Average Cost: $30-49
Official URL: playtex.com
Rating:

When my son was born, I was breastfeeding so my needs for a diaper pail were not very advanced. I purchased a simple model that relied on a deodorizing disc located in the lid. Shortly after my son started solids I realized that was no longer cutting it and so began my long journey into finding a diaper pail that worked.

I tried quite a few different diaper pails. Some required brute force to push a diaper through a rubberized opening or clamp. Fully loaded diapers threatened to explode under the pressure, and repeat use stretched the rubberized openings making them useless for odor retention.

The release of the Diaper Genie II Elite excited me. It promised a simple “step on pedal, drop diaper in, release” operation that I missed from my original simple diaper pail, but with odor-free operation. And it delivers on its promises with very few downsides.

FEATURES

The Diaper Genie II Elite offers step-and-drop operation, an interior that has antimicrobal technology built into the plastic, and the refills block oxygen and moisture to inhibit bacterial growth. A handy cutter is built into the diaper pail to allow you to quickly cut off the refill to change bags without releasing odor.

AESTHETIC

This diaper pail is 21.5″ high and 10.5″ in diameter. It tapers toward the top and bottom which gives it an attractive modern silhouette. It is made of all white plastic. The “Diaper Genie II Elite” logo is embossed on the lid, and is on the face of the gray button on the front. It’s tall and narrow so it fits well in a corner or next to the diaper changing station.

Is the aesthetic a little too drab for your tastes? Visit BabySmells.com, a fun promotional site for the Diaper Genie II Elite and get some of their great free decorative decals that show vehicles (train, rocket, sub, sailboat, etc.), animals (turtle, bird, elephant, etc.) or pretty flowers. (You can also win $5,000… But more on that later in this review.)

HOW IT WORKS

To use the Diaper Genie II Elite you step on the foot pedal and the lid will open and the top of the clamp will open while the bottom of the clamp closes. When you release the pedal the top of the clamp closes and the bottom of the clamp opens, dropping the diaper into the film inside of the pail and sealing off any air from escaping from the diaper pail. Sort of imagine it as a low-tech airlock for diapers.

Part of the magic, of course, is the airlock. The other part of the magic is the “refill film”. It looks like simple thin blue plastic, but apparently the refills are actually comprised of five layers that block both oxygen and moisture which inhibits bacterial growth and which holds the smell in. Unlike with standard plastic garbage bags where the odor of the garbage seeps out of the bags and into the can itself over time, the smell does not seem to permeate the film into the Diaper Genie itself.

Completing the magic is the design of the Diaper Genie. The white plastic body has Ultra-Fresh Antimicrobial Protection. Not that that really matters because the diapers don’t touch any part of the pail. The refill sits at the top of the pail just under the trap door, and threads down through the clamps into the pail itself. The dirty diaper only ever touches the refill, and since the refill is constantly being replaced, the whole system stays clean.

Even when you empty the diaper pail very little odor escapes. The refill system is really rather awesome. Basically you pull the film out of the canister until it’s approximately the length of the diaper pail, and then you tie a knot at the bottom. I love this because it allows me to easily empty the diaper pail every day if I want to, without wasting any plastic because each bag is created as you tie it off. When the pail is full you open it up by pressing the button at the center and swinging the top of the diaper pail up and back on the hinge. The film stays mostly sealed during this process and keeps you from gagging. Once the diaper pail is open, simply grab the film just above the diapers, pull it through the cutter and knot the top of the full bag and the bottom of the new bag. Close the diaper genie back up and it’s ready to use again. It takes about 1-2 minutes to empty the diaper pail and have a fresh bag ready to use.

ASSEMBLY

The diaper genie is quick to assemble, you simply fit the hinge together following the instructions. Once it is assembled you rip off the ring of the refill pack, pull the leading edge of the refill out and down to approximately the length of the diaper pail (pull it slightly longer to go for a longer time without emptying.) and then tie it in a knot at the bottom and swing the top of the pail up into its locked position making sure that the button at the center pops out. Initial assembly and loading of the refill pack takes about 5-10 minutes. (Slightly longer if you have your husband help.)

REFILLS

How easy is it to find refills? The Diaper Genie is widely popular, and this model uses the standard “Diaper Genie II” refills. I have yet to walk into any drugstore, supermarket or even bodega that stocks diaper supplies that doesn’t sell the refills for this diaper disposal system.

There are only two problems with this refill system:

One problem is that refills cost between $5 and $9 per package when purchased online, and store prices vary widely as well. Each refill lasts about two to three weeks of constant use, and the pail needs to be emptied every 2-3 days with a toddler. (Approximately 18-24 size 5 diapers or 30 newborn diapers) The refill pack holds an average of 180 newborn diapers and that seems to translate to about 80-100 toddler sized diapers depending on how full they are. $5 every few weeks isn’t a big expense but it is more expensive than regular garbage bags in a similar size. In my opinion the low odor of this diaper pail is well worth the slight increase in cost.

The second problem and the one that bothers me a bit more is that the refill film is not attached to the refill canister in any way. This is fine if you use up the film at a perfect one can-length at a time. But if you use slightly more or less you’ll find that when you go to empty the diaper pail and pull the refill down to create a new bag… You pull the refill right out of its canister and there is no way to put it back. Very little is more frustrating than holding almost a full bag’s length in your hand with no ability to use it. Sadly, super-glue doesn’t work well at all. It would be nice if the refill film were attached somehow so that once the refill is done the final bag is still attached. That way even if only three or four diapers will fit in before the pail needs to be emptied, at least it wouldn’t be wasted.

SAFETY

You’d be surprised how many diaper pails are easy for children and household pets to access, even those which rely on toxic deodorizers. The Diaper Genie II Elite is excellent in terms of safety. It does not use deodorizers, so the most dangerous thing that the child can potentially access is the diapers themselves. The pail uses a foot lever to open and close its lid which is inset so that little fingers cannot pry it open. Even if the child is able to open the pail, the two plastic flaps come together when the lid is open, making it very difficult for a child or adult to get their hands into the compartment that holds the diapers. The distance from the top of the pail to the bottom of the flaps is longer than the reach of most children making it even less likely that they can get into the pail. At first I was worried that if my son was able to get his hand into the flaps that they would pose an entrapment risk, but the two flaps that make up the clamp are easy to push apart and pose no danger to hands.

WISHLIST

There are only two things that I’d like to see in the future. One- I’d love to see the refills attach to the canister, as I mentioned before. I’d also love to see a biodegradable option… Although that’s sort of silly to wish for seeing as disposable diapers don’t biodegrade to begin with, and nothing biodegrades in a landfill anyway due to how quickly things are piled up. Ahh well.

FUN EXTRAS

Playtex has launched BabySmells.com as a fun promotion for the Diaper Genie II Elite. Check it out. You can submit your stinkiest story for a chance to win $5,000 or your very own Diaper Genie II Elite. You can also learn about your baby’s sense of smell, and hear from a family that has experienced more than their fair share of the unique stinkiness of babyhood.

BOTTOM LINE

This diaper pail does an excellent job of keeping diaper odor manageable. The Diaper Genie II Elite is well-designed and is a great evolution of the original Diaper Genie and Diaper Genie II disposal systems. It’s pet and kid-proof and easy to use as well. My husband said it best: Why didn’t we buy this years ago…? Well.. Honey, we didn’t have kids years ago.