Cost-Effective Ostomy Bag Cleaning Tips

That is what I do: it is a drainage bag, and I use a water bottle to rinse it out and close it back up. My bag lasts longer as long as my wafer stays on.

I came home from the hospital with a squirt bottle to fill and flush my bag. The problem is, the sink is over there and my toilet is over here... lol.

Buy yourself a spray nozzle for your toilet. Flip the lever and fresh water is at the spray head. Flip it back and water goes into the toilet tank. I bought a middle-of-the-line one that was white and matches the toilet. I use it every time I empty my bag. Stop with the squeeze bottles and do yourself a huge favor. Oh, by the way, it takes all of 2 minutes to install.

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I really like this gizmo squirt gun. 👍

I find it difficult to squat, bend, or sit anywhere near the toilet (bad knees).

I raised my bathroom sink vanity almost to waist level and prefer standing over it to drain into a canister, then dump into my nearby toilet. My design. My thing. Rinsing is easy too, using the faucet. Again, emptying into the canister.

Very discreet. No one knows, dig?

So I ask, how do people installing this gizmo explain to your guests using the loo? I do think it's a great idea. Just wondering if anyone would care or worry what others would think? Seeing it...😲🤔 Especially for you singles, a first date needing to use the toilet?

I think it's pretty cool. Just could not physically use it. 😔

Then again... another reason to have it?

Home invasion logic...

Instead of killing the intruder, you nearly drown him to death. 😉

I also rinse! I have a small 1-cup measuring cup I got from the dollar store. I keep it on a shelf. It has a spout, which makes it easy to pour a little bit of water into my bag after I empty it, swish it around a little, empty it, and dry it with tissue.

Hey Bill, this place is a blessing! There are so many folks with our same problems, doubts, and feelings. The best part is that they are all so kind and understanding. Those, the old ones with more experience, share it with us, newbies like me (3 months into this ordeal). What a relief it is being able to talk with people that are going through the same ordeal we are!

June Bug

 

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Yikes!!! No dump, not even near the sink!

I don't think that person meant that.

Personally, I use 4 bottles to clean my pouch!

Not that it is filthy because I don't let it go to even 1/3 of the pouch. I just cannot stand having poop hanging from my tummy.

Call me obsessive-compulsive. I am even going to change the color of my bathroom, hang plants from the window... who knows, but for sure I will make it... ‘cozy'? Who knows, but I have to make it a nice place instead of a plain bathroom with white walls! A shelf to put all the things used, my 4 bottles, the deodorant, tissues, wipes, etc., a picture of the sea, which I love... make the best of an experience that is not funny at all and definitely hate. So I am going to make the best of it.

Be good and not be a stranger.

June Bug

Has to be in the toilet. Some people do it standing up, others sitting down. I prefer doing it standing up. As a matter of fact, I feel like a man when he pees. There it goes... lol! Plus, it is easier to clean. You can bend your knees if the output is watery and might sprinkle all over, especially if your knees are in good condition. People like me, and I bet everyone, find the way that suits them better. It is really a learning process, and in this incredible place, it is about sharing our own experiences, especially from the old and wise folks.

June Bug

I do it directly to the toilet. Why use a basin and then take it to the commode? It is double the job,

and getting in the bathtub? Are you kidding me??? Too gross to even imagine. Maybe more experienced people can do that. Me,

myself, and I never in a lifetime…

Good night to all.

June Bug

Excellent advice!

I rinse mine all the way up so it does not pancake, even massaging lightly the stoma.

So every single piece of poop goes away and my ostoma looks rosy and clean. Then I put the deodorant and a bit of oil so I don't get the pancakes.

The whole ordeal takes me 35 minutes because it is the cleaning of the pouch (4 bottles), etc., and then cleaning the commode and surroundings with Clorox, then spraying all over for possible smell.

It takes me 25 to 40 minutes.

But I am super clean, and so is my commode and surroundings.

Good night to you all.

June Bug

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I rinse mine as well. It not only saves on toilet paper but also makes me feel cleaner and less likely to be stinky. Thank you for sharing your tips!

Love this idea! I used to use lots of toilet paper or wipes, and it cost a fortune. Definitely trying this method. 😉

 

Yes, I used to do it, dump directly into the toilet. I only do that when out, away from home. Painfully... in fact.

I may have mentioned some of us can't sit backward on a toilet, nor squat above it, to empty. Maybe in a perfect world, an accommodating toilet is on the horizon?

Did you hear about Chevy and Toyota building a new vehicle?

They are going to call it...

The Toilet.🤭

While home, as I explained, I use this water pitcher, the ones you have at bedside in a hospital. The hospital is going to throw them away. So what?

I should not have said "catch basin," or any thought of a basin at all. Wrong idea... Nope. My bad. I saw these red painter cups at Home Depot and Lowe's. You know, for small touch-up painting? They are perfect for paint and poop. But if you saw them, then you'd get the idea of what I use. It's a nice-sized "cup." Convenient, has a handle. Deep.

As you dump using the handle of this cup with one hand, the other you are using to flush as it won't make any mess going down, cause you get real close to the water, dig?

Think about that? No toilet paper to line the bowl. No cleanup afterward since the poop and stink go down fast with whatever you are emptying... can you visualize it?

Crayons are pending if needed.

Gravity. The swirl, girl. 5 mins tops. In and out of the bathroom. On with your life.

But you spend your 25-35 mins doing your dump, your cleaning... etc. Now that is a job!

Yes, definitely sounds much better. 🤦‍♂️🙄.

The original poster's reply:

"Update: There are people here who assume I empty my bag in the sink. I never said that. I empty the bag in the toilet and then rinse it in the sink. One person said that, and then the rest rode the wave. Please do not assume things, you guys. It's not nice."

I think the confusing part is what she is doing with the rinse water. In the USA, the design of the toilet contains the equivalent of a P Trap. It completely clears with each flush. A sink P Trap will not clear unless the force of a full bowl is released. A lot of debris can accumulate in a sink's P Trap. Her post gives me the impression she empties the rinse into the sink. I rinse my pouch with a turkey baster several times and sometimes from the top with an EZ Vent. All emptied into the toilet. It is usually clean enough that the filters will last an extra few days. As clean as it looks, it will get nowhere near the sink. The same goes for the shower. As active as my stoma is, I am not even tempted to shower without the pouch.

That is the point I was trying to get across. I didn't think of the P-trap. I've changed enough of them such that I should have, though. You can find some awful gunk in a sink P-trap. :-)

Thank you! Super idea! Amazon is delivering one today.