Do Nappy Bins Smell & How to Prevent It?

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Newborns bring joy, happiness, and a whole lot of feelings to a new mom. However, they can use up to 12 nappies in a day. So many mothers prefer having a nappy bin where they can put all the nappies and dispose of them at once other than disposing one at a time. But do nappy bins smell? If yes, how do you prevent them from smelling?

Nappy bins smell because of the dirt accumulation, which leads to bacteria buildup inside the bin. As a result, an unpleasant odor develops and stinks all around the house. Use a well-designed nappy bin that can trap the smell and disinfect it often to keep the smell away. 

If you’re using disposable nappies for your baby, a nappy bin may be a good idea. I mean, you can save a few minutes from the trips you would make to the dustbin and back. In this article, I wanted to talk about how to prevent a smelly nappy bin, how to clean a nappy bin to get rid of any bad smells.

What Is A Nappy Bin?

A nappy bin is a disposal bin that holds your baby’s dirty nappies so that you can take them out all at once at the end of the day. It’s an important item to have, especially for mothers who are nursing newborns. 

It can get overwhelming sometimes having to dispose of every soiled nappy every time your baby soils it. This is because a newborn can use many nappies in a day. 

The process of using nappy bins is easy. Once your baby soils the nappy, remove it, roll it in a ball and drop it into the bin. 

There are many nappy bin types in the market, and they are designed differently. So, when buying a nappy bin, it’s important to check the model of the nappy bin and how it works. Ensure you understand how it works before you buy it. 

Do Nappy Bins Smell? 

In an environment with enough moisture and warmth, bacterial growth accelerates and causes the nappy bin to smell as decomposition begins to take place. That explains why nappy bins may smell more in summer than in winter. 

Therefore, there are different reasons why the nappy bins smell. 

Keeping the dirty nappies in the bins for too long

The longer the dirty nappies stay in the nappy bin, the more likely they will stink. You’ll need to empty the bin at least twice a day, especially if you change your baby many times a day.

Whether wee or poo, the smell will come if you keep the nappies in the nappy bin for too long. 

Failure to wash and disinfect regularly

You should wash and disinfect the nappy bin as often as possible. Ensure that you use an effective disinfectant that will efficiently eliminate the bacteria that cause the bad odour. 

The market is also full of fresheners and sprays that help to eliminate the bad odour. So you spray them in the bin and the area around it to keep it fresh. 

Dropping the dirty nappies in a wet nappy bin

The wetness contributes heavily to the bacteria buildup as bacteria multiply rapidly in moist conditions. The high bacterial growth emanates a bad odour from the bin. 

Always ensure that you wipe the nappy bin dry after washing it. You can also dry it outside where there’s sufficient airflow.  

How To Stop Nappy Bins Smelling?

You don’t want your house smelling like poo all the time because of the smelly nappy bin. While nappy bins are great for helping capture everything in one place they aren’t always the best at keeping the more fragrant smells away.

You can try the following methods to get rid of the smell. 

Remove the poo from the nappy

It’s the poo that smells the most. That’s not surprising. Therefore, you can remove as much poo as possible from the nappy and flush it down the loo.

You’ll notice that the nappy bin will smell less or not smell at all because you got rid of the poo. 

Clean the nappy bin regularly

A good habit would be to clean the nappy bin with warm water and nice-smelling detergent at least once a week. Other days, you can wipe it with a soap-soaked cloth to get rid of the bacteria.

Ensure you dry it properly to prevent excess moisture in the nappy bin. 

Use an odor-eliminating spray

Most odour-eliminating sprays in the market are made with strong natural scents like mint, eucalyptus, and pine. They effectively neutralize the bad odour and keep the room smelling fresh and natural. 

The spray should be sprayed in the bin. First, position the bin liner in the nappy bin and then spray at the bottom of the nappy bin. 

Double wrap the soiled nappies

If you place the nappies in the nappy bins without wrapping them, they will likely smell more. To prevent the smell, you can wrap the nappies with two plastic wrappers. Plastic does well in blocking the odours from the nappies. 

Some nappy bins are designed with scented nappy wrappers, which you can use to securely wrap the nappy before dropping it into the nappy bin. You can always replace the wrappers at a low price from the manufacturer or any retail shop that stocks them. 

Use a bicarbonate 

This old-school method effectively gets rid of the smell and keeps your nappy bin free of bad smells. You’ll need to sprinkle some bicarbonate in the bin every time you drop in a nappy so that it can absorb any smells from the nappy.