckily, poop doesn’t gross me out. Mainly, I get bummed because I have to go through the work of cleaning it up. I have a sprayer in the kitchen and in the bathroom that I use for any major mess. I think the diaper covers have been incredible for both the bumGenius! and the Fuzzi Bunz. No major stains at all and definitely nothing I couldn’t get out with some sun. They have never leaked and they hold in the poop smell so well. In my experience, it’s the inserts that really get stained. I usually have to sun these and they still have a slight stain. I’m trying a couple of different things to get the stains out so I’ll let you know what I think. As long as there isn’t any smells, I’m happy. People are always telling me, “it seems like more work”, but I’m commited to cloth diapering and it totally works for me. I’m going to do a post on my experience up to this point soon.
How much did this cost? I looking to save over a purchased sprayer. I used to clip my diapers into the bowl and let them soak and then flush. I then realized that this isn’t a great idea because I use a chlorine tablet in my tank and I was soaking my dipes in chlorine. (<—- That is what my mom did 30 years ago) Using the sprayer bypasses the tank and will keep the bleach off my cloth!
@Sommer, Yay! I’m so excited!
@Nena, I look forward to reading about your experience.
@Casey, It cost around $25 I think, give or take. Yes, you definitely want to avoid (inadvertantly) bleaching your dipes! The sprayer is quick and efficient!
Yay! I hope to make one this weekend. I am tired of dunking. It is GROSS!
This is awesome! It cost me $26.50 at the Home Depot, and took only 15 minutes to install! I am so excited, and am certain that with this gadget my husband will even volunteer to clean poopy diapers!! thanks so much!
@Kelly, Good for you! I’m so happy it worked out nicely and I hope you enjoy (as much as one can enjoy something that has to do with poopy diapers).
Good design, except you might want to consider an inexpensive shutoff valve on the side of the kitchen sprayer hose.Those sprayer heads are not designed to have constant pressure . They will fail.
Thanks, mickey, I’ll look into that!
You’re right Mickey, those sprayers aren’t exactly designed to have constant water pressure; although, the commercially made and bought ones that cost $40 aren’t either. So, either way, you’re still getting the same product at about half the cost!
Mickey & Brandi, We were actually able to find a little shut-off valve (like a ball valve built for an air compressor). It leaks a teensy bit at the connection, but I think we could just seal it to fix that, and this way we can turn off the water from going into the hose. Thanks for your take on it though, Brandi- i think you’re probably right, too.
Great instructions. I was a little worried about the potential for a mess though. The shut off valve is a great idea for people with other kids. I can just imagine my 3 or 5 year old (or any of them really!!)making a huge water mess. Now I can follow your instructions and put a shut off valve to keep the older kids from making a mess. Thanks.
this is simply the best idea in the history of all time! i saw these on the internet when first researching cloth diapers. the boyf and i decided to go with cloth diapers but the sprayer was unnecessary. well. let me tell you. 8 months in and this is on the to do list for this weekend! hot dog!
This is awesome! I have been wanting a diaper sprayer, but there is no way we can afford for a “real” one. I will definitely be making this, thank you so much for posting. I am also going to share it on my blog, I know of a few people who will be interested!
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Yay. Thank you for posting this. Last night we went to home depot, spent $21, spent 5 min installing and Voila! No more dunking
Genius!! I will be trying this in the next couple weeks! For now, I’m going to share this with my friends! Thank you so much!!
You rock! A friend of mine just sent this to me and I am sooo sad I didn’t spend $40+ on a “fancy-shmancy” diaper sprayer! We’ll be using BumGenius 3.0 full time and now I have no excuse for not keeping with cloth diapers! Thank you soo much for posting this!!!
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I am so glad you posted this! I found this product link on my quest to get prepared for my next bundle of joy . They want $73 for the nozzle and the bucket. My sister is a mechanical genius, so I am going to have her alter a bucket for me to help contain the spray and do your nozzle trick.
Thanks again for the great step by step pics.
Technical difficulty
Here is the product link I was talking about. http://www.pottypail.com/order.html?pp100094
http://www.pottypail.com/order.html?pp100094
This is the best idea ever! I love it!! I’ve been searching online for a diaper sprayer, but did NOT want to spend over $40 to get one. I have an old sink leftover from a remodel just sitting outside, and it just so happens to have a sprayer on it that I can use. I cannot wait to get hubby to do this project for me. No more swishing and rinsing those nasty diapers in the potty by hand anymore!! Thank you so much for sharing!
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Hello There! I absolutely LOVE this! After 3 trips to Home Depot and a lot of frustration over getting parts with threads that don’t match up I decided to google and I found this! Yay! I am so glad you posted this, and the pictures make it a million times better. I was wondering if you possibly have a picture of the ball valve, and where did you attach it. My husband is horrified of coming home to find the basement (my office/ sewing room) totally flooded. So, I’m not “allowed” to put a sprayer in that’s under constant pressure. The guy at the plumbing store made fun of me and said that I was the first person in the whole world to try this, so I’m glad I found your site it makes me feel better. Thanks Bunches! Keep up the great DIYing!
I have yet to try cloth diapers, even though we are on our fifth child. However, let me tell you, I still LOVE this idea! We have many “accidents” with all of our kids being under five yrs. old, three of them out of diapers, and one potty training. This makes cleaning up those accidents SO simple! I have seen others like it, but to “DIY” is so much more cost effective. Thanks for the info
This is a great invention! It is especially great as a bidet for your postpartum care! Thanks so much!
I have done some home plumbing, and to go with step 8, the rule is to hand tighten the pieces, then turn 1/4 of a turn using a wrench.
We might have to do this, because it sounds awesome.
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Rebecca- thanks for the tip!
Gidget! Thanks for the great tutorial! I’ve shared it with a few friends as well! I also wanted to share a link to a youtube video of another DIY diaper sprayer. The guy uses a ball valve to cut off water supply to the sprayer when not in use. I thought it might be a handy addition to this project since I an totally see my toddler using the diaper sprayer as a water fight tool! LOL! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpfj_SeG4ro
Thanks again!
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I’m so excited about this! I’m gonna try it! I love making stuff! Yay!
Could you please post a picture of the shut-off valve and where it is put? This is a great tutorial. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for this DIY post! I definitely appreciate the ability to make my own gadget and save money! The step by step directions and pictures were perfect. Thanks for all the time you put into doing this for so many cloth diapering moms! FYI the Filter Connector Splicer now has a new name in the same packaging, “Ice Maker Supply Line”. When I went into both Lowe’s and Home Depot (go to Home Depot!) no one knew what I was talking about until I brought the picture of the product with me. Again, thanks for all the pictures!
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Excellent instructions! All four parts are located within ten feet of each other in Home Depot, and all for around $25 bucks (I paid $25.72). I might add that I needed to use pipe thread seal tape to keep the connections for leaking, but I already had some on hand and it’s cheap enough if DIYers need to purchase it.
My wife sent me a link to this page and asked if I would make her a diaper sprayer. I was able to surprise her the same day because you came up with such a simple, clever, and well-explained way to assemble such a device. Kudos to you not only for your ingenuity, but for sharing this — my wife is happy, I have the manly satisfaction of completing a home improvement project that actually works, and our baby’s diapers are cleaner. BRAVO!
Thanks so much for posting this, I didn’t want to spend 40.00 on a fancy one either . After my husband made 2 trips to Home Depot for the wrong parts I googled and found your site . It was just installed a few minutes ago and I can’t wait to use it. Do you have a ball valve on your to shut off the water? also where do you hook the sprayer when it is not in use? thanks Mindy
Thanks you so much for your tutorial. I almost ordered a diaper sprayer this week. It looks like a great weekend project for my hubby!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!
Thanks so much for posting this. I went to Home Depot today and bought all the parts I did find that I needed to get a female to female connection (1/4) as the valve did not fit both ends of the hose and the supply line. I am 37 weeks pregnant today and I did this myself (not comfortably) but, i did it. There is only about 1foot and a half between my toilet and my sink cabinets but, my husband really isnt good at home projects like this. so it is doable for all you toolbelt divas out there You CAN DO IT! Thanks Giget!
From your eastcoast waterloving friend,
Christi
Thank you….YES these are very common in the cloth diaper world…I was about to purchase one online also but will try this out instead.
oh my gosh!!! Thank you so much for posting this!! I will definitely have my husband busy with this!!! For you people who don’t know what a shut off valve looks like…Its one of these..
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/400/39/39867506-099e-43e6-8312-6b660b20370a_400.jpg
Just curious – you mention that you can’t do this with a rigid supply line. Does that mean you can’t make your own or you can’t use any diaper sprayer – including those you can buy in a store (like the BumGenius Sprayer?). We only have one toilet and it has a rigid line but I would really LOVE to have a diaper sprayer as opposed to either putting my whole hand in the toilet, like you say, or soaking our bathroom by trying to use the shower head.
We only have one toilet in our small apartment, and of course, the supply line is rigid. Would it be too complicated and expensive to try to replace it? Any hints on how to do it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! (We had already purchased one of the expensive “official” diaper sprayers, but it doesn’t tell you until after you open it that you need a flexible line. We are going to return it and, hopefully, use your option!)
I’m pretty sure that all the sprayers (homemade or not) require a flexible line (which it sounds like Kim’s comment confirms). Moondoggie thinks it’s doable and probably not too hard, but our recommendation would just be to talk to your plumbing-aisle expert at Home Depot– they seem to be pretty helpful.
Thanks for posting this, it is very easy to build! Parts match up with Lowes perfectly. An employee at the store was extremely helpful and recommended I add a valve, as a few posters have mentioned already. The kitchen sprayers are not intended for constant water pressure and can break. It was a little tricky to find the various adapters to allow a valve to be added, but in the end the employee came through and got it working. The valve is a quarter turn shutoff, which is easy to operate.
Where can I find the female to female connectors? We attempted this set up today, sans compression valve as it would not connect, and well, it leaks. Everywhere. We went to three different stores to find that shut off valve as well. Any advice?
Hey, I’m so frustrated that everyone here seems to have had an easy time of this and I haven’t! I just spent two hours between two stores- the guy at Home Depot spent an entire hour with me, finding all of my parts and walking me through the installation, which he swore wouldn’t work because the valve in the wall cannot connect to the T-fitting because they are two female receptors. So after all sorts of brainstorming, he found parts that would work, but it ended up costing $38.49 for the parts! Did I just get a guy who was missing something, or have other people had trouble with parts not matching up? I really want this to work! Thanks!
There have been a couple of questions/concerns about having a rigid supply line. This is not a problem at all, but you will have to change the rigid line out and put in a flexible line. Look at picture #1 and picture #2, see the curled supply line that this looped around? All you have to do, take a small wrench, loosen the nuts on both ends of the rigid supply line, pull it out, get a new flexible supply line from lowes/home depot and install. Make sure you buy a good quality mesh flexible supply line, stay away from the cheapies. For a couple of bucks more, you will be glad you upgraded. Also, make sure you buy one that is long enough to loop around in a complete circle just like in picture #1 and #2. I strongly recommend a shut off valve as described above. If no shut off valve is installed, all it takes is for one set of little hands to get ahold of your sprayer, well; need I say more. With the shut off valve, turn it on to use it, turn it off when you are done, very easy. Once your mesh flexible supply line is installed, simply follow these directions and; wallaa. I am not a plumbing expert but can be handy around the house. After all the right equipment was purchased, I installed everything in about 15-20 minutes. I hope that this helps answer a few questions. Good luck.
This is a great idea and I am making one for my stepdaughter. I couldn’t find the valve at the store.. does anyone know the product name or specs. of the valve to use for this?
Thanks
Wonderful!!! Thank you — we’ll try it.
My husband went to the HomeDepot. He found every thing except the shut off valve. He couldn’t find the valve from ACE either. Do you have the model number for the valve and where did you find it? Thank you very much!
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