Top Ten Reasons Not to Buy a Playtex Diaper Genie
1. Difficult to assemble- I received two different genie’s one was used and one was brand new. I just could not for the life of me understand how the refill bags were supposed to go in. I was also taken aback at the amount of work just to get the diaper genie set up where it can be used. Most women receive this as a gift at a baby shower, trust me at 9 months pregnant I wanted to kill the person who bought me this gift as assembly was one of the hardest things.
2. Difficult to use- There is alot of opening lids and twisting lids when you are trying to dispose of a diaper. This is very time consuming. I also found that the plastic bags were difficult to get in and out. It was a nightmare when it came time to attempt to remove the links of diapers. I also had issues of diapers coming undone in the twisting process. Products that are easy to use are so important during the sleep deprived period new parents go thru.
3. The Price- Playtex Diaper Genies are on average 20-40 dollars new at retail stores. This does not include what you will spend for refills. There are 2 types of refills, one is for newborns and the other is for older babies. The refills are roughly 6 dollars a piece and you may find that the first month in using this product you will spend more on refills than the original machine cost. The overall cost of the refills really adds up and you could easily save hundreds of dollars by using a simple trash can with a lid.
4. The smell- There is no denying that a used diaper is going to stink. Now imagine if you will a whole sausage link full of them. Not a very pleasent thought is it? With all of the issues the machine has putting the diapers together and the diapers coming undone the smell becomes very overpowering. The diaper genie is designed to keep odor locked in, however once you open the machine the odor is going to come out. I found this aspect of the genie to be rather counter productive.
5 Takes up space- Even though the Playtex Diaper Genie is not a large piece of equipment it still takes up space. It can give a room a sense of being cluttered unless placed in a corner. Being a item that did not work well for our family, I felt that this took up space that could have been used for other things.
6. Not enviromentally friendly- Disposable diapers are certainly of no benefit to the enviroment but paired with the amount of plastic that the diaper genie uses it greatly enhances the waste at the landfill.
7. Fills your regular trash can quicker- Diapers are going to take up space in the trash can. When you take the large links of diapers and place them in your trash to be disposed of the diapers are taking up more room from the way they are connected.
8 Does not hold enough diapers- The diaper genie constantly has to be changed as it does not hold very many diapers. This is a rather mundane task as the diapers increase in size as your baby grows.
9 Poorly manufactured- The diaper genie is constructed of easily breakable plastic. In fact during the first week my 3 year old neice found several ways of demolishing the genie. I was more disturbed to find the cutters are not child proof and she could have seriously been injured.
10 Trash cans do the same thing- Well they may not make links of dirty diapers, but trash cans serve the purpose of a place to dispose them. They also cut out the middle man of having a diaper genie as you will eventually be putting them in the trash can. It is also more economical as you will not have the constant expense of buying refills.
Overall I think this is a highly overrated product. I would advise anyone considering purchasing a Playtex Diaper Genie to visit a friend who has one and try it out before making their purchase.
