How To Get The Funky Smells Out of a Diaper Pail

Inevitably, after using a diaper pail for a while, it’s going to start to reek if you’re not taking preventative measures!

What’s worse is that after a while, the smell seems to permeate the diaper pail itself, and it stinks even when it’s empty. You probably thought that buying a diaper pail was going to be the end of your diaper smell worries, but not necessarily so!

You won’t be the first parent to gag their way to taking out the weekly diapers.

If you want to get the smell out of your diaper pail, there are some easy things you can try. There are even some things you can do to make sure the pail doesn’t smell in the first place.

Prevention: The Best Anti-Diaper-Pail-Stink Medicine

If you want your diaper pail to not smell like a sewer, the best thing you can do is be proactive and stop it from getting that way in the first place. Here are some things you can do.

1. Sprinkle some baking soda at the bottom of the diaper pail. Baking soda is a natural deodorizer, and it can absorb a lot of the smells. You can simply dump it out once in a while and replace it.
2. At the end of the day, take the diapers out of the pail and spray the inside of it with an anti-bacterial spray. Lysol will do the trick.
3. Don’t go as long between emptying it. The more you fill a diaper pail, and the longer the diapers sit inside of it, the worse it gets. If you can empty it on a daily basis, that would be ideal.
4. Wash the pail regularly. You can use either hot soap and water, or add some bleach to the mix. Some people use ammonia, but bleach has anti-bacterial properties, so it’s ideal for this.
5. Don’t drop poopy diapers right into the pail. Clean out the mess into the toilet first.
6. Use plastic liners. Some pails can be used with plastic liners, so the diapers will never come into contact with the pail itself. It can help.

Too Late, It’s Already Stinking: Getting the Smell Out

If your diaper pail already reeks, it’s time to take some drastic measures!

You’ll want to empty the pail out and take it outside. You can use chemical cleaners on the pail, but you have to be very careful. If it’s a plastic pail, some harsh chemicals can erode the plastic, so if you’re going to use them, try it out on a very small section first.

You can try the chlorine bleach method! Take it outside with a large bag and a bottle of chlorine. Douse the pail in chlorine and seal it up inside the bag. Let it sit outside for a few days, and with any luck, it will have gotten rid of a lot of the smell.

If you do this, make sure you open it up outside and rinse it out thoroughly with water before you bring it inside. Also be careful not to get the bleach on any grass or plants, because it’s sure to kill them.

Vinegar also works, but you need a lot of it, so this isn’t going to be the cheapest option.