Thursday, April 3, 2014

Live & Learn -- Diaper Pails

I apologize, but today's Live & Learn lesson isn't going to be very entertaining to those of you who aren't new parents. But I gotta be real about my new lifestyle, and the activities and decisions that now consume my days.

A little while back Stew and I were at Babies R Us trying to choose a diaper pail. Yes, our weekends used to consist of ski trips and drunken shenanigans. Now they include shopping for poop receptacles. WHO ARE WE??

Anyhow, I thought I might as well share what we learned.

We were given the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail as a shower gift, but since it wasn't what I remembered registering for, I decided to take it in and possibly exchange it. I knew we didn't want a Diaper Genie because I had heard the custom bag refills were expensive, so we crossed that one off the list right away. Stew and I played with the rest of the diaper pails for a while and ultimately decided that we liked the Diaper Dekor, because it seemed easy to use and the refill bags weren't that expensive. We took it to the baby customer service section for some advice to validate our decision.

Every once in a while I encounter a really awesome, honest sales person, and this happened to be one of those days. The two women at the counter looked around conspiratorially and then proceeded to tell us that not only was the Safety 1st Easy Saver Diaper Pail the least expensive one out there, but it is also the best. It takes regular trash bags so you don't have to buy or specialty order them. They also admitted that the bags for the Diaper Dekor often go out of stock and don't come back for weeks... not a good situation when you're going through 10-14 diapers a day.

Ironically, the Safety 1st was the original diaper pail I had registered for, at the recommendation of a friend. It wasn't in stock at the store that day, so I ordered it online and it came in just a couple days. So now we're all set in the dirty diaper department.


That being said, I've also heard great things about the Baby Trend Diaper Champ, which also takes regular diaper bags and is pretty affordable.

Here is the most important lesson we learned that day:

Don't rely on price points or advertisements when shopping for a diaper pail. Personal recommendations are the way to go, and the most expensive option isn't always the best one.
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11 comments :

  1. Ok then don't buy any of the above! I heard safety first doesn't last and smells come out!!! But what I will tell you to buy is throne I did!! The Ubbi diaper pail!!! Uses regular kitchen catchers, no extras and no smells. Super simple to use!! It costs a bit more, but you save in the end!

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  2. Every single piece of baby/kid equipment you buy is a loooong trip to Babies/Kids R Us, let me tell ya ;). From strollers to high chairs to car seats. Oy. But hey, at least it's some sort of shopping ;). As for diaper pails, we were given the Diaper Genie and don't mind buying the refills. Thank you Amazon Mom Prime :). You should get that, if don't already. After paying for Prime (or getting a free trial), sign up for Amazon Mom (free) and get 20% off diapers and wipes (after the 5% discount using Subscribe & Save).

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  3. I am totally going to reference all this posts when I find myself expecting a little one. Personal recommendations always seem to be the better advice to follow, especially for this kind of stuff! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. OMG! This is awesome! We are thinking about getting a diaper pail now that Weston's poops stink (oh the joy of food poops), and I have been at a loss for which one to get!

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  5. Girlfriend..I could NOT agree more with you. Honestly, We have the Diaper Dekor and it's a pain. I'll be honest and tell you the only reason I put it on my registry instead of the diaper genie was because of the price point. More money doesn't always equal better and I'm learning that now. I don't even use it at all actually.. kinda sad really. I don't keep stinky diapers in the house. I always take them outside to the trash or I just feel like I smell poop for the whole day. Not realistic at 3am in the morning though, I am aware:)

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  6. I'm obviously not a momma yet- but I DO appreciate an honest salesperson. Don't you wish more people were like that?!

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  7. wowser. I have never heard of these ... probably because I don't have kids. My sister has three kids and she used both cloth nappies and disposable nappies and I'm pretty sure those disposable nappies went straight into the regular outside bin. Live & Learn (friday) indeed! :)

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    Replies
    1. Don't worry Bek, I certainly didn't spend my time thinking about dirty diapers before I got pregnant! ;-)

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  8. Hopefully they'll still have that out when we start having kids. The diaper genie used to be THE thing. Sounds like someone finally broke into the market with a better, more cost-effective product!

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  9. This is great. I have the diaper genie and we actually get the Target Brand refills. They are less expensive and fit perfectly with our pail. Our pail and first 6 refills were gifted at our baby shower. But after using the Target brand I can't say there is much of a difference!

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  10. Obviously not a parent yet, but I'm so there with you on the honest sales person bit. It's so refreshing haha

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