Diaper Pails : Ratings of Sources

Our AssessmentConsumer advocates Denise and Alan Fields have released the eighth edition of their book, Baby Bargains. The 2009 edition offers an informative discussion of diaper pails, rating six brands of diaper disposal systems using a scale of A through F, as well as listing pros and cons, price, and general performance comments for each model. The authors also discuss choosing between diaper pails that require special refills and those that use regular trash bags, providing an analysis of the lifetime cost of refills versus the downsides of traditional trash bags. Six diaper pails are assigned ratings based on owner feedback.

Our AssessmentThis entertaining video review by two dads chooses the best diaper pails based upon one of the most important features of a diaper pail: odor control. These dads test the odor factor of four diaper pails manufactured by Safety 1st, Fisher Price, Cosco and The First Years. Each model is tested for odor control when disposing of a solitary diaper and when changing the bag. The First Years model (a Diaper Champ) exhibits the best odor control, while the Safety 1st diaper pail gives off an odor but not an overwhelming one. The Cosco diaper pail, which is designed like a trash can with no mechanism for separating already discarded diapers from the pail's opening, gets the worst reaction. Not surprisingly, all four diaper pails produce an odor during bag changes.

Our AssessmentRobin Elise Weiss, About.com's guide to pregnancy and birth, ranks five diaper pails. She gives top honors to the Diaper Genie II, noting the various improvements in design over the original Diaper Genie. Other diaper pails mentioned include the Odorless Diaper Pail, Diaper Dekor, Diaper Champ and the Diaper Pail, which is intended for cloth diapers. Weiss notes that the Diaper Champ, a popularly reviewed model, can be used with both cloth and disposable diapers. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Our AssessmentThis informal review by a mom blogger compares two diaper pails, the Diaper Champ from Baby Trend and the now-discontinued Touch Free Diaper Pail by Graco. Based on her personal experience, she recommends the Baby Trend Diaper Champ, noting that it contains odors better, doesn't require any specialty bags that can be wasteful, and rates more highly in ease of use and its capacity to hold more diapers.

Our AssessmentThis simple review lists styles, features and safety concerns without much explanation. Four picks are listed as favorites, although the specific methodology isn't described.

Our AssessmentThis site offers average ratings for many brands of diaper pails based on user reviews. The Diaper Genie II gets the best reviews, receiving an average of four stars out of five among about 20 reviews. Parents say the Diaper Genie II does a great job of masking odors and is easy to use. Getting mixed reviews here is the popular Diaper Champ by Baby Trend, receiving an average of three out of five stars from over 80 parent reviews. Parents note that the model isn't attractive, is rather bulky and doesn't contain odors well. The Odorless Diaper Pail by Safety 1st is also not well liked by parents and caregivers, receiving only 2.5 out of five stars based on more than 90 reviews. The most common complaint is the design of the diaper pail, with parents saying it's not well constructed or durable. A few parents noted that their toddlers were able to open the lid to the unit, which poses a safety concern.

Our AssessmentThis site offers a collection of parent reviews and comments organized by category. Most seem to be outdated, dating back to 1998. The most recent comments are from 2006.