Let’s cut to the chase. You have stinky cloth diapers that have made you consider resorting to disposables (don’t deny it, we both know it’s true). You’ve tried a few things, even those little plastic-y orange disks that are supposed to wedge into the top of your diaper pail but (1) they always fall into Mt. Stinky Diapers and (2) they don’t work well, anyway. Now you are ready to slap a Stick Em onto the diaper pail lid and call it good.
Don’t despair! Help is on the way!
Don’t Resort To Chemical Deodorizers
Clark County, Washington posts the following warning on their recycling webpage:
Diaper Pail Deodorizersmay contain naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Inhalation of naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene vapors may result in headaches, swollen eyes, a stuffy head, anorexia (loss of appetite), nausea, vomiting, and throat and eye irritation. Symptoms from ingestion include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, liver and kidney damage, and a reduction in the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells.
Diaper Pail Deodorizers should be disposed of as a hazardous waste.
(Source Link)
Did you catch the part about how diaper pail deodorizers are “hazardous waste?”
Unlike many cloth diaper users, I do not rinse diapers in the toilet. Ever. If there is a solid poop, I dump it into the toilet. Otherwise, everything goes into the same plastic diaper pail, lined with a washable pail liner.
I use a Wahmies Diaper Pail Liner because it comes with a patch of hemp cloth for holding the essential oil of your choice. I add a few drops of tea tree oil, which has a very strong scent but it isn’t nauseating or overwhelming. Other choices include lemon grass or lavender.
As you can tell by the brand name, these are made by WAHMs (Work At Home Moms).
Homemade Diaper Pail Deodorizer Solutions
1. Place a few drops of the essential oil of your choice on a wash cloth and drop it into your diaper pail liner (You are using a liner, aren’t you? Because if you are using a pail without a liner, you’d better be washing it with hot soapy water regularly or your house will smell like ten cats live there).
2. Mix a few drops of essential with 1/3 cup baking soda. Add this to your diaper pail and throw it in with the wash.
3. Homemade diaper pail disk recipe – visit this website and scroll down for a wonderful recipe for a disk that should fit in that spot on your diaper pail for deodorant disks.
Natural Diaper Pail Deodorizers For Sale
1. Pail Powder – Shake a ½ oz of this powder into your diaper pail after each wash and throw in with your diaper wash as a laundry booster. It comes is several different scents and is made by a WAHM. ½ ounce samples are available for only $.50.
2. Smelleze Granules – According to the product description, this environmentally friendly deodorizer “was developed to eliminate tough diaper pail odors from urine and feces on contact while controlling flies.” Controls flies? Is that a common problem? If it is, you should be washing your diapers MUCH more frequently. Nevertheless, this looks like a good product and supposedly no fossil fuels are used in its production. Huzzah!
3. Nature’s Baby Organic Deodorizer Spray – This contains enzymes that destroy odor-causing bacteria. The website does not specify instructions, but I assume you spray the diaper pail directly. You will likely have to use your nose to judge when you need to spray the pail again.
4. Fluff Dust – This is sprinkled over your diapers each time a dirty diaper is added to the pail. The website says it is also useful as a carpet freshener, cat litter deodorizer, or even as a gentle scrub for housecleaning.
5. Diaper Buddies – These are little spheres of natural laundry boosters that are added to your diaper pail for use as deodorizers and then thrown in with the wash.
6. Bum Genius Odor Remover – This is sprayed directly onto the stinky cloth diaper or diaper cover. It does not contain enzymes that actually eat waste, but is instead designed to control the bacteria that cause odor.
7. Eco-Me Diaper Pail Deodorizer – This is actually a kit – you add the baking soda and they provide the jar, scoop and essential oil blend.
8. The Natural Mothering Shop’s Diaper Pail Deodorizer – this is similar to other products that are made primarily of bing soda and essential oils – however, this one comes with an awesome shaker.
