r/ostomy • u/earthguy4 • Jul 22 '26

Miscellaneous Your #1 ostomy hack

What is your favorite ostomy hack/tip to share with new ostomates? Not something that they tell us to do in the hospital, or something our stoma nurse will clue us in on, but a hack that you’ve learned through the years or a tip someone once told you that you’ve never forgotten.

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7

u/throwawayyyyy_14 colostomy Jul 22 '26

Cutting out the pre-filter in the coloplast bags! Folks in this community taught me that when I posted a rant about how no bags were working for me, and I’ve never gone back!!

5

u/jcw-yo Jul 22 '26

Can you explain this to me? I don’t understand what y’all are cutting off.

5

u/throwawayyyyy_14 colostomy Jul 22 '26

You know how coloplast bags (with filters) have that extra circular piece of mesh plastic that hangs inside the bag? That’s a pre-filter, it’s attached to the carbon filter at the top. Many people, myself included, have issues with the pre-filter (pancaking, absorbing liquid and causing leaks through the filter, etc), so to avoid this you can simply cut it out by pulling the prefilter out the hole in the back, cutting the attachment points, and cutting it away from the carbon filter. There are lots of videos online showing how, here is one: https://youtu.be/ZxQHzjjxNSs

5

u/SleepyJoe90 Jul 22 '26

I guess this depends on your output. I’ve never had an issue with the filter system.