What is the proper way to dispose of a dirty diaper in a public restroom?
Diaper
Ava’s Mama asked:
I have seen dirty diapers in trashcans and in the little silver boxes in the stalls. I have also seen women change their baby’s diaper and take it with them. What is the best way? Won’t it stink up the bathroom?
Vernon
I have seen dirty diapers in trashcans and in the little silver boxes in the stalls. I have also seen women change their baby’s diaper and take it with them. What is the best way? Won’t it stink up the bathroom?
Vernon
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:37 am
Mike
I’ve heard of these scented bags you can buy and use when you are in a public place, or out and about.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Melvin
maybe you could recycle some of your plastic shopping bags and put a few in your diaper bag and put the dirty diaper in them. I wouldn’t put one in the sanitary container because that is too small, but wrapping one in paper towels and putting it in the big can I think is acceptable.
March 8th, 2009 at 4:49 am
Joel
Throw it in the trash. Who cares if it stinks it up, you don’t use it everyday.
March 8th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Reginald
This is why daily newspaper subscriptions are so important for families.
It’s nothing to do with some fancy-pants ‘literacy.’
It is because the man who brings you the papers delivers them in a little plastic bag that is IDEAL to tuck in the diaper bag, and use to wrap up dirty ones before throwing them in a public trash can.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Joanne
there should be special bins just for nappies, if not then you can buy a box of little bags that nutralise the odour and place the nappy in that and then into a normal bin
March 12th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Judith
I think it all depends. I live out in the middle of no where so when we are traveling or going some where i usually bring extra plastic grocery bags and put the dirty diaper in there and then throw it away
March 12th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Gertrude
Target has the scented bags. The dispenser is a rubber ducky. It tucks nicely into the diaper bag. I use them all of the time! I love them!!!
March 15th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Fred
Personally I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. It’s a public restroom. Many people use it throughout the day, so your top concern shouldn’t be “stinking up the bathroom”. If you feel weird about it though carry small garbage bags or plastic bags with you in your diaper bag, put the diaper in a bag, and dispose the bag into the garbage can. But really… garbage cans are for exactly that. Garbage.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:47 am
John
If there isn’t a special bin for diapers, you should carry plastic bags in your diaper bag and take it with you and dispose of it when you get home.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Colleen
The contents of the diaper should be flushed down the toilet.
Place the wet diaper into a plastic bag, and then toss it in the little metal container that is on the side of the wall in each stall.
March 22nd, 2009 at 6:12 am
Danielle
Fold it up and throw it in the trash!
Public restrooms are supposed to be cleaned fairly frequently(whether they are or aren’t is another question) so it should be disposed of before it really starts to smell.
Regarding the “little silver boxes in each stall” I haven’t seen one in any men’s room. Remember ladies daddies change diapers too!!
March 25th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Joann
I toss mine in the garbage bin in the bathroom. Some changing tables actually have a place for the dirty diapers but I’ve noticed they don’t get cleaned out that often. In a public restroom, in any decent place, the garbage will be taken out as soon as it is full or at least once a day. That’s more often than the diaper pails in my house get emptied!
I do not throw them into garbage cans in parks or outdoor public places as I don’t want any animals getting into them. I do have scented bags that I use for those diapers or for when I have to change my boy outside of a washroom with no garbage around. The bags also work great for my dog when he does his business in public too! This way they are sealed, don’t stink and I can dispose of them as soon as I can in a proper garbage whether it’s at home or the next public washroom I go into.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:27 am
Jimmy
I always carried those little plastic baggies… if there was a trash can in a restroom to toss it in, I tied up the baggie and left it… if no trash can, then I’d double bag it and take it home.
if it’s a decent place, they should change out the trash bags a few times a day… so a little bit of stinky time is fine I think.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Rosemary
just throw it in the trash can
they are emptied every day
it probably will stink up the bathroom but not so much if you wrap it right
bathrooms are expected to be smelly…
its the place where people do there business
April 1st, 2009 at 11:47 am
Arnold
I just wrap the diaper up on itself and toss it in the trash. If it happens to be an excessively stinky one then I try and make sure it’s in a closed container and not just an open one, but I don’t see a reason to purchase or carry with me something to throw away a diaper in. If you are that concerned then their is a product that is a small plastic bag that is odor neutralizing (supposedly). Again I don’t think I need to purchase something to make a public bathroom smell better (as if it would help most of them!)
On the other hand if I am at a friends house and I change my daughter’s diaper then I ask them where they want me to toss it, usually they will toss it in a plastic bag into their most taken out trash can, or I toss it in their large to the curb container.
It’s really your preference. Like some others have said the plastic baggies that smell good exist and target does sell them and a cute dispenser. You can also carry newspaper or grocery saks to place the diaper in before throwing out. However in a public restroom I think the resposibility is not yours but in the management of the place to either provide you with a means to toss it smell free (on their dollar) or take out their trash frequent enough that it is not an issue. Either way it’s their issue!
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Catherine
I always roll mine up tight, pull the little Velcro tabs around it tight and fasten them. Then I put it in a plastic bag and tie a knot in it. That pretty much does the trick anywhere. Occasionally I don’t have a bag but the rolling it up and fastening it will do for awhile. I happen to carry a small (might be a sample) air freshener in the diaper bag for those offensive diaper smells. I know it seems silly but every time I use it I get that thank you smile.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Brenda
just throw it in the trash
April 5th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Vincent
Yeah get those scented bags and then throw them away.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Michelle
I just throw mine in the trash. I think its kind of ironic to have a trash bag for the trash, lol. Thats pushing it to me.