Cloth Diapering -- Best Diaper Pail?

Good for you using cloth! I also use Bum Genius and I use a 5 gal pail that was from some sort of cleaning solution where my husband used to work. You do not use a wet pail these days so there is no risk of drowning. And best part is that it was free!

PS the sun bleaching trick really does work as another mom suggested!

Hi R.,

I don't use a diaper pail at all. It's better to get a "wet bag" and you can get them at Peapod's in St. Paul. Its about $20 or $30 but it holds the odors the best. DON'T keep the bag or dirty diapers in the baby's room or it will stink really bad (learned from experience on this one, lol).

So get the wet bag. Everytime my little one needs a diaper change I bring it to the wet bag in our downstairs laundry room. If its a poopie diaper we wash it out and hang it to dry over the laundry wash tub. Then every other day I soak the diapers in either Trader Joe's detergent or Charlie's Soap. Both are natual soaps. You can get Charlie's at the Natural Life Store in ____@____.com and she might even sell the wet bags too! You probably can find it elsewhere but I found the Natural Life store thru this website and LOVE the excellent customer service Alicia provides. She is a Mom who runs her business out of her home!

I soak the diapers anywhere from a few hours to all day and all night then I launder them. First wash on cold, large load with detergent. 2nd wash with detergent on hot wash. 3rd wash w/o detergent on hot water wash and extra rinse.

Hope this helps and congrats on your expected baby! I LOVE the Bum Genius diapers. We have had ZERO diaper rashes or red butt here so what could be better than that?! Let me know if you have any questions! They will get stained, mine didn't till she started having teething poopies but you are the only ones who will see that. I am going to try to bleach them in the sun when we finally have some again! I have heard that works really well! You can bleach the diapers about every 3 months but if you do it more often you will ruin the waterproof in them so don't do it even though its super tempting!

L.

Hi R.,

I use a medium sized plastic trash can with lid (from Target) and put a plug-in refill (not in the plug-in dispenser) at the bottom. I bought two liners from Amy at TwigandVine.com for about $20 each. I throw them in the wash when I wash the diapers. I also dump any poop in the toilet to help avoid smell. It is RARE that I have any smell. (My pail is dry and not filled with any liquid or cleaner...it helps keep the bacteria to a minimum and the diapers to last longer.)

Amy is a Minneapolis mom that makes her own diapers, liners, and wetbags for less than commercial brands. I came across her when I wanted to start cloth diapering. I highly recommend her products and her customer service!

Congrats on both the baby and cloth diapering!

I second what Jill had to say about the Target garbage can and having a dry pail.

I dont mess with a liner at all. I just bought a small rubbermaid tote with a good lid and it holds the smell in just fine. Then I take it down, dump the diapers in the washer and then rinse the tub out in the bathtub if needed (maybe once every 2 or 3 loads). Its easy and inexpensive. While the baby is breastfed exclusively its ok to just throw the poopy diapers right in the pail and into the wash, no need to dump the poop in the toilet until you start formula or solids. Congrats on your first baby and hope cloth diapering goes well for you, there are some challenges but the amount of money we save and the benefit for the enviroment are great!

best thing my friend ever used was a 5 gal bucket. lemon water or baking soda. it may smell, but even the 'super duper scent blocking' ones dont block the smell.

I used a wets bag that I just hung on the side of hte changing table. The one I used is from www.wahmies.com.

The best way to avoid smells (and stains!) is to dump the poop off the diaper right away, and then rinse it off. Then you can either hang it to air dry before putting it in your wets bag or diaper pail, or just toss it in there wet until wash day.

I'm sure you know this but you can't use a pail with bleach or liquid in it, new cloth diapers need to be in a dry pail or dry bag, no soaking. Our routine was change diaper, dump and rinse off any poop in the toilet, then toss in the wets bag until wash day. I washed ever 2-3 days, and I used Fuzzi Bunz and prefolds/covers. We also used Charlies Soap (www.charliesoap.com) because it washed out the best, left no scent behind, and ZERO BUILDUP! :)

Congrats on your new little one, and for cloth diapering!

I love cloth diapering! Though, BG 3.0 are my least favorite diaper, I have had terrible luck with the velcro. Anyway, we use a 5 gallon bucket with a tight lid we got at Home Depot. It is cheap, easily washable, and no liner is needed. There is no smell at all. My house smells much better than when we used disposables. I don't get why people say they stink as I found the opposite to be true. Congrats!

We just use a garbage can from Target, too. I have 2 liners that I rotate and throw in the washer with the diapers. I wash every day since I have 3 in diapers.

We've been using cloth diapers for our son who is now 21 months. We have a simple garbage can with a lid that has rubermaid like clams on the sides that has worked well for us. We use it as a dry pail.

The biggest thing seems to be using a pail that closes so the stink doesn't get out. I like the clamps because it keeps our little explorer from opening it up.

I use a stainless steel trash can with a lid that flips up when you step on the pedal. It has a removable plastic liner bucket that I can easily take out and wash if needed. I bought it at Walmart for much cheaper than I could find it at any other store. I think I have the 30 qt size and it easily holds 2 days worth of diapers.

I find it more convenient to use a washable pail liner in the can. I also have two so that I have one in the pail while the other one is washing. My pail liners are made by Mother of Eden and have a little terrycloth patch where you can put a few drops of essential oils. I rarely have odor issues, but if I do a few drops of tea tree oil and lavender oil usually help. I also use a dry pail and now that my baby is no longer on breastmilk only, I dump solids in the toilet before putting them in the pail.

Good luck with the new baby and cloth diapering!

I also recommend just getting a regular garbage can. Don't waste your money on a fancy diaper pail. I use a Bummis waterproof bag (http://www.amazon.com/Bummis-Waterproof-X-Large-Diaper-Pa...) inside the garbage can so I can just throw it in the wash with the diapers and not have to deal with cleaning out the garbage can. The bag has held up really well. I've been using it for over a year and it hasn't shown the slightest sign of wear. I haven't found a use for two bags because I throw everything in the wash at once after my daughter's in bed for the night, hang the bag to dry overnight, and throw the diapers in the dryer so everything's ready the following morning.

I know that everyone has their own preference for which cloth diapers they use and there is no "right" brand, but I would highly recommend looking into Crickett's diapers. I have spent a lot of money trying out different diapers and have found that Crickett's diapers paired with Thirsties covers are by far the best option for us. Never a leak and SO absorbant! Just thought I'd throw in my two cents. You can take it or leave it! :)

Good luck with your little one and cloth diapering!

I got this idea on www.punkinbutt.com. I DO NOT rinse my diapers. Yes, that's right, I put them straight into the washer, poop and all. I'm not sure what to expect once the little one transitions to solids, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anyway, I use a large diaper pail bag which I just wash right with the diapers. Works great! Mine has a little piece of terry cloth sewn into the inside where you can drip some lavender or tea tree essential oil to help with the smell. I do get a whiff of ammonia type smell when I dump the dirty diapers in the wash, but by the time they're washed, line dried, and sunbleached (which really does get out poop stains, at least on the summer side of the equinoxes), they don't smell at all. In fact, my unbleached Chinese prefold diapers are even whiter than when I first got them. :)

I purchased my large diaper pail bag at www.Nickisdiapers.com. They're out of western WI and they also have Planet Wise wet bags and lots of baby swim wear.

Congrats on cloth diapering! I really do think it's just as easy as disposables, without the huge amt. of landfill waste.

I have about 12 cloth diapers and covers, and for my 8 1/2 month old it takes about a day or two to go through them. My cost efficient method is to just put the dirty diapers/covers in a plastic grocery bag, twist the top, and put the bag upside down (twist down so it doesn't unravel). Whenever I need to change Kylen's diaper, I just open the bag and pop it in, then twist to close.

That way it keeps the odors in the bag, and at night when I wash his diapers, I just dump the contents of bag in the washer, throw the reused plastic bag away, and start up the washer.

An additional, unsolicited tidbit my mom shared about washing the diapers: wash each load of diapers twice with hot water. The first time with soap, the second time to get an extra rinse (you wouldn't believe it--the second/rinse "wash" looks like the first one it suds up so much!)

*Chassidy

I use a regular trash can that I got at walmart. I use a PUL pail liner in it (I really like wahmies). I wash the pail liner everytime I wash the diapers. I wash twice a week though. You can get smaller pail liners and a smaller trash can if you will be washing more often. I have a business making cloth diapers but haven't made any pail liners yet. Its something I have been meaning to make. Oh, and I don't have a lid on my trash can. I think smells build up a lot worse (less airflow) and your pail will smell worse if you have a lid on it, but since i haven't tried it, i don't know for sure.

I too just use a pail with a lid, no liners. I just use an old laundry detergent bucket from sam's-- the big 4-5 gallon one. We have no issues with odor, unless someone leaves the lid off =) i just rinse out the bucket every now and then so it itself doesn't smell either.