Natural Air Fresheners for Diaper Odor

For most new and even some experienced parents the overwhelming odor from the baby's diaper can be very troublesome. When our first daughter was born my wife and I tried several store bought solutions like the Diaper Genie, scented oils, and assorted air fresheners, most of which failed to keep the odor to a minimum and most just masked the odor for a short time. After time though we found several natural and cost effective solutions to combat the pungent diaper odor in our home, most also doubled as a great way to recycle common household products and items we would normally throw in the trash anyway.

If your house is like mine you always have an over abundance of plastic grocery bags on hand from weekly shopping trips. Try throwing your diapers in a plastic grocery bag, and for those extra dirty diapers double up the bag and tightly tie the plastic grocery bag shut.

If you're a coffee drinker like me save your used coffee grounds and when you have a dirty diaper throw the coffee grounds in the bag with the diaper. The aroma of coffee will slightly mask the diaper odor. Try throwing the coffee grounds directly on the part of the diaper that is soiled by urine or feces to maximize the odor killing effect.

Another great was to battle diaper odor is common household baking soda such as Arm & Hammer or even a generic store brand will work. Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the soiled diaper and in the bag before you tie it shut. To maximize it effectiveness sprinkle a good amount in the bottom of your trash bag as well to help fight the odor from your household garbage as well as the diaper odor. You can also sprinkle baking soda on your carpet before you vacuum to help freshen up each room of your house that has carpeted floors.

My next suggestion may bring tears to your eyes, but chopping or slicing a large onion and throwing the onion pieces in the bag with the diaper before you tie it will help over power any household odor. Try throwing a few pieces of onion in the trash bag as well to help combat the diaper and garbage odors.

If your wife is like mine your house also has a good amount of Renuzit Adjustable Air Fresheners or Glade Plug Ins that become dried up after a couple of weeks. A great way to recycle these used up air fresheners is to break open the used Glade Plug In cartridges and sprinkle the contents in the plastic bag with the diaper. A great use for the Renuzit Adjustable Air Fresheners is take the dried up chunk of air freshener out of the plastic cone, break it up a little and throw it in the bag. Try mixing the different scents to make sort of a stronger solution to counteract the diaper odor. I do suggest wearing plastic gloves while handling the contents of the air fresheners, or at least thoroughly washing your hands after handling these possibly toxic products.

If your home has a fireplace or wood burning stove, or even a charcoal barbeque grill try adding a healthy amount of old ashes to each dirty diaper bag. Charcoal has been a great odor absorbing tool in air filters for years to remove the odor of cigarette smoke, it also works wonders for dirty diaper odors as well. For the sake of safety I must state that you should use cold ashes, not freshly burnt ashes that may still have hot embers that could start a fire.

These solutions in combination with the use of your favorite household air fresheners, scented candles, or scented oils will almost guarantee your house will stay free from the overwhelming stench of dirty diaper odors.