Playtex Diaper Genie II Review

The Diaper Genie II came out right after we registered for a regular Diaper Genie, but fortunately, before anybody bought us the original kind. As soon as I read the box for this one, I knew I wanted it over the regular Diaper Genie. Here's why: This thing is designed to work perfectly, even when sleep-deprived parents are using it in the middle of the night.

The Diaper Genie II is white and is the size of a small kitchen trash can. It's tall enough that you don't have to bend too far to open it when you're disposing of a diaper. It's also nondescript enough to sit unnoticed next to the changing table. And it keeps the stink to itself (at least until you empty it).

It does require special Diaper Genie II refills. These cost about $5.50-$6 apiece, and last approximately 1.5-2 weeks, maybe a little longer if your baby isn't going through a zillion diapers a day.

To dispose of a dirty diaper, you flip open the top of the Diaper Genie II. Yes, you use your hand -- there is no foot pedal like some diaper pails or trash cans have. Once you've got the top open, you push the dirty diaper down into the Diaper Genie II. The spring-loaded "claws" that separate the outside world from the dirty diaper storage will grab the dirty diaper. Then you shut the top and that's it! There is no twisting or tying or anything else you have to do to "seal" the diaper and its stink away. The "claws" are what keeps the smell away.

Changing the refill is not hard once you get the hang of it. The refill has drawings on the side that illustrate how to do it, and the only trick is how you stuff the bag back through the hole in the refill case before you knot it at the bottom. Make sure that you change it in the daytime when you're good and awake the first time or two. My husband got caught needing to change the refill in the middle of the night early on, and he found it quite complicated at 2 am. But once you've done it a time or two, it's a breeze.

The refill bags do have a red stripe on the bag film that shows up when you're nearing the end of the refill, so you know to go buy replacement refills before you're caught empty-diaper-pailed. We've found that the red stripe usually means we have about two days until we run out.

To empty the Diaper Genie II, you open the unit around the middle, tear off as much bag as you need to hold the day's deposits, and knot both the bag full of diapers and the end of what will become tomorrow's bag of diapers. It takes about a minute.

One Caveat (or: Hold Your Nose)
You know how I said that the Diaper Genie II shuts the odors away? Well, nobody's invented the diaper pail that erases diaper odor, so the stinkies have to go somewhere. They do stay in the Diaper Genie II quite well, but that means when you open it to remove the daily deposits, you'll get a huge whiff of Eau De Dirty Diaper. I tried putting one of those scent packets in there (those paper packets with smell-good pellets sealed inside that you can find at Bed Bath & Beyond), and that helped for about three or four days. I tried cleaning the Diaper Genie II with a bleach and water solution, and again, that helped for about three or four days. Since the smell is only terrible when you open the canister to take out the bag of dirty diapers, I've decided to quit worrying about it. With a baby, I've got better things to do than spending time de-stink-ifying the diaper pail if it's only gong to work for three days anyway. So hold your nose or hold your breath or both and be glad that emptying the Diaper Genie II is relatively quick work.