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, my husband, Moondoggie, wrote up 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 ado, 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)
–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) 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 your 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) Install the Compression Connector in the threaded end of the sprayer (you will notice that the 1/4″ pipe threads go into the tube and the 1/4″ compression threads will be free for now).
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!
Thanks for posting this. I just installed this myself (I’m a mom of 4), and it was easy to put together. However, I kept having problems with leaking in the fittings connecting the white supply line to the sprayer hose. It wasn’t until I read in the comments where a dad suggested using teflon tape. I bought some teflon tape and wrapped it around the threads, and that solved the problem! I thought you might want to edit your post and add that as a suggestion so someone else doesn’t go through the frustrating experience I had 🙂
Thank you for posting this!
I feel Laura’s suggestion is very important. I went through the frustration of leaking thread. I had to use teflon tape to fix the leak.
I used slightly different parts
1. Kitchen Sink Spray Hose & Head Assembly
2. BrassCraft Tee, 3/8 Inch x 1/4 Inch x 3/8 Inch, Compression x MIP x Compression, Brass SKU: 1792894 — Found at Orchid Supply Hardware
Similar item can be found at MENARDS, if it is close to your home 🙂
3. Swivel net union, similar to below link. I got it from Home Depot
http://www.faucetdepot.com/prod/Brasscraft-114FSV-6-P-3-8%22-OD-x-3-8%22-OD-Flare-Swivel-Nut-Union-Valve-Connector-129610.asp
4. DONT FORGET TEFLON TAPE 🙂
I went out today and bought the supplies and set it up. Thanks so much, it was easy and now we have a diaper sprayer that cost less!
I bought the filter connector splicer at Lowes only it was called ice maker connector. Exact same part, works perfect! 1/4 inlet 1/4 outlet with the 12″ length. Thanks for the great info
This is great. In Thailand, they commonly use this as a sort of poor-man’s bidet. I’ve often thought it pretty ingenious and quite “refreshing”. I’m building this tomorrow if I can find the parts at home depot.
Oooh! Thank you! We are only 5 months into our cloth diapering, but have looked at those expensive sprayers. Neither my husband nor I are very handy, but I think we could do this when our little boy’s diapers start to need some spraying off! (I found you from a link at The Common Room.)
Nice idea!
I’m building one for my wife 🙂
Thought I’d mention that you always want to use teflon (PTFE) tape on any pipe threads (anything that says NPT on it) or you will get slow leaks. It’s the threads themselves that provide the seal on NPT fittings.
hey, I just wanted to thank you for putting up these instructions! that was very nice of you. I think my wife will be impressed when I hook this bad boy up.
We are converting our bathroom to accomodate my daughter’s special needs and have been looking for a bidet-like shower spray for our adapted toilet. This idea will save us without moving the plumbing for shower stall, toilet, and sink.
Thanks for the great instructions. I was building one of these and I was stumped with how to connect the sprayer to the supply line until I found your site.
I also wanted to mention that I added a valve between the supply and the sprayer so that I can set the flow rate without disturbing the toilet supply. Since my home has brand new plumbing with a newer style professional crimped on shut off valve with a built in toilet hose I had to remove it so that I could find one that would allow me to add a different hose. I chose to use a compression fitting supply valve with both a 3/8″ and 1/4″ output.
If anyone is interested here are the parts if you want to include a flow valve:
Supply Valve (I replaced my existing one with a dual output (1/4″ and 3/8″))
Eastman 247026 1/4″ comp x 1/4″ compression 1 Ft length IceMaker Connector
Watts A-40 Tube Male Pipe Valve w/Insert 1/4″ x 1/8″
Watts A-734 Pipe Reducing Coupling 1/4″ FIP x 1/8″ FIP
Sink Sprayer
Oh, I also wanted to mention that the 1/4″ Icemaker Connector hose and several others in various lengths are still available at Lowes.
Any advice on adding a shut off valve to this system? What kind and where to add it? I am worried the sprayer won’t hold up to being under pressure over time. Also, I’d like to make to make it more difficult for my child to spray water all over the bathroom! 🙂 Thanks for posting how to make this!
Please note that the “filter connector splicer” is not available at Lowe’s.
@Laura No, not at all, you could easily it take with you when you move and give it away or sell it when you are done with diapers. And it shouldn’t take long at all to put together.
I live in an apartment and will be moving after 9 months of cloth diapering… is this something that would be a pain to install, only to have to uninstall 9 months later?