Many of you know that for the past few weeks we have been hard at work testing two different diaper pails as part of the Mom Central Diaper Pail Test Drive. We spent the four weeks alternating between the Diaper Genie II Elite and the Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail and now we’re at the conclusion of the Diaper Pail Test Drive, which means it’s time to make the decision of which pail will become our main diaper disposal system.
I’ve already talked a bit about the benefits of both diaper pails and what we thought half way through the test drive, but after a month of using the pails, I really have formed an attachment to one over the other. The pros and cons our weeks of testing have uncovered are outlined below:
Diaper Genie II Elite Pail Benefits –
*A foot pedal for hands-free opening and closing of the pail. I have always hated that I had to use two hands to dispose of a diaper and love that with the Diaper Genie, I can simply step on the foot pedal and toss the diaper in. Everyone raves about one-hand access, but even better than one hand opening is the fact that it opens with NO HANDS. This means that the diaper pail stays clean and sanitary no matter what kind of mess I’m dealing with.
* Speaking of sanitary, I love that the diaper does not come in contact with the Diaper Pail at all and only touches the disposable refill bags on the inside of the Diaper Genie.
* Larger diaper pail holds more diapers than any other pail we have tried, and disposing of a full bag and getting a new bag ready is fairly easy with their integrated bag cutter and a simple knot. The Diaper Genie refill pack can accommodate a few easy bag changes before you need a whole new refill pack.
* The Diaper Genie II Elite is also the only diaper pail that you can change bags on as often as you'd like without wasting a whole bag. Because of the unique bag refill system that allows you to cut the bag to whatever size you need, it allows you greater flexibility when refilling your pail. I find this especially handy when the pail isn't quite full before garbage day but I would still like to empty it to start fresh for the week, or if we are going to be out of town and I don't want to come home to a half full pail.
* Odor control. Although there have been times when some odor did escape from the Diaper Genie as I stepped on the foot pedal to dispose of a diaper, I would still rate it the best at odor control of the pails I have tried. We even tried the pail in a small powder room for a few days so we could see what it smelled like in confined spaces, and it passed that test with flying colors.
Diaper Genie II Elite Pail Cons –
* The process of changing the diaper pail bags may be easy, but it does require the pail to be open longer than I would ideally like. Even holding my breath and hurrying through the process, I would still rate it as fairly unpleasant scent-wise.
* The Diaper Genie II Elite is bigger than most other pails, which can be a problem if you have a tight space. Fortunately for me, bigger is better when it comes to diaper disposal and I actually like that the pail is taller and hold more.
* The cost of refill packs, which are typically around $6-7, but can be found in bulk packages of 3 for $19.99
Price: $39.99
Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail Benefits –
* The twisting action of the bag closure eliminates the pail being stuck open accidentally when a bag gets too full. When the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail does get full, the twisting action when you close the lid does get harder and louder, which signals to you that it’s time for a refill.
* The bag removal process in which you seal the bag before you even open the pail. This saves you having to be near a full bag when it is open, and is a huge plus for someone who cannot stomach unpleasant smells.
* Again, the diaper does not come in contact with the actual pail at all, and only touches the disposable inner bag.
* I like that the Munchkin Pail has a refillable Arm & Hammer cartridge to help control odors. I also like that the cartridge is unscented and cheap to refill, and doesn’t mask the room with a fake floral scent or something equally repugnant.
Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail Cons –
* The two handed operation of the pail and the fact that you have to push the diaper through to the refill below is something I would definitely like to see modified on future models.
* The odor control on the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail is much lower than the Diaper Genie Elite Pail, but yet is still better than our old diaper disposal system. My pregnant nose still has a hard time being in the room with the Arm & Hammer pail unless the diaper pail has just been emptied, which means there is quite a bit of time that I avoid the nursery.
* I dislike the base of the diaper pail that is far too easy to open with a simple handle. When you add that this easy to open door doesn’t have any sort of seal, the recipe for disaster is huge. I’m not sure if this is what is causing most of the odor emission from the pail that we are experiencing, but it would make sense that an unsealed base would lead to odors.
* The Arm & Hammer refills are also costly at $5.99 for 10 bags and need to be changed more frequently than the Diaper Genie refills. The other issue is that these can’t be found at many of our local stores, which would be a huge bummer if I didn’t plan ahead far enough.
Price: $34.99
Conclusions: As you can see from the massive pro and con list, both diaper pails do have their faults. But, since cleanliness and odor control are top of my list of requirements in a pail, the Diaper Genie II Elite wins hands down. The minor odors caused by the opening of the lid and the changing of the bag are much better than any other diaper disposal system I have tried previously, and something I am definitely willing to live with in exchange for a pail that doesn't emit odors even when closed. When you add in the foot pedal and the hands free disposal, the choice was really quite easy.
Have you tried either Diaper Pail? Do you have any opinions about these two brands?
I am a member of the Mom Central community and I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central, sponsored by Diaper Genie, and received a free Diaper Genie diaper pail and a free Munchkin Arm & Hammer diaper pail to facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received for this review.
