Alternatives to Diaper Genie?

Hi C.,
I use a regular small basket with a lid. If there is a poopy diaper I put it in a supermarket bag and leave it outside. In the evening we take the bags to the big garbage can and it does not stink out the house.

I agree about the Diaper Genie. I got one for my first baby, and when my second one came around, I just used a trashcan with a lid. I bought the scented trashbags for it which helped keep the smell down. As long as you empty it frequently, and spray it out every once in a while, the smell won't be any worse than one of those "fancy" diaper containers.

I bought the Diaper Genie when my 3-year-old was a baby and that thing was such a pain. I have a 9-month-old now and use the diaper champ. I have to spray it down every time I change the bag, but you use 13-gal kitchen bags and it's much easier to use and holds more. Personally, I don't think you will find a product that doesn't stink at all. The plastic is going to absorb smells no matter what.

Congratulations on your twins!

I have friends who started with the Dekor (thought it would be cheaper with using the grocery bags), however they ended up getting the Diaper Genie about a year or so into their first, because of the smell. (If you haven't been told already, infant diapers don't smell *really* terrible until they are eating solid food!)

I've had a Diaper Genie since my first was born (she's 4 now) and it worked wonderfully at containing odors through all of her diaper/pull-ups phases. We're using it again now with our new baby, she's 6 months now and we have to empty it about once a week. The refills are about $5 each (as other posters have said) and they last us for about a month or so now - the bigger the kid gets, the bigger the diaper, so whatever you use will get fuller sooner as she gets bigger, then plateau as she starts learning how to control herself and goes less often.

If you can empty it often, to a place outside your house, then I wouldn't worry too much about smells from wet diapers. It is the poopy ones that really smell! My friends who had twin girls (wow, almost 7 years ago now...= ) used a plain plastic trash can to toss the (tightly wrapped) wet ones in and emptied it every night. They put the poopy ones into their diaper genie and with two kids at once, had to empty it once a week (at least for the first year or two.)

My dad calls the tightly wrapped used diaper a 'diaper football' - if you do this will all your diapers, it will help reduce smells and conserve space.

HTH and Good Luck with your twins!

The cheap answer: just use plastic grocery bags and throw them in the regular trash. This is what I do for poop diapers.

Something to keep the smell in for the nursery? I chose the Diaper Champ with my second child. Its now what I give any friend that is pregnant. You can use regular trash bags, changing it is very simple and to get rid of the smell, just spray some lysol.
M.

Congrats on being blessed with twins!

I only have one who's 2 years old. I decided on the Diaper Champ because it uses regular garbage bags.

If you're nursing solely (a challenge I imagine with twins), the stool doesn't really have an opjectionable odor. With formula, it think does. Breastfeed babies have much looser stools than I think formula fed babies do, as well.

Now that my son is older and has more firm stools, I flush the poop before I wrap up the diaper and then put it in the Diaper Champ. That helps with the odor. If I can't flush it and it's a real stinker, I put it in a plastic grocery bag first then in the Diaper Champ.

When I change the bags, I spray the Diaper Champ down with Lysol or something similar (Febreeze air freshener spray works better on the odor IMHO but I use Lysol to disinfect first) and let it air out over night before putting the new bag in. That helps a lot with the odor.

Hope this helps....good luck!

I have 2 children one who is going through potty training and an older one is now 5. For both kids' diapers I had always ended up using plastic grocery bags, which I twist and double up, then put in the kitchen garbage which gets emptied almost once a day. Generally, a diaper pale would not be emptied that frequently and that's why it would get so stinky!!

I used (and still use) a Diaper Champ. (My boys are 5 and almost 2.) The Diaper Champ uses regular CHEAP garbage bags. (I honestly am still using the same roll of Ruffles that I had with my oldest.) It does a decent job keeping odors away but you can definitely tell when it's time to change. I double bag mine to help keep odors to a minimum. I change my trash almost every day so downstairs I just throw the diapers in the regular garbage. I know they won't be in there for more than a day and it doesn't get any stinkier than garbage usually gets.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR TWINS!!!

Like many other posters, I think Diaper Champ is far superior to Diaper Genie. But think about whether you even need anything. With twins, you will be taking the trash out everyday. Depending on your setup, it might be just as easy to use the regular trash or throw the smelly diapers right out if the trash is near the doors. Good luck.

There are Diaper Genie alternatives that use regular trash bags.

However, I think the Diaper Genie II is GREAT! My sister had kids five years ago and was not thrilled with the first generation of Diaper Genie, but my daughter is 14 months old now and I can't complain about the DGII.

Yes, it requires refill bag cartridges, but I use one every month or so and they are less than $5.

I have the diaper Dekor and I love it. You can use regular trash bags in it, which saves a lot of money, and I have never had a problem with the smells getting out.

I have my home in-home daycare and I use the diaper bags from the dollar tree for poopy diapers and throw them in the trash can outside. Wet diapers go in the regular trash which gets taken out every night.

Try the Diaper Champ. It's similar in idea to the Diaper genie, but easier to use, and doesn't require special bags. Any garbage bag will do. We've used it for both kids and loved it.

We have been using an alternative to the diaper genie that uses the regular garbage bags. I can't remember what it is called but look for it there is an option. But, there is a nother option. There is a type of disposable diaper called gdiapers which are 100% biodegradable and you can flush them. go to gdiapers.com. Essentially they are earth friendly. Check out the website.

Hi C.,

I'm also a mother of twins (6 months old), and I have to agree with your sister. When they were first born, I heard that in order to survive Motherhood I NEEDED the diaper genie. Boy were they wrong!! It can get complicated with the first uses, and then just annoying after a while with using the special bags, and having to twist the bags closed, etc. Now, I've resorted to using a separate garbage can (with a lid) and regular used grocery bags. You just have to stay on top of it, throwing the bags out every day, maybe two to avoid it stinking up your house. I also spray the can with Febreeze occassionally or when it really needs a freshening up. Hope this helps!!

Congratulations!! I have a 2-month old son, and we have been using the Diaper Genie. It is working well, and does not "leak" smells at all. You do need the special bags, but I have been stocking up when they're on sale. If you are breastfeeding, I think you will find that the poop really doesn't smell. I've heard that it might be different if you're formula feeding. In any case, my mom insists that special garbage cans are silly and that she survived without them! :) Good luck (and not just with the trash can!)

I love the Diaper Dekor + (yes, a plus, but the box has a symbol). You do use specialized bags (could probably rig a regular one in there if you wanted) but it holds a LOT of diapers, and the bag is a continuous flow so you can just cut it off when you want and tie it off on the bottom again - instant bag. AND, the cutter blade is built into the inside of the trash bag holder but has a safety feature that even my little curious kiddos couldn't ever get to.

The smell was only bad if there was a yucky diaper sitting in there a long time and for a couple seconds when I dropped down the new diaper the smell escaped. Once the lid closed, it all went away. The Dekor + also converts to a regular garbage can after (though we are now using it for kiddo number two so I haven't done that yet).

Also, my friend loved the Diaper Champ until her son figured out how to use it and put his favorite car in with the diapers (soooo yucky!). I think any trash can ends up as a toy during the "exploration years" however, so it just depends on how quickly they learn to leave it alone. I like the Dekor because it looks like a regular trash can and mine learned early that those cans were off limits. Those are my two cents. Congrats on the twins!

At babies r us they sell these little scented diaper sacks, they come about 250 to a box and are less than $10. They are great for controling the smell so you can just put the dirty diapers in the regular trash. Plus you can fit more than one diaper in the bag so with your twins you can really make the most of them. Its really not much different than using plastic grocery bags other than a little extra odor control, I tend to use them too, it just depends on what's handy.

I have a 10 month old and use the diaper champ. It is nice because you can use regulary garbage bags. I empty it once a week on trash night and typically have no issues with smell.

I bought the diaper Genie and used it for the first three months but I foundit more of a hassle than a help. We now use the store bought grocery bags and throw them out at the end of the day. Of course if the diapers are poopy we wrap them up and throw them out in the trash immediately. Congrats on the twins, peace and blessings.

Those other alternatives sound great, but honestly, my Diaper Genie II is awesome. The refills are $5 and as long as you fold the diapers up really small when you put them in, the bags last a long time. The second generation of the Genie is much better than the first. Good luck!

I LOVE my Diaper Champ. No special bags and no smell. I occasionally wipe the "chute" with Lysol, but that's it.

You new age mothers make me laugh.Do the same thing we baby boomers did just put it in the trash and take it out every nite.The more things change the more they stay the same.This comes from a mother of one 31yrs.old and a great-great-great
aunt oh yes grandmother.

Good Luck

We used the diaper champ because it didn't require bags. We still ended up using grocery bags to keep the nasty contained. With our second daughter, we just used the grocery bags. It smells either way, but grocery bags are free! We also would put a little baby powder or arm & hammer in the bottom of the champ to help absorb the smell. Good luck!

Hello C.!

Wow, Twins! Congratulations! I hope they come home soon, and you can begin that wonderful part of starting a new family, and getting settled quickly.

I personally never bought the genie, simply because it didn't seem to work for my friend, when I visited she had so many complaints and ended up taking it back (gotta love walmarts return policy ..yikes!) I bought the Diaper Champ, and liked it, thought it did a good job. The price was certainly reasonable, and it took regular garbage bags. When I had my second .. 15mos later we knew we would need somthing else. I decided to try the Diaper Dekor, and gave my champ to my fried who never did get a pail. When I got the Dekor, I was sooo happy! It does hold more diapers, the smell is non existant, and it can use the bags that are made for it, or you can use regular bags with it too. I wouldn't change to another now if you paid me. Hope it helps!

****also, don't know if you are aware but Burlington Coat Factory's Baby Depot offers what they call a twin discount. Anything that you purchase (larger items.. although including potty chairs, and I believe diaper pails) more than one of they give a discount for it.

Best Wishes!
K.

Every parent out there has things they bought that they wish they hadn't... the diaper genie was one for me. I did use it in the beginning when my baby was having multiple stinkys. It kept the stink in the can but you would have to change the darn thing like every nite in order for it to not get bad. My diaper genie is sitting in the corner and has been replaced by walmart sacks. Its just easier to open the sack, dump a diaper, and close again then to deal with the diaper genie. The walmart sacks do hold the stench until you open it... just have a can of air freshener handy!

A great question! One we wrestled with right after our two children, adopted at nearly the same time, arrived home. We tried everything for about a week and found nothing suitable for two in diapers at the same time!!

Then one day I went to a hardware store and there was an item called RackSack. It is a wire rack structure which can hold either a roll of bags which you tear off and fold around a rim which is fitted with a CLOSING flip up top/lid---or---you can simply hook the bags you have described onto the frame. The point is that: there is a lid which closes snuggly to basically block direct odor, the frame can be screwed to a wall, the side of a changing table, the inside of a door on a cabinet AND nothing touches the floor. Later when your children crawl around on the floor near your changing table or try to pull up on items, this will not be one of them. There is nothing to clean excepting occasionally to wipe the inside of the plastic lid. You can even buy bag rolls that are deodorized! The costs are minimal and the ease substantial. You throw out the bags each day or as you feel the need. Our children are now 17 & 18 years old and I have not seen anything yet which can beat this system. It is still my first shower item given as a gift. Good luck!

Diaper Genie is a waste of money! just use grocery bags and throw it in the trash. we had one and after a while - you CAN NOT get the stink out. Not even bleach would take away the smell!

Diaper champ, you can use regular trash bags

Twins. I can't even imagine.

I'm on my first baby and my husband is on his third. We got the Diaper Genie and I have no complaints. It's a teeny bit of a hassle to empty but you don't have to do it daily, which is a godsend when you're already exhausted every night. (I might even get two if I were you, so the one isn't filling up so quickly). I find that it works great at containing the smell. Though often we'll take the poopy diapers out to the trash directly and just fill up the Genie with wet ones.