Customer Reviews

Playtex Diaper Genie Essentials Diaper Disposal Pail

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I'm really surprised by all of the rave reviews of this product as I don't feel it lives up to the hype. I supposed if you are scoring it on improvements alone you can give it more stars, but in some ways it falls short of the original. I'll give you a pro and con list so you can make an informed decision.

Pro:
It holds more than the original (I think).

Con:
Odor control: Good until you put in another diaper and get a nose full of the previous diaper. The original Genie twisted between each diaper so you didn't smell the previous diaper. This one spring locks to an open bag so you could potentially have several stewing bad diapers inside.

Cutting Mechanism: Better than the very bad original model but still needs help. You cut it by pushing the bag bundle against a blade slot inside the pail. The blade is only on one side so you have to push just right against the blade to get a good cut. It often requires a couple of passes. A better design would have been two counteropposing blades for a perfect cut no matter how you put the bag in.

New Bags: This was a blatant money making scheme. Since you use less of the bags because you don't twist in between each diaper they gave you less bags. They could have easily designed this with the old bag system which would have allowed you to go even longer prior to changing bags. Clearly that would not have allowed enough bag replacements so they force you to buy the new smaller one. The bags are also not scented like the stage 2's were and are not as readily available in supermarkets like the originals.

Unsanitary: This unit seems less sanitary than the original as you have to physically push the bad diaper through the spring loaded trap. The spring trap is firm to keep the smell in but as a result you have to touch the interior of the bag push it through. If you could just drop it in without having to push it through it would have been better. Ever have those really full diapers? Picture one of those and then push it into spring loaded trap door. If there is any resistance from previous diapers pushing back from the other side (and there usually is) your full diaper tends to squirt!

Thus my quest for the perfect diaper pail continues. This is my fourth pail and all seem to fall short. My daughter will likely be potty trained by the time I find one that really works well. I'm currently testing the First Years Odor Free pail and it seems to be working better.

When I heard this product was coming out I was excited. We had a 4 year old diaper genie and we were ready to upgrade. When the new one finally arrived I was VERY impressed. One hand use. No twisting. NO SMELL AT ALL. Attractive. My favorite part is the indicator on the bag when you're to the end. It never failed with the old system; I'd tie off for a new 'load', get one diaper in and run out of bag. NOW they are so smart to put a red line to indicate the end. The refillable bag lasts about 4 weeks for me (stay at home mom so it's used a lot). The refills run about $5. Because it doesn't `sausage' the diapers you can get more in before you have to go to the trash can. You can't use 1 hand to lift the pail. But I find it easier to just take the tied bag of diapers to the trash can instead of the whole system. I LOVE it needless to say. I would HIGHLY recommend this product.

I was part of a test group for the Diaper Genie II and almost instantly preferred it to the regular Diaper Genie. We really liked the design compared to the original which we described as a nuclear waste container. This one is much easier to use. Flip open the lid, push diaper through the clamps, close lid. That's it, no twisting. It does a wonderful job keeping odors out. It does use refills and we finished it in about the same amount of time as the regular Genie (2 to 3 weeks). The only thing that I miss with my regular Genie is the handle that allowed me to pick it up with one hand. This was great for vacuuming or just picking it up to take to the garbage can. The Genie II requires you to use both hands to pick it up. I don't know what the price is for the refills yet since I haven't seen them on the market. If they run the same price as the regular Genie, I would recommend going for the new Diaper Genie II because it is easier to use and is a better design. Hope this helps anyone looking into diaper disposal systems.

Wow...
Let me say it again...WOW!
I am a stay-at-home mom with 2 daughters: a 3 month old and a 2-1/2 year old, so I change a LOT of diapers every day. My 3 month old is breastfed so her diapers don't really stink yet, but my toddler's diapers not only stink...they STANK, so let me just tell you, I know what I'm talking about when I say that this diaper pail REALLY WORKS at eliminating odors!!!
I have had first-hand experience with the Diaper Dekor and the Safety 1st Neat! disposal systems. I have close friends who have used the original Diaper Genie and the Diaper Champ, so I'd like to share a few pros and cons of each system, so that I can fully explain just how AWESOME this one is.

-Diaper Dekor:
Pros: pretty (as much as a diaper pail can be), easy to use, doesn't waste bag, large capacity - doesn't need to be emptied too often
Cons: doesn't hold in odors (the last straw was when the trapdoor broke off completely...), needs a special liner, safety hazard (it's SO easy to use that even a toddler can open it...and the bag cutter is right in the front of the door...), most expensive of the diaper pails

-Neat! by Safety 1st:
Pros: really holds in odors, toddler-proof, pretty large capacity
Cons: needs a special liner, ugly, loud/clunky to use, wastes some bag

-Original Diaper Genie (this is second-hand knowledge that I have gathered from friends):
Pros: Hmmm....good question :)
Cons: needs a special liner, annoying to use and mechanism often stops working, cutter gets dull quickly, wastes a LOT of bag, doesn't hold in odors

-Diaper Champ (this is a combination of first-hand experience (I used one at a friend's house) and second-hand knowledge that I have gathered from friends who have one:
Pros: you can use your own trash bags, large capacity, relatively inexpensive
Cons: doesn't hold in odors very well, not very sanitary (diaper touches the pail directly before it's dropped down into the base), toddlers keep playing with it (icky)

-DIAPER GENIE II
Pros: holds in odors GREAT, doesn't waste bag AT ALL, easy to use, pretty (for a diaper pail), easy to empty (but not so easy that a toddler can do it)
Cons: needs special liner (but the liners last a long time since bag isn't wasted), capacity is a bit on the small side (but that's because I have 2 kids in diapers who are at home during the day)

Bottom line is that the Diaper Genie folks really must have paid attention to people's complaints about previous diaper pail systems, because almost every problem I've ever experienced has pretty much been corrected with this pail. It is incredible and I would recommend it to anyone with a baby!

Experienced the original Diaper Genie with my baby niece about 2 years ago, was a royal pain this bottom to load with diapers and to change out the liners. And it seemed like the liner needed replacing every couple of days, probably due to the "twisting" sausage effect.

I received this new Diaper Genie II as a gift for my newborn, and WOW. It is truly easy to load the liner, and I used it from last Wednesday through this Tuesday before needing to empty it. Emptying it was as easy as advertised, I slipped the liner through the cutter and tied off the top of the dirties and tied the bottom of the liner where we were starting over again.

At first, it took two hands to un-snap the lid and get it open because it was new, now after a week it has been adequately broken in, and it truly is a one-handed operation.

Even though baby is a newborn, she's been producing some MASSIVELY stinky diapers. Prior to receiving the Genie II, we were using a regular trashcan. The Genie II has completely contained the smell since it has been in use, and my nursery is now blessedly odorless!

The liner situation is great. Diapers do not come in contact with the actual container which is extremely sanitary, LOVE IT! Also, it seems that you can safely stuff a LOT of diapers into each load which is great.

Bottom line, I give my highest recommendation for this product, 5 stars PLUS!! This will be my signature shower gift to others from now on unless I get beaten to it.

I have a 2.5 month old and 22 month old. I also run a Home Daycare. I have used the Original Diaper Genie and the Diaper Dekor. Both left a lot to be desired. But I love this product so far. There is no twisting. The refills are easy to put in and seem to last a while. Most of all: NO SMELL. I have been using it for several children of several ages, eating lots of different stuff: formula, baby food, table food. It works the best of anything I have used so far.

This is a great diaper pail if you dispose of the diapers in a certain way. We really liked it at first but thought it was a PITA buying the refill bags. This is why we used the Diaper Champ with our first child. We used it for over 2 years and replaced the gasket twice inside the lid. But we after using it for so long we just couldn't get rid of the smell even after putting in a fresh gasket. It seems that the lid retained some of the liquid from the diapers and from when we washed and bleached it (which we did every few months)over time it became too much to bear so we finally threw it out.

We were looking for something where we could use regular trash bags since it gets so pricey to use specific refill bags. And we always seemed to forget to buy them and would be annoyed when the refills ran out and we were left with nothing to replace them.

I tried the generic diaper pail - I think its was a Safety First for $14.99. That was pointless- I could have just used a regular plastic garbage can. Sine I had a coupon to BRU I decided to try the Diaper genie II. I have never used the original so I can't compare. But I can say I like it better than the Diaper Champ.

At first I kept trying to insert the bags incorrectly. Once I got that figured out it was simple. But for some reason it took me a while to get it right. I liked how I could sut the diaper in the "chute" and push it down into the pail. As it pushes into the pail the bag slides down with it so the next time you put a diaper in you will be touching a different/fresh part of the bag that hasn't come in contact previously with a diaper. With this feature you avoid the "Yuck!" factor that happens when your hand touches wet/dirty trash bag. The special bags do fill up kind of quickly - which I don't mind changing it often - but it got too pricey to keep buying them.

Well we ran out one day and my husband put a regular trash bag in and it actually works better than when using the refills. It's much much easier too. Here is what you do:

-You have to have already used one of the special refills. When that is empty - take the plastic empty casing out of the pail. The top part of the pail/lid will be off at this point. (Take the whole thing off - lid and base - don't just open the lid.) This is the small top part not the part in the middle of the pail where you have to push the oval button to get to the bottom part of the pail.

-Get a regular trash bag and insert it/push it down in the entire space of the bottom of the pail. You have to push it through the chute and make sure the bag opening is at the top - mouth of the pail - right where the old refill casing sat. At this point you might want to open the middle part of the pail and make sure the regular trash bags has filled up the entire area of the pail. Then close/shut this part of the pail.

-Take the empty Diaper Genie refill bag casing. Place the regular trash bag and put it over the area where you would normally place the new refill container.

-Place the old refill casing over the trash bag so it pushes the trash bag into the grooves where the refill casing goes and push down. You have to make sure the the bulk of the empty trash bad fills up the bottom part of the pail before doing this.

-After pushing the old casing over the trash bag - you should have some of the trash bag coming out under the casing and it will hang out down on the pail. (Think of the top part of the trash bag that hangs over a regular trash can.)

-Take the top part with the lid and place it back on the pail. Voila!

Using regular trash bags saves on money and allows the full space of the pail to be filled with diapers. Whereas the special refill bags where more of a narrow tubular bag and didn't allow for a lot of diapers in before having to empty and start a new bag.

But - the Yuck factor comes back into play here since you are not pushing the diaper down the chute/pushing the refill bag with it. You don't have a fresh area of the trash bag each time you put in a new diaper. The bag doesn't move/isn't pushed down with a regular old trash bag.

To solve the problem of a wet/dirty bag I make sure I wrap the diaper up tightly - like into a ball - and take the diaper's tabs and close the ball up - trying to eliminate anything that was inside the diaper to be on the outside of the diaper - so nothing gross touches the trash bag since it is stationary.

If I have a particularly messy diaper I will wrap it in tissues and put it down the chute that way. But you have to be diligent with the tight/clean outside thing or the trash bag area at the chute opening may get all dirty and smell. that hasn't happened to us though.

I like this Diaper Genie better than the Diaper Champ we used for so long because there is no place for the diaper to touch and attach it's smell/germs to the actual pail. Whether you are using the proper refills or a trash bag - the diapers are still only touching the bag and not the pail. So if you do have smell issues - just take the bag out. We have been using it for about 4 months with a toddler and infant and have not had any smell escape into the room.

I think I would like it if it were bigger. But honestly - that would mean I would change the bag out less often and that would probably leave room for a smelly pail. All in all - a great diaper pail.

We have both a Diaper Champ and a Diaper Genie II.

The Diaper Champ is by far the superior product. For starters - our Diaper Genie breaks about once a week - the spring inside that holds the clamps together pops off if I stick my hand in too far. Second it uses Playtex propritary refills - the Diaper Champ uses plain ol' trash bags ($1 for a box of 50 at the Dollar Store).

I have found no perceptible difference in either product from the standpoint of odor control - they both do a fine job.

I wish I had gotten another Diaper Champ but I didn't... I liked the idea that the dirty diapers would be bagged. I thought this sounded like a great product. I read some positive reviews. Here's how it works though. You change the baby's diaper. It's a messy, wet #2. You roll it up as best you can. Then you reach over to your genie. With one hand you open the lid. The other hand then has to push the dirty leaky poopy diaper into the genie. You actually have to push this nasty diaper down pretty far. The problem is that to get it past the stink gate, you have to apply force... causing contents to spill out onto your hand. It's disgusting. It's like they didn't actually test it on babies. My diaper champ is so much better. You drop it in the hole and flip the top for it to go down. Enough said. Diaper Genie II sucks. I regret the purchase.

I just purchased this item since the handle on my Neat! diaper pail recently broke and so far the Diaper Genie II is living up to it's good reviews. I really hate to have to buy the pricey refill bags, but I can't stand having my daughter's room stink, so I think it's worth it. The first thing I learned with this product though, is to make sure to pull the bag out enough so when the first few diapers fall in, they fall down to the bottom of the pail. The weight of the diapers hanging in the bag from the clamp was preventing the clamp from closing tightly and letting the diaper smell escape. That seemed to do the trick and now there isn't any smell at all! I never had the original Diaper Genie so I can't compare the two, but this is very similar to my Neat! pail which I was very happy with until it broke. So I'm hoping this will be the last diaper pail I ever have to buy!!