Customer Reviews

Playtex Diaper Genie Elite Diaper Disposal Pail

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

This product took into consideration the few criticisms of the diaper genie 2 and improved on it. It has a little pedal you step on to open the top lid, you put your diaper in and release. Truly one handed operation, minimal smell because of the way the internal clasp seals the bag when you step on the pedal, and you never touch the inside bag. Occasionally, if I don't step on the pedal all the way, I get a whif of the internal contents because the clasp doesn't seal all the way...but I figure thats my fault for not doing it correctly. It now has a handle on the front so you can carry it with one hand, and emptying is similar to genie 2. If your a fan of the diaper genie...you'll like this product.

You do still have to buy their refills, and that is the one big drawback. I've seen the price come down to equal that of genie 1 refills, so if your already paying for them, then its not a problem. Our refills last 3 weeks with our toddler's diapers.

I got this at one of my baby showers and my neighbor also lent me her Diaper Champ. At first we used the Genie in the nursery and the Champ in the master bedroom which is where my little girl sleeps most of the time. I especially appreciate the pedal and the height of the container. Here are some reasons why I like it better than the Champ:
1. I can throw individual wet wipes into the Genie without getting the container soiled. This comes in handy with those really, really messy BMs.
2. I don't have to crank a handle back and forth like the Champ. I found this so appealing especially for those late night diaper changes that I eventually moved the diaper Genie to where the baby slept at night.
3. It does a better job of keeping the odor out. I have a really strong sense of smell and I could smell the soiled diapers in the room with the Champ. I used regular garbage bags in the Genie so maybe upgrading to one of those odor preventing garbage bags may have helped.
4. Emptying the Genie requires less manuevering. Ok ... so you have to cut and tie the refill with the Genie but I found that if the garbage bag got too full in the Champ, I had to really work to get it out because the opening at the top is small and a full garbage bag that is bottom heavy doesn't fit through it as well.

Here are some downsides:
1. Buying the special refills is ofcourse a downside but it lasts about 3 weeks with my 2 month old so I think it is worth it for the 'odor-locking' ability of the special refills.
2. I couldn't get the top portion to interlock with the bottom half quite right. I am not sure if this is because of the way I assembled it or the parts are just not made properly. This did not affect the working of the product at all, only the way it looks and my husband never noticed it.

I previously used Diaper Genie I when my five year old was an infant. My complaint with that was having to put my hand into the bag and down into the pail which sometimes meant getting hands dirty. Also, it was short which meant me having to bend down a lot which is not great for the back.

I bought the Diaper Genie Elite for my newborn this year. It was well worth the extra twenty bucks. The design is very simple - much like a foot pedal trash can. It's also taller, which eliminates having to bend down to put in a diaper. All you have to do is press a foot pedal and the top opens up. Drop the diaper in and you're done. I never notice a smell in the room. The only time I smell anything is when I empty it, which is to be expected.

Also, installing the bag and emptying the bag is very, very easy. To empty: Open the pail, use the internal cutter to cut the bag, tie it off - done. To install a bag: drop the refill in, pull the bag down and tie it off - done. As for the refills - I just started on my third refill after 9 weeks of diapers. So the refills are lasting about 4 1/2 weeks for an infant.

If you can afford the extra money, I definitely recommend it. It definitely hurt the wallet paying for it but I haven't regretted it once. I'm not sure why the price is so high on Amazon, but I got mine much cheaper at Walmart.

The Diaper Genie in and of itself isn't bad, but there's nothing magical about it either. As a trash can for diapers, it's OK, but I can only give it three stars for two reasons:

* It's billed as some kind of magical device that's going to port your smelly diapers to a better place, when in reality, it's a cheap although stylish plastic bin with a plastic bag inside.

* The cartridges are such a rip-off! At about 7 bucks each, they last less than a month, or about 4-5 Diaper Genie loads of diapers. Think of how many regular trash bags you can get for $7 (I just bought a box of 200 for $8).

That being said, you can still use a Diaper Genie and save a ton of money (I estimate we'll save about $200 over the next two years) by simply using regular trash bags in place of the way-overpriced cartridges. Simply buy 16 gallon tall kitchen bags and insert the top of the bag into the lip of a spent cartridge. I can't guarantee the odor control will be as good necessarily (but no reason why it can't be) but I can guarantee you'll save a ton of money.

UPDATE 07/23/10: I've been using the regular 16 gallon trash bags for several months now, and they're great! I simply duct-tape them into the inner lid to hold them in place; it takes a minute or so to put it in (but actually easier to remove than the regular Diaper Genie bags), but the savings is pretty nice. No more expensive cartridges.

Okay, I'm just baffled at how many people haven't figured this out yet! LOL! Simply take an empty refill ring, put a regular ol' garbage bag down into the center, then simply overlap the top of the bag over the ring and tuck it under the ring when placing it into the genie. Simple, cheap, and works just as well.

I was lucky to come across a posting that recommended this to dispose of cat waste. Remodeling our basement put us in closer proximity to the litter box than we wanted to be. Tired of running to the garage to dispose of litter in the trash can (where it reeked in the summertime heat) I bought this to keep next to the litter box.Omega Paw Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Large, Green and Beige. So far it has been great. I use clumping litter in the box and dispose of the waste daily in the Diaper Genie. No more grocery store bags, no more smell. I haven't emptied it yet, but a few minutes of stench sure beats a smelly basement and garage on an on-going basis.

I wanted to review this product after having used it for almost 2 years. I have to say, even after that long it's still going strong! Something I would recommend would be to only use it for poop diapers (this helps conserve the refills which can be pricey) and spraying the cavity with Lysol every time you empty out the "diaper sausage". Because of the Lysol thing we don't have any phantom poop smells that a lot of people seem to be complaining about. Overall I'm extremely pleased with this product and a friend of mine loved it so much she got one for each floor of her house.

In 100+ degree heat, our air conditioning went out. We left our home for a week with the windows closed, forgetting that we had a half-filled diaper pail.

Coming home, I dreaded the anticipated stench. Yet there was no detectable smell whatever. I need to know almost nothing else to be happy with our choice of diaper pail.

With our first child we had a Diaper Genie which worked okay but had some serious design flaws and didn't control the smell as well as we'd hoped. Then came the Diaper Dekor with our second child. It was the limousine of diaper disposal systems at the time. It was certainly easier to use but still did not control the smell to our satisfaction.

Okay, we just had our 3rd child and received the Diaper Genie II Elite as a shower gift. I was very impressed with all of the antimicrobal business and odor control promises. Sadly, we never had the opportunity to put that to the test. The first time we used it, it broke. So, we exchanged it hoping we'd just gotten a 'dud'. After assembling our second one, we used it for about 3 days before it too broke. (Both times, the lid would no longer close and the claw mechanism broke). Today I exchanged it again. As I was assembling our THIRD Diaper Genie II Elite - The cutter broke off. That's it, I'm done. Calling the manufacturer didn't help, looking up way to fix it on-line didn't help, my engineer husband couldn't fix it... I am so frustrated! What will we use now? No clue - but it probably won't control the smell to our satisfaction.

We got our Genie II Elite just before the baby was born and LOVED it until last week when it broke. It did a great job keeping the odor at bay and it really was easy to use. We've only been using it for 6 months and the hinges inside, where the diaper goes through, broke and now we can't even get diapers in there. I'd get another one, but why spend the $40 on a new one if it's only going to last me another 6 months. Not sure what I'll do in the long run, but for the time being I guess I'll just walk out to the garbage can after each change.