Diapers Stink

I walked into Family A’s condo and was immediately hit with the stench of steaming poo.  I could’ve cut the thickness of the stink with a knife.  The entire apartment wreaked of simmering excrement.  “What is that smell?” I asked.  I walked around the apartment sniffing for the source, and found the diaper pail in the utility closet.  They were storing their dirty diapers next to the furnace.  It was sadly hilarious that the family was desensitized to the stench, and probably burned off all their nose hairs in the process.  After that incident they kept the diapers out on the deck.  Whether or not you boil your baby’s poo, diapers stink.  Storing human waste in a trashcan, no matter how airtight, is going to drive your olfactory glands crazy.  There is no magic diaper pail that will save you from the stink – not even the Diaper Genie.    

We keep our diaper pail in the obvious place - next to the changing table in Henry’s room.  If you’re really sensitive, or if baby had a particularly stinky poo, the best thing to do is to change your diaper pail every day or every other day.  This explains the special bags required for the Diaper Dekor and the Diaper Genie.  The specialty bags cut away so that you can throw out the diapers as often as you choose without having to change the entire bag.  The Diaper Champ doesn’t require specialty bags, but throwing away a tall garbage bag every day doesn’t sit well with me.  It’s a lose lose situation when it comes to disposable diapers.   

Another good tool is putting a dryer sheet in the bag with the dirty diapers.  I double up by placing a second dryer sheet outside the bag in the can. 

Although baby’s diapers won’t stink up your entire house until he or she starts solid foods (4-6 months), little babies do “go” more often, so you’ll get used to taking the diapers out regularly. 

If it isn’t already, poo will soon be a big part of your life.  You will be charting poos, checking the color, feeling the texture (if it’s hard, baby is constipated and needs a softener like prunes), wiping poo, washing poo, sniffing poo, watching poo, etc.  Don’t just tolerate it.  Embrace it.  For example, today we discovered Henry’s poo to have 2 distinct colors – bright orange and speckled green and black.  Amazing.