Diaper Pails

[jjtsl]

Our baby is about a month away and we are going into our final stages of preparation. When we were at a cloth diaper store, they made it sound like specialty diaper pails are necessary for cloth diapering.

Do parents here only use store bought specialty diaper pails? What are the alternatives that have worked for you, and did you have to improvise?

[verdepark]

You do not need anything specifically designed for CDs. We use a 13 gallon tall kitchen garbage can with a foot pedal with a XLarge Blue Penguin diaper pail liner in it. Any garbage can will do, and they usually cost only about $15 dollars in a store. Leaving the pail lid open is ok! If the diapers get air, they surprisingly are not very smelly at all. The most important part is to have a pail liner so that you don't have to scrub out the inside of the diaper pail.

[Lola'smommy]

Yep. 13 gallon trash can and a wahmies pail liner. I keep my pail lid closed though!

[ChetMC]

We Use Pails

We use those plastic buckets from the hardware store. I think they're 5 or 6 gallon pails. We had a couple on the go when we lived in a multi-story house. As one was full I brought it down to the washer and brought up an empty one. Two full buckets plus a little bit would give me a full load. I found this easier than one big pail since I had to get down two flights of stairs, and we were in a very small house.

I have to agree about the lid off the pail. I only started doing this recently, and the diapers seem to dry out and not stink at all.

I wish people wouldn't make cloth diapering sound so difficult. It really doesn't need to be.

[rockportmama]

I use a tiny, bathroom size plastic trash can. No liner. It only holds one day's worth of diapers, so I wash pretty frequently! Alternately, on days I'm not actively running laundry I set washer on soak and throw diapers in as DS removes them!

I guess my only question for you, jjtsl, would be if you plan on a wet pail or dry pail? With a dry pail, the lid is optional. You can sprinkle baking powder on diapers to keep down odors, but then you need to add a vinegar rinse to rebalance diaper pH. A wet pail, however, needs a lid. It's considered a drowning hazard up to age 5 (?).

One other thing -- I spray poop off diapers into the toilet with the handheld showerhead. For mamas who don't have this option, I don't know what would work best! Maybe that's the reason for the liner?
HTH!

[mousebandit]

For everyone who uses a wet pail, how much water - fill it up over the diapers completely? Do you add bac-out or something to the soak water? Do you scrub the pail after every load?

Thanks!
Tracey Mouse

[brookie514]

I have a wetbag that hangs on the laundry room door. I just fill that with dirty diapers and then toss into the wash when it's full. I agree with the pp who said she wished people would quit making it out to be difficult. I think it's more difficult to have to remember to buy diapers, and if you run out in the middle of the night trying to find a store open, ect. I think it's much easier to cloth diaper!

[JennaW]

I have a Blue Penguin pail liner that I just hang on a hook in my bathroom. I started out with a Diaper Champ and that was a PITA to use, so I got rid of it and just hung up the bag. One less thing to worry about.

[Ruthie's momma]

You totally do not need a special diaper pail. We have always used a tall kitchen garbage can, made by Sterilite. It does not have a lid or a pedal. I paid about $8 for it at Target. I do use a pail liner either...to me, it just seems like nothing more than something else to wash! So, come dipe wash day I simply carry the pail to the washing machine and dump...then I rinse out the pail and spritz it with some Bac-Out. Nice and easy!

[Jojo F.]

My diaper pail, 5 gal bucket, was free from a donut shop/bakery Gotta love being frugal! No liner here either, I just rinse the bucket after dumping and spray with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.

mousebandit- I think you will find most people do dry pails now. It's much easier, less wear on your diapers, and prevents a possible drowning hazard for young children.

[apelilae]

We were using two pails given to us that were basically small trash cans with flip lids. We moved and now have a very slim and tall garbage can for our diaper pail that is next to our bathroom and washer/drier. I don't use a liner. I clean it out and allow it to air out while I do the wash. No stinkies here. No wet pails either... that's really gross to me and would be a total turn off to doing cloth with a busy toddler trying to "help me" do the wash.

[nighten]

We use these and LOVE them. They're cheap, they work and unlike our expensive garbage cans with step-pedal, these don't break. At least they haven't yet and we're rough on them and use them many times a day (for 28 months now). We liked it so much we went back and bought more and use them for garbage cans too.

http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Dia.../dp/B00083HK0M

We got ours at Target and Kmart though. It was $10 there.

[sagemomma]

5 gallon bucket from the hardware store here. i love that it has a lid that snaps securely so if i have to take the dipes to be washed there is no fear of spillage.
i am actually gonna get a second today so that i can have one for my AIO's and one for my prefolds and covers. a cover always seems to slip by and get into the hot wash with the AIO's . yar , baby stores will try to sell you anything making it seem like if you don't have "this amazing product" that your baby will suffer somehow. or that "you really need this" , stick to the basics, they are just trying to make a buck off ya.

ETA: we use a dry pail, wet pails are dangerous and messy. and they are harder on your dipes, i jusr plop and or rinses the diapers once in a while sprinkle some baking soda on them if it's beeen a rough day (blueberry, blackberries) . and while the dipes wash i do a hot soak with vinegar and every other week some bleach (the pail not the dipes, never soak dipes in bleach lol). no liner here either

[JBaxter]

I change diapers in the nursery ( ok so the baby doesnt / wont sleep there for a few months) I just cant use a 5gal bucket or trashcan after spending all the time putting everything together. I use/ used this diaper pail w/ a $4 nylon stuff sack from walmart as a liner. It just a basic pail but looks like a diaper pail I had it for my last son and will use it again. More than enough room for 2 full days of even toddler diapers
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2373657

FYI I think I got mine at walmart for less $$

[jjtsl]

Thanks everyone for your constructive responses. We were going to go with a dry pail becoz wet pail is just too messy, but now that you have mentioned, the drowning risk is an even better reason to avoid it.

For pre-treating before wash, has anyone used the Lotus Sanitizing System before? It's a device that oxygenates regular tap water (works something like oxyclean) and is said to be very good on stains and yet absent of any chemicals. Put into a spray bottle, it can also sanitize kitchen counters, bathrooms and conceivably diaper pails. We are contemplating getting it, and would like to hear any experiences to see if it is as good as advertised before we take the plunge.