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.

Snack Traps: Very Small Money Pits

I've spent much of Ranger's solid food eating career seeking the panacea of a truly spill-proof snack cup. Wouldn't it be wonderful for the little guy to serve up his own snacks in the backseat or the stroller? It's a beautiful dream, but only a dream.

We first tried the much-heralded Snack Trap (~$6 at Babies R Us). Like most of the self-serve snack cups, it has no airtight option. When the snacks remain in the cup for any measure of time they are exposed to air which can cause them to dry out if your child doesn't eat like a starved Wolverine or is choosing to reject your current snack offering. While this is annoying, air exposure surely doesn't represent a death knell for the cup if you're not storing long-term provisions in them (and who would do that?). It does however mean that you can't toss the cup into a backpack unless you want lint in your Cheerios and Cheerio dust everywhere else. Snack Trap offers "Snap-Over Lids" to solve this problem (~$2 NOT including shipping and not sold in most retail stores). That brings you cup cost to over $8. They also offer a "Stay Fresh" airtight lid that replaces the normal slotted lid for $1.50 (plus shipping) but doesn't dispense snacks. Although additional lids are more likely to end up in "storage" under our car seats and sofa, I had Ranger try the Snack Trap. The trap worked well for its first 10 minutes, but after more toddler testing, we found that it's flaps- made of mere Earthly materials- were not immune to bending. Ranger found the slightly altered cup very handy in relasing a wide school of Goldfish Crackers throughout the back of the car. The Snack Trap was promptly retired.

Next up was the Gerber Lil' Snackin' Bowl (I guess there is a short supply of letters at Gerber these days and an overabundance of punctuation) for $5 for a 2 bowl set. While there is Gerber feeding equipment we love, the Lil' Snackin' Bowl failed miserably at snack retention and rapidly became more annoying than it's predecessor. The bowl had the same always-open flaw like the basic Snack Trap, but it had no obvious remedies beyond a Ziplock baggie. Within milliseconds of Ranger receiving the loaded Lil' Snackin' he found the bowl's sweet spot above the the center retaining "tooth" (see top photo) and released its payload everywhere. By flicking his wrist while pressing the bowl open, he could shower his environs with ample snackage: just call him "Johnny Cheerioseed." Two down, one to go.

Our next challenger was the First Year's Take & Toss Perfect Portion Snack Saver (6 cups, 4 portion lids, and 2 storage lids for around $3.50). The packaging claims to allow different portion sizes according to the parent's wishes. Forget it, if your kid is awake, they will choose their own portion size- and it's wide open. This rigid lid seems more effective at containing snacks than the others, but probably because it provides less entertainment value by merely dumping its payload rather than launching it into the stratosphere. The portion lids are not airtight, nor do they lock in any position (including the closed position).

Apparently, a good snack holder is hard to find (possibly impossible). Save your money and accept a certain amount of escapee snack foods around the car, house, and planet. It's really okay, they'll know us by our trail of Cheerios.

Edit: We've since found a snack cup that works for the most part and, with three little kids, we don't leave home without them. Check out our review of a cup that actually works.

photo credit (top photo):
babytoolkit.blogspot.com, 2007. Reproduction allowed with attribution

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