Tips on getting rid of diaper pail stink?

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I have worked as a daycare/preschool teacher for years, and now I'm self-employed taking care of a 14 month old in my home full time. In all my years of changing diapers, I have never encountered a diaper pail so stinky as this one! I swear this child cranks out the stinkers like you wouldn't believe, and I just cannot get rid of the stench permeating the diaper pail.

Anyone had any success or tips before I throw this one out and start over? It was new when I got it in March to start caring for this very cute but very stinky baby, and now the thing is starting to radiate waves of odor throughout the room. The diaper pail is almost as stinky as the baby's diapers! Help!

 

[Beth76]

I think I used the Diaper Champ with my first son and it worked great! I actually don't have a diaper pail now. I put the diapers in a plastic grocery bag and take them right out to the trash in the garage.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

my son's diapers were like that - I just took them out to the trash - didn't want them anywhere in my home.

'

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

arm & hammer or vinegar.

 

[rhiannonwales]

You could try somehing i do when i get anything from my mom. She smokes heavily and everything she ever gives me or my kids stinks like cigarettes. I mean like you can smell it a room away.
Get a big old jug of vinegar ( i use apple cider but i think the white works just fine)
and some baking soda.
IS this the kind of pail that you can put liquid in, or is it a diaper genie? if you can soak it, i would put the vinegar in it and then mix in some baking soda. IT is going to fizz and bubble like crazy but thats ok. close it and let it sit for a while, like all day if you dont have to watch her that day. Then get a pair o rubber gloves (the kind that some fols use to wash disher) and scrub that pail with the vinegar/soda soulution. Then rinse it and let it air dry, preferable outside.

One time m mom gave me a fantastic (and expensive) convection oven but when i opened it it stank like cigarettes. I put a baking dish of this solution in and baked it for a while and it got the smell out of it.
Good Luck!

 

[asta]

By the time I had my second child, I gave up on diaper pails. I sat a garbage can outside by the back door and just put the dirty diapers directly in it.

 

[rkwells]

I always took my kids diapers straight out to the garage can also. My kids are now 10 and 13 and I still laugh out loud remembering how horrible our garage smelled by garbage day in the summer! I'm suprised the neighbors didn't report a dead body to the police! I hate to see my kids growing up so fast but I don't miss that.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

You could try somehing i do when i get anything from my mom. She smokes heavily and everything she ever gives me or my kids stinks like cigarettes. I mean like you can smell it a room away.
Good Luck!

I thought you were going to tell her to start smoking!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

We cloth diaper (not as strange as it sounds), so diaper pail stink is an issue we have to deal with. There is something called "Deo Discs" that you can buy to deoderize the pail. Here is a link for them:

http://www.tinytush.com/deodisks.htm

 

[UrsulasMyHero]

I don't have diapers, but I have kitty litter... so I'm another who votes for Vinegar and Baking soda. It really does work.

 

[hornedfrog]

I have two in diapers at the moment and there is only one sure-fire way to de-stink a diaper pail that I know about. Take it outside, empty the contents, leave it open and let it sit in the sun for several hours. It doesn't have to be a warm day, but the sun does have to be shining...although I do live in the South, so I can't attest to whether this works at below-freezing temps (but it does work when temps are in the 40's - the coldest I've tried it out in).

I have tried the Diaper Genie, Diaper Champ and other brands. I have tried the Clorox surface sprays, Lysol, Oust and any other cleaner available at Target or the grocery store. I don't put the 'big stinkers' in the pails - those go straight to the dumpster...but even the 'small stinkers' can create a stink in a diaper pail after a few weeks/months. The sun hasn't failed me yet, though!

 

[SwedishMeatball]

With my first child, I put every diaper in a ziploc before putting it in the pail. With my second child, I got a diaper genie.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Thanks for the tips, guys! I'll start with the vinegar and baking soda trick, leave it in the sun, then move on to the Deo Discs.

I wish I could dump the stinky diapers outside right away, but I also do "as needed" childcare for some SAHM's in the neighborhood, so sometimes I have a bonus kid or two with me, and I'm sure you all know what life is like when there's more than one child clammoring for your attention. Plus, since these aren't my kids, I try to be extra cautious and conservative with not leaving anyone unattended. So I do manage to get a few of the stinkers outside right away, but sometimes I just have to dump it in the diaper pail and move on to the next activity on the list.

I do like my job - it's nice to be able to help out friends not only with the full-time baby care, but also the SAHM's who need a break, have Dr. appointments, or want to volunteer with older kids classrooms. Too bad it comes with a nasty stinky diaper pail!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I wanted to add one other idea that you may or may not like. If you can stomach it, shake the diaper out over the potty before you dispose of it. Poop should be dealt with in the sewer system rather than sent to the landfill anyways, although I know this is not a very appealing thought. It kind of defeats the purpose of using disposables I guess.

 

[Sonya]

Try getting some charcole (sp) and putting it in the bottom of the pail. Sometimes that works for us.

 

[belle&beast]

I used a Diaper Genie with my DD5 and it worked just fine. My DS2 is very stinky and I ended up throwing away the Genie and just tying them in plastic bags and taking them outside. Now that it is cold again, I wish he would just go on the potty!!!!