- Baby Dry vs Swaddlers Diapers: Parent’s Guide - May 26, 2022
- The Ultimate Guide to the Best C-Section Scar Creams - May 20, 2022
- Solly vs Moby Baby Wrap: Which Baby Wrap Is Best? - May 20, 2022
The Diaper Genie is synonymous with soiled diapers. It’s like the Kleenex or Band-Aid brand. Some parents just use the popular brand to refer to any old diaper pails, but the truth is, there are a lot of other options besides the Diaper Genie, however reliable it may be. But what are the best Diaper Genie alternatives?
Dirty diapers are a given when it comes to babies and no one wants to toss soiled diapers with the kitchen trashcan or take each individual dirty diaper out to the garbage can every time you change a baby diaper. And until your baby has been potty trained, it’s just not realistic, but luckily, there are some solid options to choose from.
There are options that are more practical and others that have a modern and sleek look sure to blend in well with any home. Overall, you’re bound to find that one of these work for your family’s needs. Once you are sure about the design style you’re after, you can then decide how big or small you need the diaper pail to be.
There are a LOT of diaper pail options out there, but we LOVE our Munchkin Step. Easy to to use (with a step that actually works) and the best odor prevention system we've tested. That's why it's our TOP PICK.
While some parents might prefer a large capacity diaper pail, ones that hold fewer diapers are also a little more compact and easy to place in almost any room in the house. There are certainly benefits to every variation of the diaper pail and one of these is sure to be perfect for your family’s specific needs.
Contents
1. Munchkin Step Diaper Pail
A lot of parents already trust the Munchkin brand, so the Munchkin Step Diaper Pail is another clear option as an alternative to the Diaper Genie. In fact, it was named as the Best Diaper Pail by The Bump in 2017.
In case the odor is your biggest worry, it has a lavender scent universal refill system that can be used with Arm & Hammer Snap, Seal, & Toss Bags (similar to diaper genie bags) and the Arm & Hammer Refill Rings too. The baking soda odor-absorbing puck actually connects to the inside of the flip-top lid so that every time you open the diaper pail, you aren’t hit with a wave of foul-smelling old soiled diapers.
It also has an easy to use pedal that you simply step on to make the pail open, so it’s another hands-free option to help to make diaper changes a little easier on parents and caregivers. The pail also has a self-sealing system that automatically closes tight every time you close the lid, so the pail has taken almost any precaution you can think of to make it as user-friendly and odor-free as possible.
- Capacity: The diaper pail can hold up to 30 soiled diapers.
- Where To Buy: You can buy it on the manufacturer’s website here.
- The Best Part: It is as odor-free as you will find with almost any other diaper pail.
- The Not So Great: Some parents might not love that it holds just 30 dirty diapers.
- Has This Item Been Recalled? There are no recent or current recalls on the Munchkin Step Diaper Pail.
There are a LOT of diaper pail options out there, but we LOVE our Munchkin Step. Easy to to use (with a step that actually works) and the best odor prevention system we've tested. That's why it's our TOP PICK.
2.Dekor Plus Hands-Free Diaper Pail
To some parents, nothing says diaper pail quite like the Diaper Genie itself, but the Dekor Plus Hands-Free Diaper Pail is certainly an acceptable alternative. It comes in the Mini, Classic, and Plus additions, which each hold up to 25, 45, and 60 poopy diapers respectively (It depends on the size diapers you use, it’s gonna be more if it’s newborn diapers).
Depending on your needs or if you only have room in your home for a smaller version, these varying sizes can definitely come in handy.
The Dekor Plus, however, is probably the best selling one of the three thanks to its capacity and ability to even hold cloth diapers if you prefer to keep them in the pail before emptying them in the washer. Once your baby is completely done with diapers, you can even use the pail as a trashcan.
All you have to do is pop out the diaper trap door and it can be used for years after your baby has grown out of diapers. You can also choose between white, gray, milk, pink, and blue colors to match your home’s decor or your baby’s room. And just in case the smell is your main concern, the Dekor pail has a triple odor control system to keep the odor locked in, even when you open the pail to drop another soiled diaper in it.
- Capacity: The three separate sizes each hold 25, 45, or 60 soiled diapers.
- Where To Buy: You can find them on Amazon or in-store at Buy Buy Baby.
- The Best Part: The convenient foot pedal makes the diaper pail completely hands-free, which can be especially beneficial during middle of the night diaper changes.
- The Not So Great: Although the Plus has a large capacity, it might need to be emptied after less than two days when filled with wipes and cloth diapers.
- Has This Item Been Recalled? There are no recent or current recalls on the Dekor Plus Hands-Free Diaper Pail.
3. Safety 1st Easy Saver Diaper Pail
One of the things most parents and caregivers are sure to love about the Safety 1st Easy Saver Diaper Pail is probably the fact that you can use almost any plastic bag with it. So there’s no worrying about finding the right refill bags or spending extra money on special bags to fit in the top of the pail when you run out of space.
Unfortunately, unlike some other pails, the Safety 1st Easy Saver doesn’t have a foot pedal to step on. Instead, you will have to press the top for it to pop open, and then you drop soiled diapers in it. So that does make it a one-handed use diaper pail at least and that does add to some of the convenience parents expect with diaper pails.
It comes with a deodorizer disc to keep the nasty scents at bay and you can purchase refills to keep the odors to a minimum. The diaper disposal system, in general, is also as simple as can be with no complicated twisting or tearing to put diapers in it or refill the bags.
It might not come with some of the conveniences of other diaper pails, but it does have its little features that some parents will still find plenty useful.
- Capacity: It can hold up to 50 dirty diapers at once.
- Where To Buy: You can find it on Amazon or in-store at Walmart.
- The Best Part: You can use standard kitchen trash bags as refills, which can make refilling the diaper bag a lot easier with this diaper pail.
- The Not So Great: Larger folded diapers might have to be shoved or smashed in to fit in the top of the diaper pail.
- Has This Item Been Recalled?: There are no recent or current recalls on the Safety 1st Easy Saver Diaper Pail.
4. Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe
The Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe is another easy-to-use lightweight diaper pail option that is plenty comparable to the Diaper Genie. However, it doesn’t have a foot pedal, so that does make it a little trickier to use the diaper pail when depositing soiled diapers.
Still, if the Diaper Genie is something you have tried and don’t love, this is a solid alternative option. It does require you to move the handle to get the top to open to deposit diapers inside, but once it’s closed again, the diaper pail is virtually odor-free. You can use a standard trash bag instead of actual bag refills when the time comes and for some parents, it’s even easier than stepping down on a pedal.
As we all know, sometimes those diaper pail pedals can get stuck or won’t allow the top to budge open if the diaper bag is getting full. With the Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe, you actually avoid all of the chances of that, so it’s a win-win.
- Capacity: The pail can hold up to 30 diapers.
- Where To Buy: You can buy it on Amazon or in-store at Walmart.
- The Best Part: It’s relatively easy and lightweight to move around the house even with a full bag.
- The Not So Great: Because of the somewhat limited capacity, you will have to take out the bag every two days or even less in some cases.
- Has This Item Been Recalled?: There are no recent or current recalls on the Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe.
5. Bubula Steel Diaper Pail
The Bubula Steel Diaper Pail might be a tad more pricey than some other similar ones, but there are a few key reasons for that. The diaper pail; is made from strong and durable steel and aluminum. It can also hold up to 50 diapers, which is a huge get with any diaper pail, including Diaper Genies. That means less bag changing and fewer trips taking the full bag outside to the garbage can.
You do need to pull up on a little tab to release the catch and open the top so it isn’t hands-free, but it’s still fairly easy to use. Plus, when it is time to switch out the liner, you can use virtually any bag inside and it’s easy to change it out.
There’s no special twisting, typing, or looping involved. The overall design of the diaper pail makes it possible to use it as a garbage pail can once you’re finished with using it for soiled diapers, so the longevity really can’t be beaten by most other diaper pails. And since it comes in so many different fun colors, you can likely find just the right one for your home.
- Capacity: It can hold as many as 50 diapers.
- Where To Buy: You can primarily find it on Amazon.
- The Best Part: The Bubula Steel Diaper Pail comes in so many different colors that one is bound to work well with your home or your baby’s nursery.
- The Not So Great: It is a little pricier than most diaper pails.
- Has This Item Been Recalled?: There are no recent or current recalls on the Bubula Steel Diaper Pail.
6. Tommee Tippee Simplee Diaper Pail
If you already trust Tommee Tippee for other baby needs, then you probably won’t have a hard time potentially going with the Tommee Tippee Simplee Diaper Pail in place of the Diaper Genie. The pail’s film as odor-killing properties and an antibacterial agent that also kills germs, which is just an added bonus to the lack of escaping odors you will get with this diaper pail.
The “smart lid” and multi-layer film help contain odors in the diaper pail and help to keep them from escaping when you open it to drop in soiled diapers. All you have to do to use the diaper pail is flip open the lid and drop the diapers in, so while it isn’t a hands-free option, it is still quite easy to use, even for new parents.
Unfortunately, it holds less than 20 diapers at a time, which may not be ideal, but that means it is a more compact, lightweight, and easy-to-move diaper pail and that is a plus on its own.
- Capacity: The diaper pail can hold up to 18 diapers at a time.
- Where To Buy: You can primarily find it on Amazon at this time.
- The Best Part: It really contains the smell properly.
- The Not So Great: Although its compact size might make it perfect for smaller spaces, some parents might not love that it holds just 18 diapers at once.
- Has This Item Been Recalled?: There are no recent or current recalls on the Tommee Tippee Simplee Diaper Pail.
7. Creative Baby Tidy Diaper Pail
It might not have a handy and ever so convenient foot pedal, but the Creative Baby Tidy Diaper Pail does feature an easy one-handed use, which some parents will still find useful. To open the top of the pail, you simply turn the handle, drop the diaper in, and then close it again to lock in the odors.
But in case you feel like there’s a stench in parts of the pail that you can’t stop smelling, parts of the diaper pail are dishwasher safe, which is almost unheard of with most larger capacity diaper pails. So in this case, it sort of pays to be a little on the smaller side.
It has an overall sleek design that is sure to go with nearly any home decor, so there are no loud colors and it’s not overly bulky either.
And when it comes time to switch out the liner, you won’t have to purchase specially made bags. That’s another big plus side that parents don’t realize they need until they have already spent a ton on extra-special diaper pail liners.
- Capacity: It can hold up to 30 diapers.
- Where To Buy: You can find it on the manufacturer’s website and on Amazon.
- The Best Part: Most parents will love that you don’t necessarily need special bags or liners for this diaper pail.
- The Not So Great: The scent doesn’t always seal in every time you close the diaper pail.
- Has This Item Been Recalled?: There are no recent or current recalls on the Creative Baby Tidy Diaper Pail.
8. Ubbi Odor Locking Diaper Pail
It doesn’t have a foot pedal, which could make it less than desirable for some families. But it does have a handy slide open top to drop in diapers and then slide right closed and lock in the odors. The pail is made of durable steel and the sliding top door has a child safety lock so your little one won’t be able to pull it open and drop toys inside of it.
Overall, it’s plenty easy to open, close, clean, and refill with bags. Speaking of which, you can use essentially any bags as refills inside of the diaper pail. You can even choose from a variety of colors to match your home or nursery decor.
- Capacity: It can hold as many as 55 soiled diapers at once.
- Where To Buy: You can buy it on the manufacturer’s website and on Amazon or in-store at Buy Buy Baby.
- The Best Part: It can hold more diapers than almost any other diaper pail.
- The Not So Great: It is a little on the pricier side for some families.
- Has This Item Been Recalled?: There are no recent or current recalls on the Ubbi Odor Locking Diaper Pail.
No special bags, refills or inserts are required with the Ubbi diaper pail saving time and money unlike other pail on the market.holds up to 55 diapers.
FAQ’s About Diaper Pails
Do I really need a diaper pail?
There isn’t really a right answer for this question because some parents prefer to throw each diaper separately together with the trash and take it out every day, while other parents prefer to keep a diaper pail in their nurseries and take it out when they have more time. All in all, diaper pails are really useful and will definitely keep the odor inside while leaving the room fresh.
How to make a diaper pail not smell?
Usually, diaper pails have a special system that locks the odors from the soiled diapers and wipes inside, however, if you just want to be extra secure, you can place baking soda on the bottom of the pail, and you can also add some essential oils like lavender or tea tree.
Final Thoughts: Top Alternatives to Diaper Genie
The classic Diaper Genie might be the preferred diaper pail for some parents, but that might be because they don’t know about the many other options available.
Clearly, there is a handful of top of the line diaper pails from different brands that offer great alternatives to the Diaper Genie, including our top pick from Munchkin here.
Maybe you will still decide to go with the tried and true option, and that’s totally fine, but at least you have some great options.
There are a LOT of diaper pail options out there, but we LOVE our Munchkin Step. Easy to to use (with a step that actually works) and the best odor prevention system we've tested. That's why it's our TOP PICK.