Stinky Diaper Pail

Updated on May 06, 2008
M.B. asks from Fair Oaks, CA
32 answers

I have been using a Diaper Champ since my son was born 10 1/2 months ago. I have tried spray disinfectant and deodorizers. I have washed it with bleach and let it air out for a day. I've tried "odor control" plastic bags inside. The pail still stinks really strongly and makes his whole nursery an unpleasant place to breathe. Does anyone have a method to remove odor from diaper pails? Has the smell permeated it so deeply that I have to ditch it and buy a new one? Are there any diaper pails out there that actually stay stench free? Thank you all for your advice.

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A.R.

answers from Salinas on

When I put a rally stinky dirty diaper in my sons' diaper pail, I just open the window for a little bit, until the room smells fresh again. Empty it regularly (every night if need be), and wash it out when it needs it, and you shouldn't have too much of a problem. Baking soda also works at eliminating odors.

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K.H.

answers from Sacramento on

I too have the Diaper GenieII...and I love it. We ONLY use it for the poopie diapers and after 16 months, no smell! We actually keep it in the kitchen next to the reguler garbage can and no oder! The bags it uses are great oder trappers!

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H.F.

answers from Sacramento on

My son is almost 17 months and we've had the Diaper Genie II and have never once has an odor issue. If you do decide to toss the Diaper Champ you may want to go for the Diaper Genie II.

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V.T.

answers from Redding on

I make a Bergamot-based aromatic spray in my essential oil product line that might help. I use it in the bathroom, around the litter box and in the kitchen garbage can to kill odors. One of the properties of Bergamot is that it kills odor-causing bacteria -- on the skin and in the environment. I've found it pleasantly effective!

You can read more on my website: www.mccluckfarms.com

V. T

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A.F.

answers from San Francisco on

Dear M.,
When I had my kids in diapers, I just left the diaper pail on the patio. That way at least the house stayed smell free. And because a special diaper system works better than just a bucket, the patio area didn't smell that bad...

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I.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Newspaper and Charcoal Briquettes absorb ordors... put them both in and keep closed for a day or two... you'll notice a huge improvement afterwards (this is also a good trick to get smells out of Tupperware... like pickles). If you're interested in Bergamot spray Trader Joe's sells one... It's in a mini-hairspray-type bottle so you can unscrew the spray assembly and get a whiff of what you're buying. I've used my Diaper Champ since Mar'04 (we're on DS2 now) and been more than satisfied with the product. If you can it's better to dump the poop in the toilet... both for the environment and the idea of where it really "belongs"... for future potty training. When DS1 got interested in the poop being dumped into the toilet he started holding his pee... I'd dump the poop in and then sit him down to pee... it was a great treat for him to flush when he peed afterwards!

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A.C.

answers from Sacramento on

I always cleaned ours out with Fabuloso. Then I would spray some on a paper towel so it was good and soaked and leave it inside on the bottom. That usually did the trick.

Good luck.

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L.D.

answers from Fresno on

We keep our diaper pail in the garage now because of this problem. I also sprinkle some baking soda in the bottom and a little each time I add a diaper. That helps absorb some of the smell. Then it's cleaned with lysol in between bag changes.

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C.L.

answers from Fresno on

We had the same problem with the diaper genie and just recently threw it away. We decided to just put the poopy diapers in a ziploc bag and throw in the big trash outside. It is only once a day at the most, so it is not a big deal.

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R.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I have had problems with a stinky diaper champ too. I have done two things to try to eliminate the smell. 1. Arm & Hammer makes a product called A & H Fridge Fresh. It is baking soda in a disc. I place it at the bottom of my Diaper Champ and change it out every few weeks. 2. I put all poop diapers in individual disable diaper bags before I put them in the Diaper Champ.

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S.H.

answers from San Francisco on

Sorry, I don't have advice about the diaper pail, but maybe you could try different method. I use plastic shopping bags and keep them under the kitchen sink where the trash stays. I just walk them out to the garbage can once or twice a day. No smally problem in this house. Of course you do have to do a little more walking:)

Oh yes, and wrapping it up in a tight ball and securing it with sticky tabs holds most of the stink inside the diaper.

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O.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi,
Try stuffing it with newspapers for a couple of days with the lid on in the sun. Don't know why, but the paper absorbs the smells

Good luck

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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

We have a 7 mounth old daughter with a stinky bootie too. We use the Diaper Genie II and have not had a problem with odor. Once a week or so I wipe the inside with Lysol. Good luck!

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A.M.

answers from Stockton on

i use to have that problem then i started useing the diaper genie 2 it works great.

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E.T.

answers from San Francisco on

Stinky bottom blues, eh?

I have two little boys 5&7. I don't remember a ton of details when they were that little, but I do remember the stinky diaper pail.

Once you add food to their diet....they get much stinkier poops. I think around one year old....I ditched it. And since they weren't going as often...I just carried each one out.

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T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Personally, I have used the Diaper Dekor.... it worked very well at containing odors till my son was about 1 year old and eating frequent amounts of solid foods. It still contains the odor but I can definitely smell the diapers when I open the lid to put a new diaper in. However, it doesn't smell the entire room up and I change the bags frequently. I have heard that most diaper pails do eventually start to smell and some of my friends do without them. I personally like how convenient the pail is.
Good luck!

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A.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I always hated the smell of keeping diapers around my son's room too. But the best solution we found was to make sure we wrapped each diaper up tight and secured it with the sticky tabs before throwing it into the diaper pail - this way, the air exposure was less and so it smelled less.

We use a Diaper Dekor Plus diaper pail and have found it works really well. I wash it by spraying it with Lysol or wiping it with a Bleach disposable wipe.

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J.M.

answers from San Francisco on

This is what I do, it's a pain, but I just take the stinky diapers to the outside trash and use only the diaper pail for pee-soaked diapers only. That way the smell leaves the house and I don't have to use a lot of chemical-laden fragrance sprays to mask the odor. You could try baking soda though, if you haven't already.

good luck
J.

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L.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I have a diaper champ for 2 babies. Yes, it can get stinky. . .I have Trash Magic in it (bought at the container store). It works well. I also air it out everytime I change the bag for a few hours. We also keep it in the hall out side the door so it does not stink up the nursery. It does not seem to stink up the hall unless it is a full bag. I also try to flush the flushable poop--this is kinda gross, but helps so much. Oh, I have also sprinkled baby powder in the bag to absorb odor.

L.

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C.L.

answers from San Francisco on

Not sure if this will work, but try adding some coffee to the bottom of the pail. Coffee absorbs ordors, I am going to try this as well. Good luck and let us know what works.

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T.B.

answers from San Francisco on

I also have a Diaper Dekor. I've had the same one for almost 5 years, thru 2 kids and have never had any problems with it. At one point, both kids were in diapers at the same time. T.

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P.L.

answers from San Francisco on

I use the Dekkor and have had it for 3 years and it doesnt stink! Try using blue bags for all the poops. You can get them at babiesrus.

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C.S.

answers from San Francisco on

When the trap door on our Diaper Dekor broke and we had 2 in diapers, we ended up moving our changing area into the bathroom. We drop in the poop in the toilet and the diapers go in a separate trash can (only because our bathroom trash can is very small) with a lid. I wish we had done it this way from the beginning! We would've saved some money on the diaper pail and pail liners. Plus, our counter is the perfect height for changing diapers.
I hope you find a solution that works for you!

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D.H.

answers from Yuba City on

Dear M.,

This may be something that you've already heard, but here goes my experience. When my first child was born, I tried the Diaper Genie (which was the "it" item at the time). It seemed like no matter how frequently I emptied it, or how much I cleaned it, it reaked to high heaven. So I ditched the whole thing, and now I just put all diapers into scented diaper bags. They can usually be found at your local dollar store, or if not then Toys R Us usually carries them. Since our garbage can gets emptied daily, the scent never gets a chance to get out of the bag and linger. I don't know if this helps you at all, but I'm now on baby number three and the diaper bags or "stinky bags" as my boys call them, have worked for me.

Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I ditched my diaper pail after a few months for the same reason. I opted not to spend any more money on another pail and I just throw pee diapers in lined trash can and throw out after 2-3 days (surprisingly it doesn't smell but maybe that's because it can breath) and I throw poop diapers outside right away.

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R.W.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi M.,

Wehave been using the Neat! System from First Years for over three years now and there is NO smell at all. We have really loved having this system since everyone else I know has had trouble with smells etc but not us. I am not sure you can still buy it but one that sort of replaced it is the Diaper GenieII. Its the closest thing to the Neat! system. Good luck, I know how badly they can smell and it makes you feel like the nursery is not as clean as it really is!

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D.R.

answers from Sacramento on

we stick a extra strength renuzit solid in the pail and one in the same room plus wrap each diaper in a grocery store plastic bag before dropping in the pail. believe me it helps.

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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I've found that the best way to stop the smell is to empty the poop from the diaper into the toilet before disposing of the diaper. As an added smell barrier, you can put the diapers into individual bags (babysrus sells them) before putting them into diaper pails. To remove the smell from the diaper pail, put baking soda overnight in the pail when there are no poopy diapers in it.

The other alternative as a poster has already mentioned, is to dispose of the emptied soiled diaper in the generic (kitchen) trash can. If this trash can is emptied frequently enough, there is no smell at all. We empty ours 2 to 3 times a week when the trash can gets full of other garbage.

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L.S.

answers from San Francisco on

It's not the diaper pail, it's the diapers. I went through the same thing myself. Then I finally started throwing the poopy diapers directly in the outside trash.

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A.Y.

answers from San Francisco on

We have had a diaper dekor for a long time now - - and have not had this problem.

I do try to, doesn't always happen, drop the poop in the toilet before I dump the diaper in the dekor. We also change bags every other day.

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A.E.

answers from San Francisco on

I have a 14 month old and we've used the Diaper Genie II since he was born. I've had to smelly problems with it. Yes, it smells when you open it to dump the full bag, but it goes away quick.

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