Bess Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I'm seriously considering cloth diapering for my little one. The *one* thing that is holding me back is the smell factor. From my understanding, after "releasing" the load from the diaper into the toilet, you throw it in a dry diaper pail. But, doesn't this diaper pail reek? Are there such things as odor free diaper pails? Also, when you go to launder the dirty diapers.... does the odor knock you over? I have a very sensitive gag reflex, and I can only imagine. Please enlighten me how this can be done with minimal odor. :confused: Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain_Jane Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Baking soda. Just sprinkle it over the diapers if the pail get smelly. I find, I usually wash the diapers each evening or every other evening and that usually isn't enough time for the pail to really stink. If it does, baking soda has always done the trick for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Okay, so do you sprinkle baking soda on *each* diaper as you throw it in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichelleWI Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 No, there is not an overwhelming smell to the diaper pail. With that said, we keep ours out of the public area of the house. Diapers should be washed every third day so there isn't much time for an odor build-up. An older child's urine will have a stronger ammonia smell than a newborn's, too. I use a trash bag in a 13 gallon can as a diaper pail. I put diapers in by dropping them out of the cover. When it comes time to wash, I dump the bag into the washer. I need never touch a soiled diaper. :) I usually run a rinse cycle first, and particularly so with toddler diapers in the wash. My washing machine has a Sanitary cycle on it, so I use that and the diapers come out perfectly clean. Be careful not to use too much detergent. Build-up can cause rashes and additional smell. Never use fabric softener because your diapers will not be absorbent. The best way to dry your diapers is on the line because the sun naturally brightens and sanitizes them. You only asked about diaper pails, though. *blush* I got carried away because I am looking forward to cloth diapering my newborn in about six weeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AmyVG Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 The diaper pail with a lid really does a good job keep the smells from escaping. Make sure your lid is on tight tho. Just sprinkle a little bit of baking soda at the bottom of the pail. We use a diaper sprayer, which connects to your toilet's water supply, and we spray each poopy diaper off before putting the diaper into the pail. But after babies start solids, they only poop once a day so it's not a big deal. Newborn babies who are breastfed don't really have smelly poo. I mean it's smelly...but not poopy smelly...k, am I making sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 We used a wet pail with vinegar& water, and it didn't smell at all. We only washed dipes once per week. It wouldn't work with a front-loader, though. And it was heavy to lift it to dump it into the top-loader. I have a never-been-used diaper sprayer to sell. I need some time to list things on ebay... :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 The baking soda trick really helps, but so does just washing a load nightly. We got into the habit of throwing the contents of the pail into the wash right before bed and into the dryer first thing the next morning. No big deal, and we never had a problem with odors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 We used a dry pail and sprinkled baking soda when it got stinky. bothered my childless in-laws who lived with us a lot more than me, lol. But it didn't really smell bad until DD was older (over a year and eating lots of solids), and I was doing dipes less frequently (every 3-4 days instead of every day or two). Once she was well into toddlerhood, I just washed pee dipes with the rest of the whites laundry and gave any poo ones an extra hot rinse beforehand, and dispensed with the bucket. But by then it was just occasional accidents in cloth training pants and a pee dipe at night. If you're somewhere you can't do laundry frequently, drying out the pee dipes before containing them (and thoroughly rinsing then encasing in plastic poo dipes) can dispense with need for a pail, too. says the die-hard CD'er who took her baby camping in CD's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I used a dry pail and washed frequently. I guess you could line your pail with a kitchen sized trash bag, and just throw the bag away, but maybe that would somewhat defeat the ecological benefits of cds! lol Just wash your diapers every 2 days or so. And spray out your diaper pail with some 409 or something, or just wash it out once a week with soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Not all kids start once a day pooping with solid foods! I think it depends on the diet. My dd is 3 times a day pooper for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 When dd was 13 months old we moved to the middle of nowhere for 9 months- no running water - and still used cloth. I don't see why disposable diaper people make such a big deal about it. I think cleaning their butts is more work than throwing the cloth in a machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in NH Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I love cloth diapers! I do use a dry pail, it is actually an empty kitty litter pail with a lid. It keeps the ammonia smell inside the pail...it is a strong ammonia smell when I dumpit in the washer...my ds is almost 2 and about to be toitlet trained...the diapers didn't have such a strong smell when he was smaller. I'm one one those that never use disposables. I even use cloth wipes. My diaper bag used to have to be a bit bigger on trips but well worth it in my opinion. By the way, dumping disposables into the trash kinda smells worse in my opinion. And if you use a disposable with a "diaper genie" I just think that is really wasteful...although that is just my opinion... Good luck with your desision, there are some really cool cloth diapers out there now! We use a brand called "mommy's touch" pocket diapers..I love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I have two "bags." One is in dd's bedroom with her changing table. I use that one for wet only diapers. This one is just a bag that hangs from her closet. It gets washed with the diapers every time I wash. (I got it from Green Mountain Diaper.) I also have trash can with a lid in the bathroom for the poopy ones. I dump the poop in the toilet and then just stick the diaper in the can. No odor. On wash day (about 2x/week), I combine the poopy diapers with the wet ones in the washable bag. I clean out the trash can in the shower. Then I wash. Pretty easy. Yes, there is a very strong ammonia smell when I put the diapers in the laundry, but it's pretty quick. It is much worse now that she's older. I don't know if you know, but if you are breastfeeding, you don't have to dump the poop in the toilet first. Once you add solids or formula, you will have to. That was nice for the first six months though!! Oh - and I also don't ever use disposables. Our cloth diapers have been everywhere. The only exception is if we're going away for more than a week and I don't have access to laundry. (I only have 6 days worth of cloth diapers!) Good luck and have fun!!! There's nothing quite like a full load of clean diapers. I don't even mind folding them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PariSarah Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 If you use a washable bag, you can even wash the bag right along with the diapers. No, it doesn't stink. Even with the poopy ones. I have it hanging right in the study, right where we all spend most of our days. It stinks far less than the trash can full of disposables my dh uses. Go figure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdeno Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I also made some homemade disk baking soda thinies but that was waaaaaaaaaytoo time consuming! :-) :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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