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The Wet-Stop3 bedwetting alarm is one of the most affordable alarms you can buy. It’s also one of the most popular products, perhaps for this reason.
For 2018 we’ve added a quick pros and cons of the Wet-Stop3 right here at the top of the review, if you’re in a rush and want to find out the good and potentially not so good things about this particular alarm. This allows you to decide whether the Wet Stop is one to consider, or if you should check out another model (and we’ve got most of them covered here on this site!).
The Good:
- Affordable: if you’re not looking to spend big, Wet-Stop3 won’t break the bank, and lets you quickly get started on bedwetting training
- High sensitivity sensor: while this can also be a negative thing (see below), it also means the alarm activates at the very first sign of urine
- The company is supportive and responsive to issues
The (potentially) not so good:
- Somewhat cheap construction means it might not last long as more robust (and expensive) brands
- Prone to false alarms at times (such as from sweat), although this can also be due to not keeping the sensor clean as directed
But does this enuresis alarm live up to its popularity? Or are people only buying it because of the price? This is one of the main points we wanted to look at during our research of this alarm.
Quick Summary
- Available in 3 bright colors: blue, green, pink
- Low cost
- 2 steps to turn off
- 1 year warranty
- Uses 2 x AAA batteries
- Over 400,000 have been sold worldwide
What You Get
- Bedwetting alarm
- The Complete Bedwetting Book (CD version)
- Calendar
- Sticker reward system
- Multi-language instructions
How It Works
The Wet-Stop3 comes in three fun, bright colors: Blue, green and pink.
Anything you can do to make the process of using a enuresis alarm more motivation and fun for a child is going to increase your chances of success considerably. So letting them choose their own personal color is a good first step to gain their interest.
To get going with the Wet-Stop 3 after putting the batteries in, the clip part attaches to the front of your child’s underwear, with the cord running underneath the pyjamas up to the alarm piece, which attaches to the pyjama top with a magnetic clip.
Both pieces are designed to be small and lightweight, so they don’t affect a child’s comfort in bed.
Tip: it’s strongly recommended that boys have the sensor clip positioned at the front of the underwear (using underwear with a front pocket can make this easy).
The sensor should not have direct contact with the skin, to avoid false alarms from sweat.
You can also use the alarm with pull ups, instead of underwear, and this is an option that many people take. Particularly in the early stages of getting a child used to using a bedwetting alarm.
Like most enuresis alarms, the Wet-Stop3 is equipped with several different alarm sounds. 5 in total, putting it at the lower end, with some other products having up to 8 different alarm sounds.
The idea behind this is to prevent kids from getting used to the same sound each time the alarm goes off.
Mixing it up increases the likelihood of them sitting up to turn it off, then heading to the bathroom to relieve their bladder there and not just roll over and go back to sleep, only to wake up with a wet bed.
In addition to the 5 alarm sounds, the Wet-Stop3 has the standard vibration feature as well. This can be used on its own, or combined with the sound. There are three options to pick from, and this is set from inside the battery cover section of the alarm:
- Alarm sound only
- Vibration only
- Sound + Vibration alert
Vibration only mode provides an extra level of privacy if your child is going to use the alarm where other people might hear it. To ha
Once the alarm detects wetness, your child needs to take two actions to deactivate the sound and/or vibration. This is a good feature, and one that not all bedwetting alarms have (many do though).
It means that a child can’t just quickly press a button and go back to sleep. He or she really needs to wake up to turn the alarm off, and that’s going to provide extra encouragement to go to the bathroom to finish urinating rather than going back to sleep.
Deactivating the alarm involves holding down the flashing button while the alarm is going off for several seconds, and then the sensor clip needs to be removed to stop the alarm reactivating.
This process requires a child to be well awake, making them much more likely to then get up and go to the bathroom.
Alternatives
This is a budget alarm for bedwetting. This is certainly a big reason why it’s so popular, with people often looking at the lower cost options and not seeing the benefits of spending more on something like the Chummie, for example.
We’re currently in the process of reviewing all bedwetting alarms, and this section will be updated very soon with a comparison to other products, to help you make the most informed decision about which alarm to buy at the budget you’ve set yourself.
Conclusion
Howard J. Bennett MD, the author of the book Waking up Dry: A Guide to Help Children Overcome Bedwetting recommends the Wet-Stop3 and says that this alarm is “easy to use, goes off when it’s supposed to, and makes it hard for children to shut off the alarm and inadvertently go back to sleep”.
This is exactly what a bedwetting alarm is of course meant to do.
The Wet-Stop3 comes with a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty, like most of the alarms in this price range. This provides some peace of mind that you won’t be risking anything financially (not that it’s a big outlay, especially when compared to the higher priced alarms).
The Wet-Stop3 is certainly a budget choice. If you’re not wanting to spend much but want to try the alarm strategy for stopping a bedwetting problem, it’s a solid choice to consider. But if you can stretch the budget, there are other options out there that offer more features.
Check out the current price on the Wet-Stop3 Bedwetting Alarm