I don’t do it myself, but many do and it doesn’t do any harm. As Eric says if something works! 

I have always rinsed my bags. I have a bidet spray connected to toilet. Very convenient. 

I've rinsed my bags for the 5 years that I've had an ostomy.  It was recommended by the nurses in the hospital.  It has never hurt.  I use a 1 liter bottle that I refill when needed and when away from home, I use a smaller water bottle.

I always had my bag rinsed out for me and I always thought it was normal. I would still do it if I still had my ostomy. My mother had a cup with a spout on it like a little pitcher that she used when I was at home. When I was away from home she just used a paper cup which would take a lot of skill because not everyone who emptied for me could do it without spilling it on me. lol

@bago does using a bottle make it easier to pour water in the bag without spilling Anything? I would think that if the top is smaller that you could just stick the top inside the end of the bag and just tip it up till you had enough water in there.

@jattzl I'm curious what the spray thing you have is and how it makes it easier.

I wonder if it's easier to do this with certain types of bags than others. theThe one time I tried to learn to empty my bag on my own, the furthest I got was trying to hold the end of the bag open wide enough to be able to pour in the water. Never mind trying to line up the spout of the cup and pour it in without spilling the water, or worse, losing my grip on the end of the bag, making poop go everywhere! Yuck! lol So ever since then I've always wondered how I could've gotten around that because being completely dependent on someone else was awful!

Brian

Posted by: @zhtfreak

I'm curious what the spray thing you have is and how it makes it easier.

You can find them on amazon or in Home Depot.  Or go to YouTube and you'll find how to install them.  It's very easy. 

I started just using a bottle that I refilled.  I got tired of having to fill the bottle every time and it was hard to hold the bag open while pouring it in.  Now all I do is push the button and water sprays (slowly) into the pouch.  no mess!  I don't know if the link will work.

I love my bidet, have used it for decades. It was natural that when I got my ostomy, I would continue using it! A rinse out after a bag empty lets me only have to change my bag and wafer every 5 days!

I rinse after every empty by pouring water into the outlet and then sloshing it around for a few seconds.  I do this mostly because it gets the bag completely empty, which I like, and it leaves the outlet perfectly clean, which I also like.  When I am out in public and don't have a water bottle with me for rinsing, I hate the way it feels to do an empty that way.  Just my technique.  I'm sure we all have our own ways of doing things.    

@glenn-giroir... Hey Glen... I always rinse for the same reasons.  

Usually in Spring the dollar stores or Pharmacy or outdoor departments in Walmart, camping equipment or even Motorhome Supply stores will carry camping or picnic supplies . In those departments they often carry a soft quiet sturdy type of plastic bottle that flattens when empty except for the end caps. The bottles are about 3 ladies fingers wide, curves bottoms  & 4 or 5 inches long.  I have found them useful to carry on me when I don't have room in my fanny pack or  a smaller purse for a regular size water bottle.  

The other option & one I like best are the collapsable drinking  cups.  They have a nice lid usually with a small compartment to carry a pill or two in the center of the outer side of the lid. 

The cups expand to about 5 or 6 oz. and I haven't had one leak after filling it yet.  I do give it a gentle but snug pull up in order keep the plastic rings secure to each other as the cup widens to the top. They are about 3/4" height when collapsed down into the flattened cup. 

In the pharmacy department you may find them in the samples or "travel size"  toothpastes & such areas or at the back of the stores or wherever they carry them, just ask. 

Also in the same department usually year round  if you want to carry M9 on  you, there sets of usually 3 small plastic bottles about man thumb size & 2 to 3 inches deep to carry about an ounce of liquid in. They fit neatly in my jacket pocket but I do slip them in a ziploc sandwich bag to guard against leaks. 

I have also sewn a scrap of  fabric to whatever size I need into the inside of a jacket that doesn't have good private pockets as a place to carry these things & a zip  baggie again to carry only what I may use to do one or 2 emergency changes from a leak while out. 

If you prefer,  make a cloth draw string bag & safety pin it in place to take it with any jacket. Pin it top & bottom for security where there's less bulk to be noticed usually below the breast areas.   

I've had a nasty time with my eyes again, but they're better now! I can finally get some sewing done. I'd be willing to make & send some cloth bags the size of a pouch folded in half to allow for carrying some of the above mentioned supplies inside a jacket or even baggy coat sleeve if it'll help someone here who doesn't have a sewing machine. Just PM  me.  

Posted by: @rick

I have gotten into the habit of pouring a cup of water along the inside of the bag, working it into the bag to clean it out and dumping.   Is this recommended?

I've been rinsing my bag more often lately and it's a purely personal preference. It's not necessary, but many do it. Since I wear a clear bag, it does give the impression that the bag is "cleaner" than if I didn't rinse it. 

I use a squirt bottle instead of a glass and leave it on the window ledge near the toilet. 

What I would suggest is making sure the water doesn't reach the stoma or you may prematurely erode the wafer. Of course, you can do this occasionally, but I find it best to minimize getting the water up by the stoma. 

@veganostomy ... Interesting...I've  rinsed from the start & always jiggle the water Round & never noticed it causing earlier deteriation of the wafer but its something to pay attention to for sure! 

I LOVE the ideaof a bidet hose! I'll be looking into it. I use plastics cups for rinse water  & don't enjoy adding to the recycle bin or the oceans where according to Ocean Wise most plastics end up. 

Zhtfreak ...because you  can't see it,  the bidet sprayer/ hose we are talking is like a small shower head attached to a hose connected to the cold water pipe of the toilets. 

Rick ...Yes its perfectly fine to rinse your pouch in whatever form you  choose. Having had Cryptosporidium I was deey concerned about parasites getting back into my intestine through my stoma because I rinsed my pouch. I asked my Gastro Doctor if that was something to be concerned about. I was told its perfectly safe & go ahead & rinse if thats what you prefer. Nothing can get in through the stoma...with the exception of a Physician guided scope! Lol! 

Rinse Away!!! 

Posted by: @dlkfiretruck

Interesting...I've  rinsed from the start & always jiggle the water Round & never noticed it causing earlier deteriation of the wafer but its something to pay attention to for sure! 

It's not that it erodes the wafer down, but more that it's easier to beach under the wafer.

Just the other day I was rinsing my bag (with cold water) and immediately felt the cold water on my skin.  When I went to remove my wafer, there was water underneath it!

Just use caution 🤞

VO,  good observation, but i think wrong conclusion.

If water easily gets under wafer, then showering would cause wafer to fall off . a water soluble adhesive would be a poor choice for bags.  

More likely,  the water went into an already eroded area.  You noticed because of the cold water.  The warm body fluids that did the eroding are un- noticable due to their temperature.   

I also believe that rinsing with water, even cold, does not damage the adhesive of the wafer. I almost always rinse my pouch with water, pouring the water through outlet, but also through funnel which I insert to my invention, Long Wide Vent - there, the water flows over my prolapsed stoma and cleans everything from the pouch.

I have to add that I always wear an ostomy belt, which gently presses the wafer to my belly and thus delays the deterioration of the adhesive - or prevents eroding of the adhesive by pouch contents.

Regards, polgyver