dry pail

English

Etymology

From dry +‎ pail.

Noun

dry pail (plural dry pails)

A small basket/bucket or hanging wet bag, usually with holes to allow for airflow and sometimes without a lid, used to store soiled cloth diapers or, very rarely, disposable diapers; a diaper pail without water or cleaning solution.
- 2011, Peggy Wilson, The Naturally Frugal Baby, 2 edition, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 93:
  Other people have recommended a wastebasket with a tight-fitting lid. We didn't think at the time that that would provide enough odor containment; now I think that it would, for a dry pail system.
- 2013 April 13, Attached Mama, “Cloth Diaper Washing: Wet Pail or Dry Pail?”, in Eco Baby Steps‎^[1]:
  A dry diaper pail can be either a hard pail with a liner or a hanging pail (just the wet bag or liner). A dry pail isn’t exactly dry, since you fill it with wet diapers, but "dry" refers to not adding more water.
- 2021, Bailey Bouwman, Cloth Diapers: The Ultimate Guide to Textiles, Washing & More, Simply Bailey Social Marketing, →ISBN, page 195:
  Wet pails have largely fallen out of favour. Many families successfully store dirty diapers in a wet bag or dry pail and wash on wash day. Modern washing machines, detergent, and changes in diapers has made this an unnecessary step for some families.

Usage notes

While not all diaper pails contain water, dry pail refers specifically to an informal, often small receptacle for cloth diapers, such as a holed basket or hanging wet bag.

Derived terms

dry pailing

Verb

dry pail (third-person singular simple present dry pails, present participle dry pailing, simple past and past participle dry pailed)

(slang, rare) To use a dry pail.