When we were expecting our first born everyone swore we had to get a special diaper trash collector for the baby’s room. We simply could not survive with a regular trash can.
So we listened. And everyone was wrong. Dead wrong.
A year later, when our son’s room stank to high heaven in the summer heat, I went out and bought a regular stainless-steel trash can. I also bought one of those child safety locks to put on the top and side to prevent our son’s hands from opening this messy situation.
How did this can work so miraculously when the special diaper trash collector didn’t?
- Reuse every plastic bag that comes in the house and put the soiled diaper in this bag before putting in the trash can which has its own large trash bag. This includes bags from Target, Wal-mart and even the bread bags, hamburger bun bags and the bags that cover your newspaper on a wet morning;
- Instead of pitching the dryer sheets once they have run through the dryer, I collect and put these as-is in the diaper trash can. They still often have a little fragrance in them and help mitigate the odor of diapers;
- Another great way to mitigate odors is to place at the bottom of the trash can the remnants of old candles. These small pieces are no longer good for burning but pack a punch with aromas. Like the dryer sheets, I have found they absorb the diaper odor and create a neutral odor in his room.
- Finally, candles were on super sale at our grocery store earlier this year and one of the packages had a car fragrance piece that you could ideally hang from the rear view window. Instead I taped it to the top of the pail. It hangs free all the time and helps absorb the smell.
Following these four simple steps have made our son’s room smell no different than any other in the house. This is true when it’s the dead of winter, or the height of summer when I rarely turn on the air conditioning. I can honestly say if you walked in his room blind-folded you would never know it was home to lots of dirty diapers and pull ups.
We are expecting #2 in the fall and I plan to use the same system for this baby as I am using now. The start-up price was similar if not less expensive than the fancy diaper pales, yet everything since has been with the aid of items we already have and otherwise would have been pitched.
By Mary B
That’s great! We used cloth diapers, and didn’t have to worry about lingering smells. We kept a basic diaper pail in the bathroom with vinegar water, and dumped large waste into the toilet, rinsed it, and popped it into the pail. Then we put a full pail into the washing machine. We added detergent, borax, and vinegar for a rinse, ran it, and volia clean diapers! We hung them to dry for that sun fresh smell (and it whitens beautifully).