We opted out of a diaper genie.
We actually got one when Emily was born. Even though it was all the rage, we returned it. we lived in a condo, and we found it much, much easier just to take the diapers straight out to the garbage chute (quite possibly THE thing i miss most about condo living.).
When we moved into a house, we were so used to NOT having one, that we never got one. Also, our house has so many rooms and floors. I changed diapers in the nursery, in my bedroom, in the family room, in the basement…it didn’t make sense to have a genie ONLY in one place. i’m not going to go UPSTAIRS to dispose of a diaper if i’m on the main floor.
but now, with this whole composting/green bin movement happening…and diapers CAN go in the green bin…it somehow made sense to have a diaper genie…to throw the diapers in there…make the long snake…and just dump the entire snake straight into the green bin.
so, we inherited my sister-in-law’s. her kids are out of diapers (holy crap, i’m jealous) and she had no use for it anymore. I was more than happy to take it off her hands.
BUT, i wasn’t expecting it to be so complicated. Seriously…how difficult is it to follow simple two-step instructions???
see photo….there are exactly two steps:
but we couldn’t figure it out. either of us.
this ring (below) should seemingly fit inside the contraption…but alas…it doesn’t!
this ring, that looks like it has a cutter on it, has glass on it. so, nothing’s gettin’ through that…where does it go? anyone know?
here is my poor husband…fighting with the stinkin’ diaper genie.
finally…we got it in. about 45 minutes later. we tied up the end, and threw a diaper in. we got it! hooray! but then, when it came time to toss in diaper #2…the plastic wouldn’t move. it turned, but it wasn’t turning any more. we couldn’t fit the new diaper in! so, we removed the funnel. is it even the funnel? we have no idea! we are guessing yes, but who knows?
so, now we’re back to square one. we have no funnel. no glass-topped disc. nothing. we’ve got a machine. and a refill. and that’s it.
are we doing something wrong? are we complete morons? you can all stop laughing now and send help. or send us another diaper genie…because, seriously? this one is NOT happening for us!
song of the day: Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying by Belle and Sebastian.
come on over to my other site and say hi. i’ve got some great photos up of my kiddies and their new toys. oh, and also…i started the south beach diet a day early. so far, i’m surviving…but it’s only been just over a day. i need tips! and encouragement!
hi ali,i have no idea how that contraption works.sorry i can’t help you out.
Okay, everyone disses the Genie, but I loved it. I just found that long string of diaper weenies so handy for disposal, once the bin was full. And it is decent at keeping odours down.
My advice: have someone show you how to change the refill…once you’ve done it the first time, it’ll make sense.
If you haven’t figured it out shortly, i’ll come over and show you. It’s not that hard when you’ve done it once, twice, three or four times….
We got our friends one when their daughter was born — they asked for one. They hated it. They returned it. I hear only bad things about the genie! I use the Safety First one. It’s fab.
yeah – we have the green one too…she just sent over all her extras. we were using the blue one just to read the instructions..
I’m not familiar with that model of genie, but I can tell you this: you really want to get the Stage 2 refills (they’re green, not blue) – the blue ones are for formula/breastfed only and aren’t designed to “handle” the waste that is produced with solids.
I know that with ours you have to push the diaper in until it catches on four spring-loaded guides (they push down out of the way as you push the diaper in) before the twist. When I first started using ours it felt like I was pushing it in “too” far, but it was the right way.
Dunno if that is of any use…