Customer Reviews

Munchkin Arm and Hammer Diaper Pail, White

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I have owned the Diaper Genie II and the Diaper Champ, both of which have some flaws-- the Diaper Genie is excellent about odors, but it's pretty gross to try to squish down a full diaper, and it's hard to tell when a bag is getting full (or, sometimes, when a refill is running out). Diaper Champ is much better about the gross-out factor (you don't have to squish anything-- you just put in the diaper and turn over the lid), but it's absolutely useless when it comes to odor.

This one beats both of them, and comes close to perfect.

First, it does seal in the odor. It kind of feels space-age in the way it rotates the "teeth" closed each time you close the lid. As you close it, it sprinkles just a pinch of baking soda toward the middle of the bag. I'm not sure how necessary that is... I have had no trouble with odor in my Diaper Genie anyway... but it can't hurt.

Second, I love the fact that you can open the door in the front and see how full the bag is. I'm also storing an extra bag in the bottom.

The "you have to squish the diaper in" factor, though, is still there. It's a bit better than with the Diaper Genie-- you don't have to squish quite as hard, because the opening is a little more "forgiving" than with the Genie's "I'm-not-giving-more-than-an-inch" feature. But any amount of diaper-squishing is too much to me. I wish the opening were wider when in the "open" position, so the diaper could be tossed in without risking the big nastiness of what might squish out.

I like that I don't have to cut or measure or tie bags. What would make it perfect is if it could widen the opening or somehow incorporate a foot pedal (like Safety 1st).

If I were doing it all over again, though, I'd go with this one first. The price is reasonable and it seems like good quality.

This has a great concept of using baking soda to help eliminate odors from dirty diapers, although the way the bag design is set up I'm not entirely sure that the baking soda is necessary. Once you drop the dirty diaper down into the bag and close the lid the neck of the bag is squeezed shut so it's fairly effective at keeping odors at bay, even when you open the lid to drop another diaper in.

I liked that this diaper pail was slimmer and sleeker than the pail we were currently using, this one takes up a little less space. I like that the lid doesn't easily pop open when little fingers like to play with buttons, however as another reviewer has pointed out this can also be a hindrance when you're trying to get rid of a dirty diaper with one hand, and hold onto a squirming baby with the other hand.

The pail came completely assembled and loaded with a bag, all I had to do was insert the little baking soda cartridge into the top which was super-easy, and replacing the bags is easy although I don't like how easy it is to open the little door at the bottom to access the bag full of diapers. My daughter figured out the little door in no time and I've had to turn that side towards the wall so it's not easily accessible to her. They really should have designed this with a much harder to use latch or something, since it's not something that would need to be opened all the time, only when the bag needs to be changed.

Another feature that I like is that you can refill the little cartridge that holds the baking soda on your own, you don't need to buy a new cartridge every time, so that helps save some money.

As others have mentioned - there is the 'squish' factor when disposing of a dirty diaper - you really have to push a diaper down into the bag to get it to go in. I like this in that my daughter can't easily drop stuff in there or access the stuff that's already in there, but at the same time it can be messy and a bit time consuming when you can't easily just drop a diaper into the pail.

Overall I like the design of the pail, I just think it has room for improvement. Hopefully they'll update it with some new features soon and make it a little safer and more user friendly.

We have 2 kids and over the last three years have owned or used at least 6 diaper pails including this one (ranked in order of preference):

Diaper Genie II Elite Pail System
Diaper Dekor Plus Diaper Disposal System
Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe, Blue
Diaper Genie II Pail System
Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail
Playtex Diaper Genie Twist- Away Pail System

Topline:
- It's an OK diaper pail, but I wouldn't buy another.

Pros:
- The baking soda is an interesting concept for odor control
- It is great that the baking soda cartridge is refillable vs. having to purchase another one.

Cons:
- ** The lower compartment is maddeningly easy for babies/toddlers to open (and apparently fascinating) which allows them access to the plastic film bag underneath. This seems like a serious safety issue. ** (see note below)
- Despite the baking soda, there is no real difference in odor control (plus since the bags are a set size so you can't do a "short bag" if you drop in something really stinky)
- Pail is very short (just above knee level on someone 5' 3") and when you have to push the diaper through you have to bend even farther
- Top hatch is difficult to open with one hand that is also holding a diaper (since the other hand should be holding the baby on the changing table)
- The "squish" factor involved with pushing a wet (or poopy) diaper through the chute is pretty gross and you can't get a diaper in without touching it.
- Base is wider than most (so it takes up more floor space in apartments and/or small nurseries)
- you go through the baking soda very quickly

Aside from my concern with the safety of the accessibility of the lower compartment to small children (maybe I just have a dud pail), I would say this pail is OK. It does the job, but it would not be my first choice. If the baking soda really works I wish Arm & Hammer (or Munchkin) would just sell the refillable dispenser to stick in the top of my regular diaper pails.

UPDATES - 12/21/09 - Munchkin was very quick to respond to my concern regarding the door and said that they had improved the design to make a truly child-proof lock.
10/20/11 - I have received comments from other parents that this door issue is still not resolved.

As diaper pails go this one is pretty nice. It does come fully assembled with the first bag installed right out of the box. Just take the stay fresh seal off of the baking soda and you're in business. Overall it's a diaper pail, but it still has a cool factor to it. Every time you close the lid the bag twists a bit and it dumps in some baking soda. Not sure if it helps, but it is cool. Easy to change the bag and use one handed.

Pros:
Fair on odor control (Short bag life. I may update after we head back to daycare and our at home diaper use drops and the bag life extends...)
Baking soda dispenser is reusable! (It's also easy to clean)
Feels solid and well built.

Cons:
Holds "~25 newborn diapers" per the box... My 18month old over the holidays was doing about 2-3days a bag or about 15 diapers.
The hole to shove the diapers through isn't really sized for the diapers my toddler delivers so there is a push it through factor on some of the ones you really don't want to push. It's part of the odor control gadget but it's still a bit tricky at times.
Lock on the door is NOT kid proof. It's also about the coolest thing ever to my toddler. As is poking at the bag inside and hiding toys under it...

Product improvements I'd suggest for the next version:
MUST improve the lock on the door to make it kid proof
Ability to put refill box in the door would be nice.

This was offered to me for review by the Vine program and I was hesitant since my prior experiences with diaper pails have been negative. Now after 4 days of using it here is my take:

The first factor I look for in a diaper pail is smell containment. The previous pails I had all failed miserably. (Playtex brands) I have a few smelly diapers in there and the bag is nearly full. So far when I open it I do not get any foul odor.

The next important thing I looked for was the hinge durability. Seeing how a diaper pail gets opened and closed an awful lot - especially when you have 2 kids in diapers like me- the hinge has to be able to take a beating. Comparing this to my old playtex pails which had suffered broken hinges I can see the Munchkin is far superior in its build quality.

The refills are blue with a ring at the top. Right under the refill sits this plastic part which keeps the bag sealed up so the smell stays in the bag and doesn't come up to greet you every time you put another diaper in. Upon closing the lid there is a little cup that goes on the bottom of the lid, and it sprinkles baking soda on the top of the now-sealed bag to make sure no smell comes out. The ring at the top of the bag seals when it is full and ready for disposal.

At this price I feel the diaper pail is very competitive and a good quality. We had resorted to using plastic shopping bags for our dirty diapers then they went onto the covered front porch until they were put in our garbage in the shed. It looked really messy! I am grateful for Munchkin and Amazon for offering this product and give it 4 stars for durability, odor control and price.

That said, if you are on a budget and feel you cannot afford a pail just know you can get by without one. I haven't had a real functioning pail in a few years and have 3 kids. So it is a luxury and Munchkin has made it a bit more affordable for moms on a strict budget.

This diaper pail is well made, nicely constructed, durable and well engineered. If you have an infant, you might find yourself replacing the bag refil every 4 or 5 days. That means more trips to the store to look for, and if available at your store, purchase them. Out of necessity, I found a reasonably effective workaround:
1. Prior to disposing of a bag full of dirty diapers, remove the rigid, hinged blue mounting ring that secures the bag to the pail with a pair of scissors.
2. Using a flap tie regular kitchen garbage bag, place it in the bag cavity, pull the flaps of the bag up through the rotating sealing mechanism.
3. Gather the flaps and pull through the blue ring you removed in step 1, wrapping it up over the top and tucking it beneath the ring as you position the ring into it's seat.

You're done!

You may need to work with this technique a bit but, it does work. As an alternative, a piece of crack filling foam or suitably-sized piece of rope cut to the correct length could be used to wedge the flap portion of the bag into the rotating recess beneath the ring seat.

After having a Diaper Genie that I really didn't like (was a PITA to change out bags and was a stinking pain to empty. I was taking the whole Diaper Genie to the trash can and dumping the bag out at the trash can there because I was afraid the bags would burst), I resolved to just using a small trash can with a foot pedal. I changed this often and was ok with the stink because it wasn't worse than the Diaper Genie, but was easier to empty. I saw this diaper pail in the store shortly after it came out and bought it right away to try. I have had it for over a year now and I still love it. The bags that it uses are heavy duty and I have never once worried about them ripping or tearing. When you put the diaper in, just push it past the prongs (or even just most of the way) and close the lid. It will twist the bag slightly to keep the stink in when you add the next diaper. The only time I smell stink from this is if it hasn't been changed in a long time (meaning approximately 2 weeks), and no one who uses disposables full time goes that long without it becoming full (I cloth diaper my child, but a child that I watch for family uses disposables). I know that most people don't like the whole "pushing the diaper all the way through part" but it's really not a big deal, and not messy. I've even been known to put just soiled disposable wipes in there and I just barely push part through, and then when you close the lid, the twisting action pulls the rest of the wipe(s) down. I've used this diaper pail for well over a year and I've only on my third 3 box of refills (as I said, I cloth diaper mainly so my bags don't get emptied really often). The only two things that I don't like about this diaper pail is that when it gets almost full, you can close the lid without feeling like your going to break it. At that point, if I can't empty it right away, I just kind of shake the diaper pail side to side with one hand (other is on the baby on the changing table) and then I'm able to close it (sometimes the diapers don't fill out parts of the bag and just plop on top of each other so by doing this, it makes them fill those spaces). Also the baking soda "sprinkles" is a good idea expcept for the fact that it needs to sprinkle a bit more each time to be effective. I have yet had to refill the baking soda container (and yes I know I should have switched it out with fresh baking soda by now) because it hardly uses any.

I replaced a "high tech," more expensive diaper pail I got for my baby shower with this one after the other one broke. After 1.5 years with the other one, this one is really refreshing ... It was able to control odor well AND even though I hated the idea of having to use special refills (my other one used our regular tall kitchen bags), the bags (which snap shut) make disposal clean and easy. I also like the door that allows you to check how full it is, too. REALLY happy with this purchase!

Okay first I want to say I do not have any children but I do have a puppy and I live in an apartment with a balcony. My puppy was sick when I first adopted her so she couldn't go outside around other dogs or where other dogs had been. I was so grossed out at how the pee pads made my kitchen trash can smell and my home. I then tried giving her a trash can just for her own waste but that was not any
better.

Then someone i work with gave me a great idea buy a diaper genie! So, I went to my local walmart I found one pretty cheap and bought the bags for it. I had it two days and it was horrible and yucky squishing the bags through they always broke against the pressure you have to use to get them through. Then on day two the entire inside fell through to the bottom I was so done at this point. Now I had a broke pail and a bag full of yuck open to the world to deal with.

Next I decided to try this one, OH MY GOD I AM IN LOVE!!!! No more smell or dealing with pushing broken bags through a impossible and unforgiving opening. A double plus is the disposal it's easy as pie there are no smells you just clip it closed and presto! When I have kids I will use this diaper pail it is simply the best!

As my son is getting older and thus stinkier, I got tired of smelling the whoof of stink-air every time I stepped on the pedal of my Diaper Genie II Elite, so I sought out a better solution, which led me to the Arm and Hammer pail. After using it about a week though, I've decided to stick with my Diaper Genie, and here's why:

1. This thing is TINY... It's about 6" shorter than the Diaper Genie. I'm 5' 8" and I have to bend WAY over to use this thing, and I already have an aching back from carrying around my baby and co-sleeping (which nobody tells you is brutal on your back!)

2. It still stinks. I still get that good ol' whoof of poop-air when I put a diaper in. I don't think there's a diaper pail in the world that can truly contain the stink of a baby who is over a year old. (By the way, if you haven't had your baby yet, just disregard any glowing reviews by people whose babies are less than 6 months old... Their poop doesn't really stink until they start solids, and then after a year it goes to a whole new level.)

3. The foot pedal on the Diaper Genie makes using it one-handed. This is important so I can keep one hand on my sweet baby while throwing a diaper away with the other. Yes, you can open the Arm & Hammer pail with one hand, but not with a diaper in that same hand. So all in all it takes two hands to throw the diaper away. Plus you have to bend way down, taking you further away from your baby who is trying to wiggle off the changing table.

Hope this helps. Good luck and God bless! :)