diaper genie vs. diaper champ

[inthesticks]

Has anyone tried the diaper champ pail by baby trend? It looks as good as Diaper Genie, but can use any plastic bag. We're wondering if it's true. Everyone we know who has Diaper Genie absolutely loves it, but not buying their special bags would be nice.

we're also considering switching to cloth when our as-yet-unborn baby gets a little older, so is it worth it to buy a fancy diaper pail?
Thanks!

[ralar]

I LOVE my Diaper Champ. It is much easier to use than the Diaper Genie, and no special refills. My best friend had both the Genie and the Champ, and preferred the Champ.

--Laurie

[jojo2324]

Same here...we have the genie upstairs and the champ downstairs and the champ is so much easier. The genie's weird...you have to shove a diaper halfway through the pail and then twist...a lot to do with a squirming baby on the changing table. And the refills aren't cheap. Go with the champ.

[Melanie]

We have th champ & like it. I recall reading somewhere (amazon? babycenter?) a reviewer saying they used it for cloth, as well.

Mommy to Jonah

[newbelly2002]

Is a special pail really necessary? We're moving 4-6 weeks after baby is born (any day now!!) and would prefer not to invest in a special pail only to store it. Of course, this is our first so maybe we have no idea what we're talking about.

Any suggestions for a more "homegrown" option, or should we just go ahead and buy the "champ"?

Paula

[kathsmom]

Hi, Paula!

Congratulations on your soon to arrive baby!

I had the diaper genie with my DD (6 years old). I had a problem with the room still smelling of diapers with the diaper genie. Plus, when you opened the bottom to take out the "chain" of dirty diapers, I almost needed a gas mask! Things may have changed since we bought ours (about 4 years ago).

My brother and his wife bought a diaper genie with their first child and had to get rid of it, because the plastic it is made of smelled so bad from the diapers and they could not get rid of the odor. So, they bought another, newer one for their 2nd child. Same thing happened with the plastic smelling bad. They just throw the pee-pee diapers in the regular garbage can and use the blue plastic diaper disposal bags (like little garbage bags - I am sure you can get them at BRU, Target,etc.) for the poopy diapers.

I am going to just do what my brother does - throw them in the regular garbage can! If that gets too bad, we may invest in the diaper champ - but I will not get another diaper genie!

Good luck with your move and take care!
Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and baby boy on the way (9/30/02)

[Rachels]

We have the diaper champ and are really happy with it. As far as not wanting to buy a special pail before you move, you probably can get by without it for those early newborn diapers (especially if you're planning to breastfeed-- less smelly). You might want to get some Glad storage bags, the tie kind and not the ziploc kind. Those are good for disposing of smelly diapers. They're what I use when I'm away from home. You just tie them up and toss them in the regular trash.

[MinnieMouse]

Another vote for the Diaper Champ!!!

Dh and I LOVE it...it is sooo easy to use and no refills. We also have the Fisher Price Diaper Pail...and I think the Champ edges it out by just a little bit.... the Champ is a bit easier to use than the FP one.

We had friends over last week that have TWO diaper genies...they were soooo impressed with our Champ :-)!

Christine

[AugBaby]

I'd recommend holding off and not buying a special pail. We were given a Diaper Genie as a shower gift and didn't open it until dd was 9 months old. We used a regular trash can in her bedroom with regular plastic liners at the beginning. Since we were changing diapers ALL the time in those early days, we did empty it every day. At about 2 months we started throwing the diapers into our kitchen garbage with no offending smell in the kitchen. That being said, she is breastfed. We introduced solids at 6 months and were still okay with the smell. At 9 months we couldn't open the Genie fast enough.

We empty it once a week and have had no problems with smell or operating it. However, we don't use it for her wet diapers - figure we'll save money on refills. I know that they now make toddler refills which are meant for when the baby begins solids. We weren't sure about the Genie vs. the Champ either. We haven't tried a Champ, but we liked the idea of having the Genie special bags as an extra barrier against the smell.

[laura_winckler]

I have to admit I'm shocked at the number of people who love their diaper champ. My only exposure to it is in the nursing/changing room at BRU. Boy, does that room stink!!! Obviously, the diaper champ does not keep up with the smell under that kind of use. I started nursing in the car because the odor in there was always so bad. I guess it performs better under normal home use!

If you think you might use cloth, I wouldn't get any diaper pail. Their diapers aren't that smelly in the beginning.

[suzska]

Well, I guess I have to put in a kind word for the Diaper Genie. It's the kind of thing that either you love it or you hate it. We haven't had any problems (with smells) with ours, and we're both pretty sensitive to smells. The really stinky, poopy diapers get bagged in one of those newspaper "sleeves" first (the plastic bags they deliver the paper in) or a grocery bag if we're out of the others, and then placed in the Diaper Genie. Wet diapers just go staight into the Genie. DH empties it more than I do, and he just places a grocery bag over the bottom and flips it over to dump out the "diaper chain." Then that bag gets put into the regular trash bag. I bought some of those Sassy diaper sacks that have a bit of a powder scent at Wal-Mart and used them when we were on vacation. Now I keep a few in a ziploc bag in the diaper bag for when we are away from home.

[luvbeinmama]

I used the genie with DS, and have found it very nice. Never had a problem with the smell when closed. And I usually just open the bottom over the trash can outside, so I don't have to carry the smelly chain. I did just buy the Champ to use with #2. A friend of mine has one and loves it. And I'm tired of spending the money on the genie refills.

[inthesticks]

Wow!! Thank you to everyone that responded - we got a lot of good information. I think we'll go with the Champ and save on the bags. But I also love the tip on putting really smelly diapers in another bag first, and then into the Champ. Wish us luck with all these things to learn. Only a few more weeks!

[jra]

If you have a Dollar Tree store in your area, you can get 100 small bags for diaper disposal for $1. I can't always find them there, but they also carry some for dogs only you get 50 instead of 100.

Jennifer

[newbelly2002]

Thanks for all the advice. We ended up buying a small pail with a lid out of. . . necessity. I went into labor before we had a chance to make a decision one way or another and my parents bought it on their way down to see the baby.

Dante Rosario entered the world on August 1 at 6 lbs. 4 oz after only a short 18 hours of labor(!). And everyone is right, being breastfed--so far--the diapers are not too smelly.

Now the only problem is finding clothes to fit him (all those great 0-3 mth, not to mention 3-6 mth are HUGE, only the preemie stuff seems to fit!)

Thanks to all
no-longer-bellied 2002, Paula

[Rachels]

Congratulations!!! My baby was 6 lbs 1 oz at birth, so I know what you mean about the huge clothing. She is not quite twelve weeks now and has only recently begun fitting into the newborn stuff. There was a middle period when the preemie stuff was too little and the newborn stuff too big. In that interim, we did reasonably well with Baby Gap onesies. I also have had good luck with Miniwear socks, which stay on her feet better than some of the others. At first, she did well with the Carter's booties.

I hope you're resting and enjoying your baby. What a precious time. Good luck!

-Rachel