True Diaper Pail Confessions: A New Champ Enters the Arena

I guess we should confess; our friend recently spied this box in our entryway.Well, good readers, lest we deceive you any longer, while our DIY diaper pail succeeded in capturing the stink, it was summarily defeated by the squadrons of drain flies zooming through our house.

The metal lid was too flexible to maintain a perfect seal, so the drain flies had a heyday.

We broke down and bought the "New and Improved" Diaper Champ. It's wider throat and the absence of neoprene seals are more promising than the last version, but we remain rather suspect about its ability to resist odors in the long run.


We'll keep you posted.

Mastering the Stink: Our DIY Diaper Pail

Earlier this year, our once-revived Diaper Champ went down for the final count. Though replacing the seals extended the useful life of the Champ, there was nothing we could to do to stop the stink from moving into the porous plastic parts.

The Diaper Champ perpetually smelled like a convention of port-a-potties on a hot day. I didn't want to deal with this reality, but when I opened it one day to find a dozen staggering drain flies circling inside, I knew its useful life was over. I bagged the Champ, diapers, drain flies, and all. When Jim dropped it in the compactor at our local waste disposal station, he ran back to the car.

"Hurry, they've firing up the compactor!"

I started the engine just in time to hear the Champ's plastic sides blow out, popping the bag.

"Mosquitos!" Ranger proclaimed as a cloud of drain flies blackened out the sky over the facility. With slow deliberation, I drove nonchalantly away from the creeping smell.

We talked about buying another Diaper Champ to see if the next generation is indeed improved, but decided such stink free plastic pails to be mere pipe dreams. Plus, there's not much sustainability in recycling one of those giant plastic stinkholes for each child we raise.

So we went with an earlier plan involving a metal pail with a tightly locking lid. We got a small steel can at Lowe's for $13.98 and (this time) a brand new tube of caulk (learning from our previous curing problems).

On the underside of the lid, Jim put two beads of caulk on the handle bases and three concentric circles of caulk around the outer edges. After a few days off-gassing on our porch, the pail was ready for use.

We just use a kitchen trash bag inside of it and twist it closed after each diaper. The inside of the pail reeks, but when closed exudes no olfactory offense to bystanders. It's not a 1-handed disposal, but it's easier than carrying every single diaper downstairs and out to the main trash in the garage and it uses far less plastic than individually bagging each stinkbomb (we really don't like plastic bags) and putting them in indoor trashcans.

After a few weeks of field testing, we've found that the diaper pail doesn't retain a smell when not in use- and the drain fly population seems to be nearing extinction in our household.

How do you keep the air fresh during the diapering years?

Update (9/10/08): The pail kept the stink under control, but couldn't win against the drain flies. We've since purchased a different version of the Diaper Champ.

So, What Happened to the Diaper Valet?

In January 2007, Jim's aunt and I launched an online business selling a compact diaper bag of our own design. We greatly appreciated positive responses from our customers and other blogs.

Well, we just added ourselves to the 50% of new business that close doors in the first year.

We love our product, had great experiences with customers, and had regular (and repeat customers).

The problem is that Monica and I both have a lot of commitments. She's a splendid tailor with a burgeoning custom sewing business, a dedicated grandma who provides a lot of care for two very active grandsons, a great cook, and a sort of cruise director for her siblings, parents, children, and extended family. There's nothing more fun than Halloween hayrides, chili stirred with an oar, and a pumpkin pinata at Mo's farm.

But we're a greedy family. We wanted Mo's time for ourselves. We'd rather have her sitting at the table telling jokes and kicking our butts at Scrabble than working behind her sewing machine extra hours.

We discussed having the bags made by subcontractors, but if you bought one, you know that Mo's quality standards are high. We really couldn't have found a good replacement.

So we have officially shut our web doors. Thanks for your past business and praise for a our product. It really was a lovely experience.

Time Wasting 101: Huggies Stack Up (Despite Appearances to the Contrary)

When I opened a warehouse club box of Huggies Natural Care Wipes, I noticed something was awry. One small bag was flanked by two much taller ones.


Aha! Was corporate greed betting that tired parents wouldn't notice that if one of the three 240 count bags was a little light on wipes? Well, no.

At the next available nap time I sat down and counted the small bag of wipes... Wipes are terrifically time consuming to count if you're going to refold them so they'll fit in the dispenser (behavior expected for anyone cheap enough to count wipes in the first place).

AND THE WIPE COUNT WAS PERFECT. Completely as advertised. Maybe the last bag on the roll is smaller and the machines just stuff them in tighter? Any ideas? Maybe they're just messing with my mind.

Either way Huggies measures up- which is great because their Natural Care wipes are the best.

Consider this a slow news day.

As always, this is the independent opinion of Baby Toolkit (babytoolkit.blogspot.com).

Stink Bomb Update: Diaper Champ May Be Salvagable

Okay, I may have spoken too soon about the Diaper Champ being a hopeless stinking pile of plastic.

I was born with my foot in my mouth, so this is really no big surprise.


Upon Jasi's suggestion, I called the toll-free Baby Trend helpline today (1(800) 328-7363). A friendly associate took my contact information and they are sending me replacement gaskets.

Maybe this poo pail can be saved. It's a free call and the gaskets (yes, they are sending more than one!) are shipped free of charge, so there's really nothing to lose.

Thank you, Jasi!
And thank you, Baby Trend.

So for now, I'm holding my breath- waiting to see if the new gasket will work.

cc stock photo credit: PDR on Flickr

UPDATE 2/6/07
The gaskets have arrived. They sent 3, but it looks like they're all used at one time. Two of them are all foam, o-shaped, and appear to go alongside the handle and the third is the large foam one that sits around the stink hole.

I'll post pictures of our gasket swap-out, but for now the Champ is taking a bleach bath as recommended in the gasket instructions: "Step #3- This is a good time to wash the Diaper Champ with hot soapy water with a little bleach added for disinfection."

The Stink Bomb Went Off: Why Our Diaper Champ Is Retiring

We loved the Diaper Champ. That made its betrayal all the more heartbreaking.

This December, after 16 months of successful smell-proofing, our Diaper Champ started emitting a horrific diaper stench far worse than any single load of diapers. Our son's diet hadn't changed, nor had his diapers. The Champ just quit working (seemingly overnight).

We have always fastidious with the Champ, so we thought it would work effectively forever.

The designers however decided to integrate a cloth and foam gasket in the Champ (it isn't in the newest wide-based version which appears to have no gaskets). It seems to have sucked in the noxious fumes like a sponge and has recently turned from absorption to emission.

BabyGeek's room now smells the ape house at a disreputable zoo. The Champ seems irreparable without ripping out the gasket and replacing it with improvised parts. The only way the Diaper Champ can stay in BabyGeek's room is if we all add gas masks to our daily wardrobe.

We're replacing the Champ with a stench-proof steel trash can. It won't have the easy one-handed function, but the room probably will no longer smell like the circus has come to town.

We hacked the steel can a little to smell-proof it more. We filled the tiny gaps near the handle with silicone caulk and put a ring of caulk around the edge of the lid for extra stench-stopping, but the silicone will not cure (anyone know why?), so we're scraping it all off and repeating the whole process with hot glue.

Hopefully, this will clear the air.

Feb. 1, 2007:
PLEASE READ Update on Diaper Champ situation:
http://babytoolkit.blogspot.com/2007/02/stink-bomb-update-diaper-champ-may-be.html

MoMamas Got a Brand New Bag: How a Diaper Hack Became a Business

Posts have been pretty sporadic here for the past month. It wasn't the holidays slowing me down, it was a hack gone wild.

After a couple months of visiting public changing stations, I knew that the practice of digging through my large diaper bag (I love the Land's End “Do It All” diaper bag and backpack diaper bag) for supplies was not one I wanted to continue. It was hard to figure out where to set the bag, and I would always need something mid-change that wasn't on hand. It was like combined juggling and plate-spinning with a squirming, potentially fluid-erupting infant in the midst.

There had to be a better way, so I went to Google. The solution seemed at hand. I bought a popular envelope-style diaper carrier. It promised to hold four diapers, diaper cream, and a wipes case. Promises, promises. It could hold all those things, but not at the same time. Hunh.

So I stuffed in my wipes case, 2 small diapers (BabyGeek was only in a size 2 when this all happened), and distorted the bag to the point the seams wailed in agony by adding a very necessary tube of original Desitin.

There was one distinct advantage to this system- now Jim could take just the little envelope to the public changing stations when we were out, so the big baby bag no longer needed to visit the Men's Room- or the Men's Room floor.

There were problems though. When ever I wanted any single item out of the bag (with the exception of the diaper cream which is never used alone), the entire bag would have to be unpacked to remove an item. Pull out one diaper and the other one flops out. Want a wipe? I'd have to pull out the diapers too if I wanted to get the case back in the envelope. Still, it beat the alternative.

Some of my friends bought the same carrier after seeing mine. Others, often parents with more than one kid in diapers proclaimed it "useless."

After long talks with my friend (and SuperMom to twins) Veronica of Allie Bug Creations , I had ideas for a truly functional case.

With limited sewing skills, I sat down and made my own diaper carrier. It worked well, but looked like something made by a less-than-talented Brownie Scout. Jim and I both liked its function, so the diaper envelope was set aside and forgotten. Originally, I had thought I would make a few more for friends, but my sewing was such that I couldn't imagine anyone else being willing to take one in public. However, I was proud enough of the design that I could take my mis-sewn hack wherever we went. Jim, whose degree in Art was apparently overwhelmed by his Computer Science pragmatism, loved it too- but for function rather than form.

Jim's Aunt Mo (who started her working career as a professional tailor for an old-school, up-scale department store) saw the little bag when we visiting at her house.

Mo: “Made that yourself?”

Me: “Shows, doesn't it?”

[laughter]

The matter seemed forgotten until Mo retired about two months ago. I get a call:

“Why don't you drop off that bag over here, and I'll see what I can do with it.”

Unwilling to part with my sad prototype (and embarrassed to give her that particularly bad example of my work), I spent a few days making a vastly improved copy. It had all the niceties I couldn't manage on the first bag (like topstitching).

BabyGeek and I dropped it off. A few days later Jim brings home Mo's version of the bag. It was obviously the handiwork of a professional, but she made a few brilliant revisions to the design.

So here it is- my little hack all grown up, and I think it beats the pants off a Ziplock baggie.

It, the Diaper Valet, holds at least 4 big diapers, ointment, and a refillable wipes case all at the same time. The vertically-oriented diaper pocket makes for easy inspection, removal, and refilling of contents. The pocket has a large capacity despite its compact exterior dimensions.

We even added a little pocket with a Velcro closure inside the big diaper pocket to hold smaller items like ID, cash, receipts, credit cards, and even a Leatherman Micra.

We decided to capitalize on the handy and refillable Huggies wipes case's pop-up door. We made the wipes easy to access without removing the case from the bag. The pocket that holds the wipes case can also serve as a pop-up dispenser for standard, unboxed facial tissue (we discovered this by accident).

Sturdy ribbon side loops were added to attach keys, toys, and carabiner clips. A ribbon-topped Velcro closure pulls it all together, neatly accommodating a variety of payloads.

The Diaper Valet is made of quality washable materials and retails for $30.

We can also put handles on the Diaper Valet if you prefer something more purse-like. Long handles are an additional $6.50; short handles are $5.

If you want to learn more about the Diaper Valet or our small company, MoMamas, please visit www.diapervalet.com. I promise that I don't sew a stitch on them.

Otherwise, things will soon be returning to normal around here and posts will resume a more frequent pattern.

Upcoming topics:

• baby bottles & how to organize them
• keeping stroller muck out of your car upholstery
• bibs and other feeding solutions