The episode was well-received from critics and fans, with various members of the SpongeBob SquarePants crew considering it to be one of their favorites due to its satirical nature.

As Mr. Krabs is about give them their task of painting the restaurant as punishment, he hits his foot on a rock, prompting him to yell out all 13 bad words in pain.

When she complains about her injury, SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs are shocked at her apparent bad language, though the noise she made turns out to be Old Man Jenkins honking in his jalopy, much to everyone’s amusement.

The animation of "Sailor Mouth" was directed by Andrew Overtoom, and the episode was written by Walt Dohrn, Paul Tibbitt, and Merriwether Williams.

[6][7] The idea for "Sailor Mouth" was inspired by creative director Derek Drymon's experience "[when] I got in trouble for saying the f-word in front of my mother.

"[9] The scene where SpongeBob and Patrick playing a game of Eels and Escalators was difficult for the crew to animate, since many shots featured certain board pieces changing location.

[21] Erik Wiese, who helped to storyboard "Sailor Mouth", considers it to be his favorite episode, mainly due to its random and satirical nature, saying "Sometimes SpongeBob just catches me off-guard.

[23] "Simply, the group goofed by citing an episode of the cartoon series called "Sailor Mouth" as a touch-point for bad language.

Those words do not exist in the episode - and are only created in the minds of adults or young folks exposed to such language in the schoolyard or, dare I say, at home."

According to a report titled Wolves in Sheep's Clothing,[25] which documents the increase in potentially violent, profane, and sexual content in children's programming, the Parents Television Council, a watchdog media group, critics, and fans believed the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Sailor Mouth" was an implicit attempt to promote and satirize use of profanity among children.

[25] In a later report, several members of the PTC listed "Sailor Mouth" as an example of how levels of profane, sexual, and violent activity has increased in children's television programming.

[27] Nickelodeon, in response to the incident, said "It's sad and a little desperate that they stooped to literally putting profane language in the mouths of our characters to make a point.

"[28] Richard Huff of the New York Daily News criticized the report for misinterpreting "Sailor Mouth" over its intent to satirize profanity implicitly.

[24] In a 2016 ConnectiCon panel, voice actor Tom Kenny revealed the existence of an uncensored cut of the episode that the public would "never be allowed to hear, ever."

According to Kenny, the original script called for the voice actors to ad-lib fake profanities, but this proved to be too difficult and time consuming.