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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

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Storing soiled diapers

Soiled diapers: How do you store your diapers? Diaper Pail? Hanging Pail? Wet bag? What do you do use for on-the-go storage? Any tips/tricks for eliminating diaper pail and/or wet bag odors?

I wash diapers every 2-3 days, depending on how many she goes through. I wash when I am down to 2-4 diapers, so I have enough diapers to get me through washing. To store my diapers I use and trash bin with the foot lever lid, The 42L/13Gal size.
It fits the pail liners in it perfectly, I use either a Planet Wise Pail Liner or the XL Bummis one. I have two liners that I rotate with diaper washes. After I am done changing the diaper I pull the insert out of the pocket and place it on top of the inside of the diaper, fold in half and place in the bin. Now this works great if the diaper is not pooped. In that case I through the wipes and the insert in the bin and take the diaper to get the poop off, it then goes into the bin with the rest of them. I try not to get the diaper super wet and keep it folded in half to keep most of the water inside the diaper. I pull the inserts out right away because I am washing my hands any way and it makes throwing them in the wash way easier.

For odor control I sprinkle a little baking soda in the bottom of the trash bin before I put the liner back in. I do this about once a month or so. Every 2 or 3 months I also take the bin and rinse it out with water and soap and let it sit in the sun for a few hours.

When I am out I have a medium planet wise that I keep either in my purse or diaper bag, depending on how long we plan on being gone. For two of my other children I used a gallon Ziploc bag, it worked and did its job, but the wet bag is easier to wash out and holds up better.

- By Angela S.

41 comments:

Samantha said...

I just store mine in a garbage can with a garbage sack!

Anna said...

I do pretty much the same exact thing and it works well for me too.

Upstatemamma said...

I pull the inserts outright away too. Makes things way easier. I keep the pail in the kids bathroom.

{ Mom of 3 Dolls } said...

I've been doing the dry storage but no pail liner. I need to get two of them to store them properly :)

the monkeys' mama said...

we have a super small apartment so i store mine in a large wetbag that hangs from her doorknob. Does the trick and still no smell!

Ashley said...

This is one of my husband's hangups about getting cloth. The poop dumping. This is a great explanation and actually clears some things up for me. You're only getting me closer and closer to getting cloth!! :-)

Jackie said...

Thanks for a great post - I will have to try the baking soda in my diaper pail - all of a sudden I'm getting a bad odor and wasn't sure what to do about it. Thanks!

Shaun said...

That's pretty much the process I follow. Good to know I'm doing it right! :)

Katie said...

I have a planet wise hang bag that I love,love love. It is so good at keeping the odors in!

Emily B said...

Thanks for sharing! I'm still in the research stage and your posts are really helpful.

A Psych Mommy said...

We use a diaper pail, and when we are washing the liner, we use a wet bag. When I'm out and about, I use a small wet bag. I haven't traveled yet with diapers, but I have a large wet bag for when we do!

Brittany said...

My plan is to do pretty much the same thing. I hadn't thought of pulling the inserts out right away though.

Katie said...

poopy diapers get rinsed and go in the hanging wet bag in the bathroom (I have two, on a rotation)... everything else goes in a 13gal trash can with a Wahmies pail liner in it. I should try the baking soda thing though - the ammonia smell can get pretty strong!!

Nikki said...

Upstatemomof3: Great idea to store the pail in the kids bathroom! I think I may do that too!

Denise said...

I keep a pail with a locking lid in both bathrooms & now that the weather has gotten warm, I'm washing every other day to avoid mildew. I don't use a pail liner, my pails are pretty small. I rinse out the pail on laundry day & once a month swish a little bleach in the pail, then rinse & dry in the sun.

Tiffany said...

This is good information. I will have to keep this post saved as a favorite so when I start building my stash and accessories I can refer back to it. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Very informative post! thanks!

as said...

I am doing basically the same thing. It was good to be reminded about the baking soda for smells. My pail has been stinky lately. :)

Ally said...

Great post. We use a trash can with no liner, the lid keeps a lot of the odors inside. When I go to wash I have to plug my nose, once that lid is off, watch out! =)

Jenney said...

We use wet bags for on the go, but just the mesh laundry bags that are really cheap-o at Wal-Mart or Dollar General inside the trashcan we use as a diaper pail. I just throw all the diapers/mesh bag into the wash (try to dump most of them out first). I also sprinkle baking soda in my trash can and try to rinse it out once a week and if it is a nice sunny day and I am doing laundry I let it sit outside in the sun for awhile.

hosiewosie said...

I think I have the same method, it works great!

Jenn said...

i do pretty much the same thing , except i keep the lid off , it keeps the stink down and i sprinkle BS in the pail as needed :0) i also take the inserts out as i put them in the pail.

Sam-a-lama said...

I'm noy sure what to do just yet but i started with just using a garbage can.

crunchymommashay@yahoo.com said...

i use a bummies tote bag hanging from our door. moving it to a pail soon, though.

AwkwardMoments said...

We also do just about the same! Good to know. Thanks. I just refered two more people to try cloth diapers from your store today! And i am working on a 3rd ;)

Beka said...

Dear Serena,
I remember you saying that you use Oxi-Clean on your cd's, in addition to your regular detergent. how much, what kind, & how often do you use oxi? do you still strip your diapers with 3-4 hot washes once a month or do you just wait until you can smell a little bit of a build up? still trying to find some good ideas :) is this the best place to ask for your advice? or is there an open forum for questions from the cloth dipaer gurus? :) thanks!

Becky said...

I have the garbage can with the wet bag too! I find that at church it is easier for the workers to have a ziploc rather than the wet bag. It's amazing how similar we all work!

Serena Michelle said...

Beca: For direct questions to me you can contact us through our customer service system on Kelly's Closet by going here: http://www.kellyscloset.com/crm.asp?action=add or simply click the "Contact Us" tab at the top of our homepage.

As for the OxiClean - I use 1 Tablespoon with the cold water wash (every time). I've only ever had to strip my diapers twice that I can recall - so as long as you're following a great routine and using the right detergent then it's not likely you will need to strip very often. Stinky diapers are usually from bacteria - so if you can sun the diapers/inserts for as long as possible then this will do wonders for warding off the stinkies (however, I'd like to note I no longer use micro-terry fiber anymore and stick with cotton prefolds, hemp or bamboo - with micro-terry you will most likely have to do a monthly bleaching session).

Hot water wash stripping is primarily recommended for detergent buildup issues... again, so long as you're washing properly and using the right amounts and detergents then it will be few and far between for the stripping sessions (at least in my experience).

I hope this helps!
-Serena

Carol said...

Thanks for the tip about the baking soda. Otherwise, my system is almost exactly the same as yours.

Shanaka @ Mama Bee Does said...

We do the same thing with the trash can. Great post!

AScott said...

I am using a trash bin from walmart. It doesn't have a step pedal, but it has a sliding lid that is really great!

Kelly said...

I used to use a diaper pail with a lg. Bummis liner but I have now gone to the Fuzzi Bunz door hanging diaper bag which I keep in the kids bathroom. I switched for two reasons 1-my toddler was finding the diaper a little too interesting. 2- I know have a BG sprayer and after cleaning dirty diapers it is easier to but the rinsed diaper in the hanging bag in the bathroom than carry it back to the kids room

Sammy said...

I use a flip-top lid dry pail lined with a pail liner. I toss everything in there - pockets with inserts removed immediately, dirty wipes (I don't rinse these!), dipes that have taken a swish in the potty, overnight dipes - really everything! I keep the lid closed all the time and wash dipes every other morning. In regular Tide liquid. No stains or stinkies!

Valerie said...

I have been using just a metal trash can with a lid, but I have since switched to using the Swaddlebees Laundry Bag/Pail Liner and I love it. I just hang it up and it is working great. I haven't been pulling the inserts out before the wash, but I think I will do that. I am going to have to order a second pail liner in the near future!! Thanks for another great post!

Shelly said...

I have a similar routine except with a hanging pail. Since baby is almost exclusively bf, this works. I simply hang it from the changing table. When he is eating more solids, we will probably use a flip top trash can that I can get at Wal-Mart.

Sara in Seattle said...

I use a flip top trash can with a swaddlebees pail liner. It's working well for us!

Katie said...

I use the hanging wet bag that Planet Wise makes. It is zippered and it keeps in the odor very well. I wash it when I wash the diapers and I have another wet bag that I use while the planet wise is drying!

The Howard Bunch said...

Thank you so much for this blog! I was wondering what to do. :-)

Jenny and Gary said...

I use a swaddlebees/blueberry wetbag with elastic drawstring hanging off the change table, I too pull out inserts and loosely fold in the cover. For poopy diapers I have a bucket I spray everything into using our massage shower head which is on a hose extension, I dump the water into the toilet then peg to the bucket to drain. On wash days I collect them from the bathroom. I air dry the covers after washing, it keeps the pul slick so the insert doesn't stick when I stuff them.

Slee said...

We've been using an empty catliter bucket as a pail. I'm lazy though and find I do my unstuffing and rinsing about 6 at a time ecause my back gives me so much trouble! I should be putting baking soda in the bottom of the pail, but we've not yet had any trouble with smell because snapdragon is EBF.

Heather S said...

Well we only have 4 diapers right now. and Since Wash Day is Saturday I start her wearing them Friday and then Saturday morning I just put a plastic grocery bag on the back of the door. Since I wash other laundry first the Detergent smells up the laundry room and I don't have to smell the diapers. They really don't stink anyway! The plastic bag absorbs the odors.
I know this isn't the most eco-friendly but I collected grocery bags a long time ago. Now I have switched to Reusable bags but I'm using these up until they're gone. Then I will invest in a Wetbag!! Thanks for sharing!
Oh and I still disposable while we're out. Since I only have a few!