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Sunday, January 11, 2009

Just Say "Ew" to Diaper Pail Systems

Note: On my honor, this is NOT a paid product review.  I am writing about this product because I believe in it so strongly and want others to know about it too.

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I'm on kid #3 now and I like to think that I've learned a few things along the way.  I don't know everything about any one of my kids, of course, but I have learned which baby products aren't worth their weight in salt.

The baby product industry makes a gazillion dollars each year and the majority of the products are terrible for our children and the environment.  Whether its plastic items with phthalates (now banned in California because of the health risks associated) or painted items tainted with lead, our children are being harmed with things we buy for them out of love.  Even the most basic of show of love for our infants - keeping them clean in a fresh diaper - exposes them to chemicals such as Dioxin which can cause a myriad of health problems.

And some baby products are not only bad for the environment and the world in which we are raising our babies, they just don't work.

Diaper pails are a terrific example.  When I was pregnant with my first child, I registered for all of the products I was told I would need and a Diaper Genie was one of them.  Imagine, a product that would hide that stinky diaper smell!  But I was sorely disappointed.  The smell was not hidden.  It was, in fact, amplified.  The smell eventually leached into the plastic body of the Genie so that the smell greeted me each time I open the receptacle.  My husband and I tried everything - we washed out the receptacle, we sprayed it with Lysol and left it outside to air out over night - but nothing worked.  Eventually, we opted to buy another Diaper Genie.  

Huh?.  In hindsight, I'd like to kick myself.  Why would we spend more money on a product that wasn't working?  And when I think of the environmental impact... ugh.  We repeatedly spent approximately $25 for the disposal system and $6 for the plastic bag refills (they hold 30 small diapers, fewer as the child grows and uses larger sized diapers).  We spent $6 every week?  Every month?  For years???  We spent all that money on something that not only wasn't doing what we expected, it was adding plastic bags to landfills.

So then came kid #2 and we knew better.  We didn't even bother with the Genie.  We just put stinky diapers in plastic bags, tied 'em up and then tossed them in the trash.  Ugh again.  More plastic going into a landfill.  Yes, we were reusing the plastic bags but they were still landing in a trash heap for 500 years

But now, with kid #3, I've found the miracle stinky diaper container! I've found "Keep Me Tidy Diaper Sacks" by Classy Kid, Inc.   These seem like plastic bags but they aren't - they are made of a biodegradable polyethylene.  They keep the odor completely inside the bag and I can toss those stinky diapers right into the trash with 1/2 the guilt (still feel guilty for using "disposable" diapers but just haven't gotten past the convenience yet).  And they are super affordable!  It costs approximately $3 for 75 bags!  And each bag fits 3 stinky diapers (at least size 3 and smaller... will let you know how many fit once kid #3 grows into them).  I can use one bag to hold an entire day's dirty diapers.  Miraculous!

Order Classy Kid's Keep Me Tidy Diaper Sacks right now or visit their website to learn more about their environmentally and kid friendly products (I'm going to try the toilet seat covers and place mats next).  You won't be sorry, I promise.  And tell your friends, too.  Let's start a diaper pail revolution after years of being revolted!

3 comments:

danita said...

i don't know. i had the diaper genie and some other contraption with jack and i didn't have a smell problem. maybe your kids' poop just stinks! if i had to do it over again, i'd probably use some of the newer type cloth diapers and sacks like you've advertised, though. not for smell reduction, just for a green revolution!

Andrea Diuguid said...

Haha, good thing I've loved you since high school! And I'm not "advertising," I'm just trying to bring the world over to MY side. :-)

Tara @ Feels Like Home said...

I respectfully disagree with you, Andrea. We got the Diaper Champ before Grace was born, and we've never looked back. It contains the stink very nicely, and my husband empties it once or twice a week.

The best part is that it uses regular old grocery bags. Still plastic, but free. :)

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