How to Get Rid of Diaper Smell & Remove Diaper Pail Odor

Want to know how to get rid of diaper smell and get rid of diaper pail smell? Here’s how to limit the diaper pail odors with a good cleaning and diaper odor eliminator, plus tips for handling diaper smells in general.

It’s time to get rid stinky diapers and stinky smells. If you’re craving the scent of fresh air, you’re going to need a few tips to get rid of that strong odor. Horrible smells don’t have to be a norm in the house! Find out how to get that poopy smell and dirty diaper smell out of your house for good.

This post is sponsored by EnviroKlenz but all opinions are mine.

I have changed a lot of diapers in the last 8 years.

I’ve had a kid (or two) in diapers non-stop for the last 8 years, minus about a few months between potty training and the birth of the next kid. And let me assure you, it’s not the most fun of parenting tasks. Actually, it totally stinks.

Diapers are expensive, time-consuming to change, and smell so so bad. Plus, when diapers don’t do their duty of containing the messes your baby or toddler makes, they ooze, soak clothes and carpets, leave baby stains on clothes, and make you give more baths than would otherwise be necessary.

It’s why I’ve written these two-related posts:

• 4 Easy Ways to Remove Baby Poop Stains from Clothes
• How to Remove Baby Poop Stains and Smells From Carpets

But, today, I want to focus on the diaper odor.

It’s the smell of number two in the diaper that make grown men and women dry heave, breathe through their noses and have tears come to their eyes. It stinks. And you have to clean it up. Repeatedly.

That’s why myself and millions of other parents have tried to figure out how to get rid of diaper smell.

How to Get Rid of Diaper Smell

There are several approaches to handling diapers and all of the diaper odor that comes along with diaper changes.

1. Remove the Diaper Smell to an Outdoor Trash Receptacle

Many parents I know simply take all dirty diapers straight to their outdoor garbage can. Sometimes this is reserved only for poopy diapers. Either way, the diapers just go straight to the outdoor trash receptacle.

Some of our friends who lived in apartments put a small trash can (or a diaper pail) outside their front door which they would then take to the dumpster or curbside trash can regularly.

Course, one of my friends does this, but she first wraps the poopy diaper in a non-holey plastic grocery shopping bag because she cannot stand the diaper odor at all and will catch whiffs of it specifically as she walks past her trash can outside.

2. Mask or Hide the Diaper Odor

The other common thing I see friends do with their child’s soiled diapers is to put the diapers in a place they don’t visit often – the laundry room, a closet, the pantry, under the sink, and so on. They put the diaper smell somewhere out of the most common air spaces in the house.

Other friends use scented trash bags or trash can liners.

Some make sure to spray some smelly good stuff around their trash cans or diffuse essential oils or burn a scented candle near the diaper pails or trash cans.

Others bag poopy diapers in a plastic grocery shopping bag before putting it in the regular trash.

If you want to go this route, you may want to look into one of these diaper odor eliminating pads to stick in the trash can or in the closet or other places you’ve stashed the diapers in. They are great diaper pail odor absorbers!

3. Take Out the Trash Frequently

I know a lot of people with big families who just put their baby’s dirty diapers in the regular trash can (usually in the kitchen) and it doesn’t bother them much because they always take the trash out first thing in the morning or right after dinner, so it doesn’t linger and stink up the place.

4. Use a Diaper Pail

Because of how convenient they are to use and (hopefully) contain the diaper smell, many people buy and use, what they hope, is the best diaper pail odor control product out there.

There are many diaper pails on the market and some do a better job of containing the diaper pail odor than others based on how they work. I did not have a good experience with the popular Diaper Genie and hated that I had to buy special bags for it, so I have been using a Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe for my last few babies. It is easy to use and takes a regular kitchen trash bag. And it mostly contains the smell.

But, here’s the thing about diaper pails – they have a specific diaper pail smell and it’s BEYOND nasty. Our diaper pail does a pretty good job at containing the odor except for when you actually go to put a diaper into it and rotate the top to open up.

Cause then you need to do that nose breathing thing for a little while as the smell smacks you in the face. It’s intense!

And that’s why I really wanted to figure out how to get rid of diaper smell coming from a diaper pail which is why I partnered with EnviroKlenz for this project. They are the odor removing experts!

They shipped me some products and I experimented to see if it would work.

How to Clean and Deodorize a Diaper Pail

I never clean the inside of my diaper pail. The outside has gotten a few good swipes with some sanitizing cloths and wash rags, but the inside has been largely ignored, which is a bad thing when you use the same diaper pail for like three years. Talk about some instead diaper odor emanating from the inside of this thing!

Materials Needed to Clean Diaper Pail and Remove Diaper Pail Odor

• Steam Cleaner
• EnviroKlenz Everyday Odor Eliminator
• Water
• Washcloths
• Bowl of Water (to dilute)

Instructions on How to Clean Diaper Pail

Every diaper pail is going to be slightly different in design and all of that. But, because they often have little creases and hard to reach places I recommend using a steam cleaner.

First it’s natural as it only requires water.

Second, it reaching into those little creases and moving parts much better than a rag and my hand can do.

Third, steam naturally sanitizes and deodorizes (at least some).

If you don’t have a steam cleaner, you can still do your best to clean out your diaper pail with some soapy water and a rag and a toothbrush for the tight spaces. You could also use some baking soda to help scrub, clean, and deodorize as you go.

1. Fill with water and plug in and warm up your steam cleaner.

2. Take your diaper pail outside or somewhere else ventilated.

3. Begin steaming the outside, edges, and inside of the diaper pail.

4. Use a clean dry rag and wipe up the messes the steam cleaner loosens up, and wipe it dry.

Instructions on How to Remove Diaper Pail Smell

Now that the diaper pail is clean, it’s time to deodorize it! I found that even after steaming and cleaning, there was still a strong diaper pail smell. That’s why I decided to use a product specifically designed for the job of odor elimination and odor control.

The great thing about EnviroKlenz Everyday Odor Eliminator is that is natural and mineral based and that it works!  Keep in mind that it can be used for a multitude of odor eliminating needs from carpets, upholstery, plastics, and other “new smell” products.

I am also a huge fan of their laundry enhancer which removes the mildew odor from kitchen rags and gets sweat smell out of clothes.

You can use code FAGANS15 to save 15% off your order!

I know some of you may be wondering why this product is needed as there are other natural deodorizing products you can use. Well, my friend Hilary told me that she tried both baking soda and vinegar to conquer her diaper pail smell, and they didn’t do anything! She ended up throwing away her entire diaper pail because she couldn’t get rid of the stench! Yikes!

I, on the other hand, won’t be throwing mine out anytime soon now due to smell!

Alright, here’s how I used it (though I’m not sure it was 100% the best method). I took my diaper garbage can outside first:

1. Shake the EnviroKlenz Everyday Odor Eliminator really well right before using.

2. Pour some directly into the diaper pail.

3. Close the diaper pail lid and slosh it around inside of it, aiming to coat the inside with the product.

4. Apply some to a rag (can dilute some Everyday Odor Eliminator in a bowl with some water first) and try to coat the walls of the inside of the diaper pail, the handles, the outside, and all other surfaces.

5. Let sit for 15 minutes.

6. Rinse the product off. I used my outdoor hose.

7. Wipe off the residue with a wet rag.

8. Dry it off or let air dry.

9. Repeat process if necessary.

This diaper odor eliminator did a great job! I wasn’t left with a completely odor-free diaper pail after doing the above, but I know that a second go would probably take care of the smell even more, as I’d likely do a better job of applying the product to the diaper pail.

The smell is so so so much better though!! I no longer have to hold my breath when I use the pail to put a diaper in it or leave that area ASAP afterward. I am grateful I can keep using this diaper pail for my little one for a couple more years and have it be an odor free diaper pail!

If you need help getting rid of the smell of dirty diapers, this is it! The whole house really will smell a lot better and a small amount goes a long way. I also love that I can use just a little bit and notice a difference right away. Now when the baby poops, you have good news on how you can get rid of that smell!

After many full years of diaper duty, I can tell you that our house no longer has a diaper stink problem. We’ve had good luck with the process above and it’s improved the house smell! Because who wants bad smells lingering around the house? The first step that you need to take is to understand that your house and baby’s room doesn’t have to stink! Say so long to the smelly diapers!

I hope you can use it and know how to get rid of diaper smell in your house!