Once upon a time I was a diaper pail reviewer. I know it’s weird, but it’s an actual thing I could write on a resume one day (you know…super useful stuff in the event that I ever find myself applying to work at Babies R Us or a diaper pail company one of these days…but I digress). When Fern was about 18-months-old, I was asked to do an extensive review of about 10-15 diaper pails for the parenting site I write for (Babble). Our house was FILLED with diaper pails for about a month and I’m pretty sure my husband was about two-seconds from camping out in the backyard from his annoyance level at tripping over diaper pails in the night. Lucky for him, I finished my reviews and gave all but one away to friends (being gifted with random baby gear is one of the perks of being friends with a parenting blogger I suppose). The diaper pail that I ended up keeping wasn’t the most “smell proof” of the bunch, but it was the one that I found to be relatively decent at containing odors, while being the chicest of the bunch. Yes. I just referred to a diaper pail as chic. Pre-motherhood Lauren from four years ago would likely be cringing at this moment, but hey…chic diaper pails are a real thing that exists in my world now. Deal with it.
Before deciding upon my final diaper pail, I waffled back and forth between the “stylish pail” and the “smell-proof pail”. The smell proof pail was the Munchkin Arm & Hammer pail and I seriously loved it. When I wrote my diaper pail review it was hands-down the winner in the “odor elimination” category. It was simple and though not bad looking, wasn’t quite as sleek as the one I finally decided on. Over the two years that I’ve had the other pail I have often wished that I had just stuck with the Munchkin pail, because a smelly nursery is just not worth it. I’ve often thought I should’ve just gone for function over form. BUT…when I was given the opportunity to try out the newly designed Munchkin STEP Diaper Pail I was thrilled, because the new pail was basically the diaper pail of my dreams (Yes. I am a big dreamer you guys). Smell proof AND stylish. What more could a mama ask for?!
The new pail is awesome, because 1) It doesn’t make the room smell like poop, and 2) It looks good mixed in with the decor in Alice’s nursery! Even though Alice isn’t here just yet (my due date is next Friday!), I’ve been putting the diaper pail to the test with Clive’s gross toddler diapers and it smells like a lavender dream in there thanks to the Arm & Hammer lavender baking soda puck inside the lid and the self-sealing bag system. *Insert all the hallelujah-themed emojis*.
I know, I’m such a nerd for getting excited about a diaper pail, but you guys…I have changed at least 8,000 diapers over the past four years and I can tell you that the cloying smell of a stinky diaper pail is a thing that has plagued me time and again (especially with pregnancy nausea…I could gag just thinking about it). The struggle is real. Lavender smell = a million times better than poop smell. It’s science. Basically this diaper pail is my new BFF and I don’t even care who knows it.
Thanks for making life just a little better (and a lot less gross) for us parents Munchkin.
Love,
Lauren
*This post was created in partnership with Munchkin. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you so much for checking out and supporting the companies that I truly love!
So this topic is near and dear to my heart… as this last week, it seems our diaper pail has started to seep offensive smells. We have the diaper genie and it was amazing at first, it did wonders, no smells unless there was an accidental tear in the bag. But constantly now there is the smell of poop wafting through our house.
How did the diaper genie compare to the munchkin on your first trial? I clicked back on the link but had troubles finding the original article. I always thought that a diaper pail would be something that would last for all the potential children I would have… but we are a year and a half in and desperate for a new option!
@Amelia – The Diaper Genie was OK, but I felt like the Munchkin one was slightly better, but the arm & hammer scent puck put it over the edge. I wonder if you could add a puck to your diaper genie? The fact that it sprinkles out baking soda to neutralize the odors though is seriously a game changer. That said, I haven’t used this pail for more than a month so I can’t speak to the longevity of it. I do know people have mentioned your same issue about diaper pails in general over time though. I wonder if the Amazon reviews would give you more info?