Wet Bag or Diaper Pail?

Some of you may be wondering about the best method for dirty diaper storage.  Some of you may have a definite opinion about which method is the best, and others may be like me…you use both methods!

There are two primary storage options for your dirty diapers.  Thankfully, wet pails are a thing of the past!  The modern cloth diaper utilizes hanging wet bags, or a dry diaper pail until wash day.  Both options are beautifully designed to just go into the wash machine with your dirty diapers on wash day, so there is nothing extra to clean or wash.

I started out using a hanging Planet Wise wet bag.  I used the wet/dry bag because it holds more diapers.  This option worked great for us…in our last house.  There we had a doorknob right next to the changing table.  If the diaper needed to be sprayed, the bathroom was right across the hall.  I would take the bag and hang it on the bathroom doorknob, spray my diaper, and then place it in the wet bag.  Many times I didn’t even find it necessary to zip my wet be after each use.

When we moved to NYC, the nursery shared a space with the living room, and there were no doorknobs in sight.  I had no place to hang my wet bag.  I tried attaching a hook to the changing table, but it didn’t work for us.  So I switched to a trash can with a lid, and a Planet Wise Pail Liner.  This worked well for us…until we rearranged!

Now the nursery has its own room, but the doorknob is still not a good place to hang the wet bag.  We still use the pail in the nursery, and we have a smaller hanging wet bag in the bathroom for diapers that have to be sprayed.

So…which method is best?  I see pros and cons for each, which is why I use a “hybrid” method and have both a wet bag and pail liner.

Wet Bag
I love that the wet bag doesn’t take up floor space.  In a small apartment/house, that becomes a huge consideration.  The wet bag contains odors, is waterproof, and has designer fabric on the outside to match your style.  This makes it look less like a dirty diaper pail! 

Wet bags are easy to care for because they just go into the washer with your dirty diapers.  I would recommend one for the nursery and one for the bathroom if your bathroom is not close by the nursery.  You may also want to have two so that you can change them out on wash day.

Pail Liner
The dry diaper pail with a waterproof liner holds a lot more diapers than the wet bag.  If you have more than one child in diapers, or you go more than 2-3 days between washings, this will be of benefit to you.  You can get a trash can with a foot pedal so that opening and closing the pail is easy, even with a dirty diaper in your hands.

The diaper pail does take up more space, and it looks…well…like a diaper pail.    The liner is designed to contain odors and hold liquid, so the inside of your pail should not get dirty (I just use Lysol to deodorize the pail on wash day).  Pail liners are just as easy to clean as wet bags – just dump them in the washer with the dirty diapers.  I have found that the pail liners collect water in the wash cycle. I have to be careful when removing them from the washing machine or I will spill water all over the diaper which have just been spun.

My Top Picks
I started out with Planet Wise wet bags and pail liners.  I love the options in fabric design and color.  I also have a set of Kanga Care wet bag and pail liner.  The Kanga Care pail liner is larger and has a drawstring.  This will be a big plus when I get a bigger pail.  The wet bag is round, which makes it more compact for hanging in a small space.  I use Planet Wise wet bags when I’m on-the-go.

 

I hope this has been helpful to you.  What is your favorite method of diaper storage?  What brand of wet bag or liner do you prefer?  Leave us a comment and share your advice with others!