Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Champ vs. Genie: The Battle of the Diaper Disposal Receptacles
Posted by Missy W. @ 1:00 PM
When I was pregnant, all of my friends told me that I was a fool to register for the Diaper Genie. They complained of having to purchase special bags which was wasteful, it was expensive, twisting the diaper into a bag-encapsulated sausage every time was tedious, etc. Go with the Diaper Champ, they said. One flip of a lid and the diaper is gone. Being the rookie that I was, of course I registered for everything my friends loved and got the Champ. It even comes with blue trim or pink trim if you really want to drive home the difference in the gender of your diapers.
Two Champs later (once the funk sets in, there aint no going back), I finally started to listen to my friends’ current opinions for diaper removal. I recently succumbed and got the Diaper Genie II. Very important distinction, the I and the II.
The Diaper Genie II has no more twist-to-dispose action; instead it has this cool clamp that reminds of me of jaws of life, clamping down on the stink. As you push the diaper through the chute (Jenny pointed out that I spelled it “shoot” the first time), it pulls new bag with it and closes down on the diaper, therefore enlarging the bag space and not making you touch moist, yucky plastic (see below review of Diaper Champ). Once the receptacle is full, you just open the Genie, cut the plastic (using the little plastic-cutter that is installed in the unit) tie a knot, and Bob’s your uncle, you’re done. As Roger said the first time he took them out, “Well, that was a pleasant diaper removal experience!” Yes, you have to use refills, but since the bags don’t make the diapers into sausages anymore, you don’t have to remove the bag all that often. It’s also got a small footprint and it’s kinda cute and wee. Since the diapers only touch the bag, not the plastic, the smell is kept to the contents of the bag instead of the actual unit.
The Diaper Champ works using a lid that flips. You put the diaper in the chute, flip it over and the cylinder/piston action pushes the diaper into the pail, which uses regular bags. Sounds great, but the diaper or wipe or whatever stink-bomb accessory you are throwing out touches the top of the cylinder, making it often moist or sticky or smelly. We have regularly changed the bags, cleaned it with a germ-killing wipe, sprayed it with a germ-eater spray, left it open in the sun for 24 hours, soaped it down…you get my point, right? Stink-city. I think the first one lasted about 18 months before we could no longer bear the smell, the second only about 8 months. The Champ (or no longer Champion in my book) takes up a bigger foot print and seems easier for small hands to toss toys away as well.
Snapshot:
The Diaper Champ and the Diaper Genie both retail at $29.99. The Genie (both versions I and II) require special bags (around $6.25 a pop).
Both do the job, they hold used diapers, but the Genie keeps the stink at bay a bit better than the Champ.
I hate to break it to you, Champ, but you’ve been knocked out of the ring by a little ol’ Genie.
** My friend Beth wrote to me today extolling the virtues of the Dekor. I’ve yet to use it. Feedback? Bueller?
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October 10, 2007 @ 05:30 AM
Roger said:
Although the Diaper Genie II is much better than the Diaper Champ, it’s not perfect. As you push a diaper in, that clamp that keeps the bag shut ends up squishing the full diaper in your hand. So depending on the heaviness of the diaper, you still might end up with a wet hand.