Author Topic: Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?  (Read 3857 times)

Kitsune

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Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?
« on: June 17, 2019, 08:30:03 AM »
I'm aware that there are cheaper ways to do this, but I'm hoping for a mix between affordable and functional, and I'm willing to sacrifice cheap. That's the setting. :)

Setting: We live in a country house in Quebec - the outdoor garbage can is a good 30ft away from the door, and can't be put closer because it will blow away in the wind (literally: the full, 4ft high recycling bin blows away in the wind sometimes. We get -20--30C north wind hitting the front door for 4-6 months of the year.) We currently have a diaper genie bought out of lack of research and despearation 2 winters ago, when we realized that our Very Prolific Pooper was producing 7 diapers a day, and we weren't willing to brave -30 in-your-face wind to bring the stink outside 7 times a day OR leave the baby unsupervised inside while we did so, nor were we willing to live with the stink (ye gods, the stink). It would be cheaper to suck it up and do it, but... yeah, it ain't happening in this family. Said pooper is still in diapers (he's 2), and I'm not betting on him being out of them by the end of the summer, so... Yeah. 2 in diapers. I HATE paying for those freakin inserts to the diaper genie (x2, especially) and also the smell has seeped into the plastic of the pail and the pail itself now stinks even when it's empty, so... that's no longer ideal at all.

We're expecting our 3rd in October, and, bless the EXTREMELY COMPETENT ultrasound technician and also the Quebec healthcare system, we know that the baby will be arriving with a serious congenital heart issue that is fixable but very definitely preoccupying. Clearly, if we were't schlepping diapers down a flight of stairs and down the driveway with a healthy kid, it ain't happening with a sick kid. Smell control is still an issue.

I was considering the Ubbi diaper pail - more $ upfront, but breaking even in 4 months because of not buying those effing inserts, so that's a selling point. Question: has anyone used them? Do they last? Are they effective at keeping the smell at bay? I'm assuming that they don't absorb the stink because they're metal, but does it rust? Experience, anyone?

Otherwise, any other recommendations? (And don't say 'regular garbage pail', we tried the Ikea steel foot-pedal ones and the smell in the room was WHOA and also the inside of it smelled so much that we had to put it in the shed to de-stink over winter.)

Basically: I'm not looking to save money via extra effort... if I have a baby who needs special care and heart surgery, I know where my effort is going, and it ain't towards managing poop! I just need something functional that will work and not cost a ridiculous amount.

Jen

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Re: Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2019, 11:29:14 AM »
I had one - I liked that you didn't have to buy special bags for it (you just use a regular trash bag) and I liked the look of the pail, too.  I occasionally cleaned it out and let it sit outside in the sun, but I only did this about once a year.  I used the Ubbi for two kids back to back.  There was no problem with the room smelling bad.   I potty trained both my kids right at 2, though, so I can't comment on how it would hold up with older kids and diapers, etc. 

Also, I was able to sell it when I was done and recovered most of the cost. 

Haven't used any other diaper pails so can't compare it to others. 

travelawyer

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Re: Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2019, 10:29:16 AM »
I also have the UBBI and have had it for two years.  It sits in the living room and only smells when you open it to put a diaper in.  Similar to the previous poster we spray it with a garden hose and leave it out in the sun for a few hours every few months to reduce the accumulated smells.  I recommend it.

Kellyrae

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Re: Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2019, 01:12:57 PM »
Do you flush the solid waste? Sooo much less stinky.

J Boogie

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Re: Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2019, 02:23:16 PM »
We have one sitting gathering dust. Stopped using it because it encourages you to let diapers sit in there too long. We use the kitchen garbage now which gets taken out at least once every 3 days.

Haven't tried leaving it out in the sun, but I've deep cleaned it and it still smells like shit.

The big problem I've noticed with it is that you might not empty it right when it needs to be emptied, and you try to squeeze on last diaper in there, and then the poopy wipe on top because you closed the smelly diaper already with the first dirty wipe, and then you close it, and you get poop on the lid mechanism which is very bad news.

If you're in a small enough place, I'd honestly just use your regular garbage and take it out more often.

tips^up

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Re: Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2019, 04:24:12 PM »
We bought a barely used Ubbi artisan shit bucket and a ton of branded bags off facebook marketplace for $30 (MSRP $100).  Hosed it out well, set it in the sun for 2 days, its been doing its job so far.

nsmustachemom

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Re: Diaper pails - Anyone have the Ubbi?
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2019, 09:43:53 AM »
TL;DR - We've had one for 5 years, no stink or problems.

We got an Ubbi when my oldest was born, because we live in the sticks, we have no garage to store crap (ha) in, and garbage is collected every two weeks here so we wanted to lock that stink away.  Kiddo is now nearly 5, and the pail is in use for our 2 year old.  As long as it is closed properly, no stink issues at all.  It lives in our bathroom.  It takes two weeks to fill it up at the rate of one diaper per day (we do cloth all day, and a single disposable at night).