No one likes unpleasant smells in their kitchen. And one of the most common causes of unpleasant smells is your kitchen garbage. How can you keep your kitchen garbage from smelling, even after trying to prevent this from happening many times?
In this article, we will cover some of the easiest ways to keep your garbage from smelling as well as why it smells so bad in the first place. It’s very important to keep your kitchen garbage smelling good, both for your own comfort and the well-being of your home.
Why Does My Kitchen Garbage Smell So Bad?
Your kitchen garbage may smell bad for a number of reasons. Not only is it a high traffic area, where your trash can is likely to fill frequently, it is often being filled with particularly smelly items.
Simply what you put into your trash can lead to it smelling bad. Your kitchen garbage is likely to smell worse than other trash cans because it is full of food scraps and food items. Depending on the ambient temperature in your home, your kitchen garbage is likely to smell worse during weather or in well-heated homes.
Kitchen garbage bags often rip without us knowing as well, leading to residue or liquid settling at the bottom of your trash can. If you don’t frequently clean your physical garbage can, this can lead to smells you may not have been expecting.
Leaving your garbage unchanged for longer than a few days can also lead to more smells. As food products break down and decay in your trash, it is easy to see how your kitchen garbage would start smelling worse than ever before.
There are solutions to this problem, however. Let’s take a look at some of those now.
How to Keep Your Kitchen Garbage from Smelling
If you are looking to take care of your kitchen garbage from smelling, you’re in the right place. Let’s take a look at five easy ways to keep your kitchen smelling good.
1. Separate Your Compost
The main cause of a smelly kitchen garbage can has to be decaying food items inside of your garbage bag. This is especially true for those of you who don’t fill your garbage can every couple days. If you leave food sitting for longer than three or four days, your kitchen garbage is likely to smell.
The easiest way to combat this is to separate your compost or food items from your kitchen trash and into another bin that you empty more frequently. Eggshell and coffee ground compost is a wonderful thing to start keeping around for your garden and plants as well, should you have them.
If you are preparing a particularly smelly meal as well, such as with meat or fish, you may consider taking out your meal scraps or leftovers rather than letting them sit in your kitchen garbage. Going straight to your outdoor trash can will help prevent your kitchen garbage from smelling in the future.
2. Use Odor Preventing Garbage Bags
Smelly kitchen trash has become such a prevalent issue that many trash bag manufacturers are installing deodorizers or odor preventing technology into their trash bags. You may consider purchasing an odor preventing garbage bag if you frequently have smelly trash.
Some reliable brands include these Hefty Ultra Strong Tall Kitchen Trash Bags as well as these Glad Trash & Food Storage OdorShield Trash Bags. There are no doubt many other options available on the market today, but these are highly rated for their durability and odor control.
3. Sprinkle Baking Soda or Use a Baking Soda Deodorizer
There are many different home remedies for trash can deodorizers, most of them utilizing baking soda. Baking soda is useful in neutralizing odors and has been long regarded as a miracle product for many DIY projects and cleaning remedies.
Not only can you use baking soda to help you with pet urine and carpet stains, you can also use it as a kitchen trash can deodorizer. Simply sprinkle some baking soda in the bottom of your garbage bin and into your trash bag as you fill it. Doing so periodically can help lessen unpleasant scents.
You can also try out this Arm & Hammer Trash and Dumpster Deodorizer Can. It has a more powerful scent than just using baking soda on its own, and Arm & Hammer has long been regarded as a homeowner’s top product for many cleaning tasks.
4. Use a Trash Can Deodorizer
Speaking of deodorizers, there are many other commercial products that can help deodorize your kitchen garbage better than simply using baking soda. I highly recommend these Plink Bin Fresh Odor Eliminators.
This product from Plink can attach to the lid of your trash can or to the side of it, alongside your trash bag. While the adhesive may need a little bit of extra help according to product reviews, the overall deodorizing effect is powerful. This product is also affordable, and you simply change it after 30 days of use.
If you are looking for a more natural remedy, check out the BioStrike Trash Magic Natural Odor Fighter. This product uses activated charcoal or carbon to slowly absorb any lingering odors and moisture found in your kitchen garbage can- a more natural alternative to Plink.
Much like the Plink product, this item will need some assistance in the adhesive department. But if you are able to attach it to the lid of your kitchen garbage, it will do the job of absorbing odors. You simply replace it after a month or two, and forget about it the rest of the time.
5. Regularly Clean Your Garbage Can
One of the easiest things you can do to prevent your kitchen garbage from smelling is to regularly clean your garbage can. This can be useful whether or not you have had recent leaks or a rip in your garbage bag, as many plastic cans will still absorb lingering odors.
Depending on the severity of both the smells and the stains found inside your garbage can, you can use many different cleaning methods and tools to get your garbage smelling clean again. A brand new toilet bowl brush can be an excellent scrubber for this task.
While simple dish soap can work to clean your garbage can, you may consider a bleach-based cleaning solution or other sort of disinfectant spray. Your garbage can not only smells gross, it is full of potential bacteria and unhealthy germs.
You may also consider soaking your kitchen garbage can in a warm soapy water solution or a bleach based solution. If you have caked-on gunk, this is a great way of combating that. However, usually a rag and some disinfecting spray is all you need to get your garbage can smelling good again.
While cleaning out the inside of your garbage can every single time you take out the trash isn’t convenient, it may help you the most with fighting smelly odors. However, once a week or once every other week may suffice depending on your situation. You may also consider purchasing stronger trash bags if you regularly experience leaks or tears.
The Importance of Keeping Your Kitchen Garbage from Smelling
No matter where your trash can is located, it is important to keep smells at bay. Your kitchen garbage is no exception, especially given the presence of smelly food items. Pests, including rats, mice, and other critters are more likely to be attracted to your kitchen garbage than any other garbage source.
Your kitchen garbage will also attract flies and other insects that you may not want in your home. Flies can easily lay eggs in your kitchen garbage, leading to maggots and more flies should the issue be left unattended.
Plus, no one likes smelling trash. Keeping your kitchen garbage from smelling is important for your own health and the health of your house guests, should you have any. If your kitchen garbage frequently smells, how are you going to enjoy cooking in the same location?!
If all of these methods fail, the best thing you can do is take your trash out more frequently than you currently are. It made me unit that you remove your garbage before the trash bag is full, but this will help prevent any unpleasant smells from building up and lingering in your home.
What Type of Garbage Bin Should I Use in the Kitchen?
The best type of garbage bin you can use in your kitchen is any type of can with a lid on it. Not only are garbage bins more attractive with a lid on them, these lids will help prevent the majority of odors unless your trash is particularly smelly.
However, nobody likes touching the lid of a garbage can. These are often full of bacteria and diseases, and it can be very inconvenient to constantly be touching a trash can lid when you are cooking. That’s why you may consider a kitchen garbage can with a foot-activated lift or a motion-activated lift.
I highly recommend the iTouchless 13 Gallon Touchless Sensor Trash Can for many reasons. It comes in a variety of colors and sizes, uses motion activation to lift its lid, and even includes a portion of the can dedicated to an odor absorption system.
While you will have to purchase additional filters for this trash can, it has a built-in odor eliminator so that you can keep your kitchen garbage smelling fresh. There are many other touchless trash cans available on Amazon, so I recommend looking for ones that suit your home environment best.
As previously mentioned, you may also consider an odor control garbage bag. Purchasing heavy duty kitchen bags with scents built-in can help prevent your kitchen trash from expelling unpleasant smells, and the heavy-duty build will help you avoid rips and tears in the bag itself.
Final Thoughts
No one likes smelling their kitchen garbage, but thankfully there are many solutions to this common problem. Whether you buy an entirely new trash can, a deodorizer, or simply switched trash bags, you can keep your kitchen from smelling bad with any of these simple solutions.
Do you have a solution we haven’t mentioned? Feel free to tell us all about it in the comments!
Jamie is the Founder of My Home Dwelling. He is a homeowner and enjoys sharing his homeowner tips with others. He has real estate experience working as a new home construction Realtor. Jamie has worked on numerous residential construction sites helping with interior and exterior renovations. He loves refinishing furniture, DIY home projects, and sharing his knowledge online.