Need solutions to stop smells of baby poop

February 26, 2014 8:35 PM

After my baby poops in the diaper I throw it in the trash but the whole room smells of poop and the whole house to until I take out the trash once or twice a week. I need a better system, is there some special bag or trash can that can stop smells from coming thru? Or can I spray the poop with something that will stop it from smelling? Taking the diaper outside to the main trashcan multiple times a day is not a option.
posted by john123357 to Home & Garden (37 answers total)

poop is poop. poop will smell. there is no magic solution to make poop smell like roses.

I can't imagine what the reason is that you can't dispose of diapers more than once or twice a week. Therein lies your issue... not making poop smell better.
posted by HuronBob at 8:39 PM on February 26, 2014 [23 favorites]

You don't say what kind of trash bin you're using, so that's my first suggestion:
- Trash can with a lid
- Odor-eliminating trash can liners
- Arm & Hammer makes a powder that I sprinkle in my cats' litterboxes that is specifically designed to eliminate poop-smell. You could sprinkle it over the diaper each time you drop one in the trash.
- Oh look there are similar products for human waste.
posted by carsonb at 8:40 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

This is what the diaper genie was invented for. That said, I never fight one and just took the trash out more often.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:41 PM on February 26, 2014 [8 favorites]

I find the litter locker, which is the diaper genie for cat litter, is effective at keeping in the smell.
posted by jeather at 8:44 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

Dumping out the poop contents of the diaper into the toilet and flushing immediately seems to work best. Then fold the diaper back up and put it in the garbage.
posted by stowaway at 8:44 PM on February 26, 2014 [8 favorites]

I know you say it isn't an option, but we take ours out at least once a day, and it's far better than wrestling with a diaper genie.
posted by umbú at 8:45 PM on February 26, 2014 [9 favorites]

Yes, the "diaper genie" and related objects are for exactly this -- that and taking the trash out as often as you can possibly muster. If you are in a place that has big drugstore/chemist type shops like Target (US) or Boots (UK), browse the baby stuff section and you will find many diaper-specific trash options. Flushing the poop is also good but less practical when the baby is young and producing less discrete turds.
posted by redfoxtail at 8:45 PM on February 26, 2014

I have never had a problem using, emptying or re-loading a Diaper Genie. My sister had her baby in a 3rd floor walk-up studio in a Manhattan brownstone, so smell containment was important and running the trash out more than once a day (max) was not going to happen. If she could have married that Diaper Genie, she would have.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:49 PM on February 26, 2014 [4 favorites]

(1) First, dump the actual poop in the toilet, as others have said.
(2) Next, constrain poop diaper in a crappy plastic bag from the grocery store (I save all mine for this) and place in designated diaper-only spot near the door (inside or, preferably, outside).
(3) Take said diapers to trash at least daily. I mean seriously, good lord, you take the trash out once or twice a week???? Is your garbage can two miles away? Of course your house is going to smell. I am one of the slobbiest slobs who will literally buy new underwear rather than do laundry but having then house not smell like garbage (or poop) is absolutely non-negotiable.

Source: mom of a three- and one-year-old, slob.
posted by celtalitha at 9:02 PM on February 26, 2014 [8 favorites]

P.S. I have a diaper genie too, and it's pretty good at containing the smells, but I usually still flush the poop and take the poo-diapers out seperately whenever possible because the idea of actual solid poop festering in a baggy in my house for a week until the thing fills up gives me the willies.
posted by celtalitha at 9:04 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

I highly recommend Fresh Wave, but agree that you must take out the diapers once a day at least.
posted by Wordwoman at 9:06 PM on February 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

One option that we used for awhile when we were without a dedicated diaper pail was to keep plastic grocery bags near the changing table. Pop the poopy diaper into one, twist it closed, and toss it into your (lidded) trash can. It works great!

I see that celtalitha already mentioned it, but I never bothered toileting the poop, and it worked fine.
posted by not that girl at 9:32 PM on February 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

Those little rolls of bags they sell for picking up dog poop seem to be less stinky than grocery bags. We use those for on-the-go but it may be handy for you to keep them in your diaper changing area.
posted by stowaway at 9:34 PM on February 26, 2014

I'm assuming you have a bin with a lid. What you are looking for are called "Disposable Diaper Sacks", they're tiny (ideally biodegradable) plastic bags just the right size for a diaper and with handles that can be knotted to seal in the smell. They'll keep the smell coming from the bin under control for a day or so. Super cheap, probably get them in any supermarket.
posted by coleboptera at 9:34 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

Diaper sacks, yes. They also happen to work really well for cat litter, which is why Amazon is very confused about my not having kids. They actually tie relatively tight, which grocery store bags don't. Living alone and having my dumpster on the far side of the parking lot, I don't do mine every day in yucky weather, anyway, and I don't generate that much trash, so it's nice to be able to just toss the cat litter in the regular trash can without it being awful. If they work so well for cats, I imagine they're good for people, too.
posted by Sequence at 9:43 PM on February 26, 2014

Diaper Genie works great.
posted by Dansaman at 9:48 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

People who have cats with litter boxes take the trash out once per day. We get the kitchen trash bag (a recycled plastic grocery bag, checked ahead of time so we know it doesn't have any holes), scoop the litter into it, and take it outside. I think with a baby it could be similar.

My parents had a diaper pail with water in it; the water (maybe with bleach in it?) covered the cloth diapers and kept the smell minimal. I think either a service or they themselves emptied it out and washed everything fairly frequently (don't remember, I was very young at the time).
posted by amtho at 9:57 PM on February 26, 2014

Diaper + dog poop bags + diaper genie + baking soda air freshner.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:01 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

1. Poop itself goes in the toilet and flushed, not wrapped up and stored in the diaper to rot, gross
2. When you change your baby, and poop has gone in the toilet, the rest of the detritus (diaper, dirty wipes etc) go in a plastic baggie, twisted shut and put in the diaper genie or similar.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:02 PM on February 26, 2014

We have the munchkin Diaper pail for exactly this reason. Available for ~ $25 from amazon.
posted by saradarlin at 10:15 PM on February 26, 2014

the bin I keep my kitchen organic waste in has a very tight fitting lid, and then that bin is kept in a cupboard under the sink with the door closed, and the smell is definitely contained regardless of how long I forget to empty it for, so, I'd recommend a tightly sealing bin inside a closed cupboard, and maybe have one of these in the cupboard as well.

(also, seriously people, like 2 clicks will show that the OP's last question was about experiencing a lot of knee pain so maybe we can go easy on the "you should take it out more often" business? show a little compassion)
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:51 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

How old is the baby? Different ages of babies make poop that needs different strategies: what worked for us at 3 months does NOT work at 3 years.
posted by KathrynT at 11:21 PM on February 26, 2014

Had to deal with diapers for my dying father all of last year. We used grocery bags, but crucially, we tied them using the magical method I was taught for dog poop years and years back. That is, you don't tie off the top of the bag itself, the way you might a trash bag. There's no way that it will close off sufficiently. What you do is hold the two handles of the bag and wrap them in opposite directions around the bag and contents, then tie the two of them together like a shoelace. It works so much better.
posted by dhartung at 1:04 AM on February 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

We put nappies in scented nappy bags, tie a reasonably tight knot in the bag, and then chuck them in the kitchen pedal-bin which only gets emptied 2-3 times a week. We've been doing this for ~2 years and despite some really stinky poops I've never noticed an issue with smelly bins. I think the tightly-knotted nappy bags are key, try that first since they are like £1 for 100.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:46 AM on February 27, 2014

Try compacting the used diapers by folding them up smartly and re-using as many of the sticky strips as possible (if they still work) to secure them in this folded-up state. After that, put the diaper in a new, small plastic bag (like a shopping bag) and tie up the bag tightly before putting this bundle into the trash.

Further thoughts:

...once or twice a week...
Taking the diaper outside to the main trashcan multiple times a day is not a option

There is at least two and a half days of wiggle room between these two options. Talking strategically, you need to find the optimal intersection between one discomfort (carry out trash) and the other (smell). It's individual.
posted by Namlit at 2:14 AM on February 27, 2014 [2 favorites]

Diaper champ seems like a good fit for your situation. It is a slightly awkward trash can with a fancy lid that operates somewhat like a revolving door.
posted by txtwinkletoes at 2:50 AM on February 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

Poopy diaper goes into old plastic grocery store bag, tied tightly and thrown out.

We believe it worked for us, however we walking around like zombies at the time and who knows.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:20 AM on February 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

We have the ubbi diaper pail. Its steel, uses reg bags and has solid rubber seals all around. When the lid is closed there is absolutely no smell. And it lives in our living room so believe me I'd notice if that were not the case. Also my wife is literally a professional smeller and it doesn't bother her either.
posted by JPD at 3:53 AM on February 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

Diaper Genie is really great, and easy. If it is super-duper stinky you can remove the stink section without throwing out an entire trash bag. (We don't use plastic grocery bags, so those aren't an option, and our city has funded trash removal by providing expensive trash bags.) But even stinky poop diapers don't smell outside the diaper genie until you open it for a minute to put in a new diaper, and the smell dissipates quickly. (Or orange spray/et al.)
posted by miss tea at 5:44 AM on February 27, 2014

Baking soda in the bottom of the pail or charcoal will help absorb the smell.

They do make disposal bags that are ecofriendly and are scented. Ours smelled like baby powder and they did work. But I can't remember the name. Look for green products at Babys R Us.
posted by stormpooper at 7:13 AM on February 27, 2014

Sometimes after the cats taken a crap I light a match to burn away the methane.
posted by tanktop at 11:21 AM on February 27, 2014

Don't know how well it works for baby poop, but on big wall climbs I throw some lime into the poop bag and it seems to help keep the odor down.
posted by doctord at 11:39 AM on February 27, 2014

This orange spray really does help; but agreeing with so many others that once/twice a week is probably just not going to be often enough.

Another product I used for a while that helped quite a bit was this Arm and Hammer garbage deodorizer.
posted by freezer cake at 3:16 PM on February 27, 2014

I work in a daycare where we use gloves for all diaper changes. After changing a poopy diaper, we put it in a gloved hand and then pull the glove off inside out, wrapping it around the diaper. (It's easy to show but hard to describe, sorry!) This contains the diaper inside the glove and really cuts down on the smell.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 7:33 AM on March 1, 2014

Response by poster: How does the Diaper Genie work, does the "antimicrobial" filter release anything harmful into the air? becasue I have asthma and really sensitive lungs
posted by john123357 at 1:05 PM on March 5, 2014

Nothing is released into the air by the Diaper Genie. That filter part is not a big part of it at all. Basically it's a really long grocery bag that you put a diaper into than twist closed. Like a long link of sausages, but instead of meat, poopy diapers.
posted by saradarlin at 12:11 AM on March 10, 2014

Also, nothing that has passed the incredibly stringent testing required to sell something as appropriate for a baby's room is going to release anything bad into the air.
posted by KathrynT at 9:20 AM on March 10, 2014