I Found the Best Way to Get My Kitchen to Smell Good Instantly
A kitchen can hold a plethora of smells, some good and some bad. Despite my rigorous cleaning routine, there are days when my kitchen gets stinkier than usual even though I’ve cleared the garbage disposal or scrubbed the counters. It turns out, I could make my kitchen smell good not by necessarily adding scent or fragrance, but rather by cleaning a spot where foul odors love to cling.
“Unlike other kitchen surfaces, a trash can is rarely cleaned,” says Julie Edelman, cleaning guru and author of The Accidental Sisterhood. She shared a handful of tips to help keep your trash can clean and your kitchen free of any unpleasant odors.
Find a Space to Clean Your Trash Can
Edelman suggests using a room or area that not only has enough space for your trash can, but can also be cleaned up with ease. You can use your shower or take it outside to the patio, if you have one. “Make sure you wipe loose any debris with a damp cloth from both the exterior and interior,” she says. “If your garbage has a top handle and/or foot pedal, clean them thoroughly.”
Make Your Cleaning Solution
Whether it’s due to a leaky hole in the trash bag, or because you missed some food debris that ended up at the bottom of the can, a trash can gets quite grimy. Edelman recommends making your own cleaning solution with ingredients you likely already have on hand.
Edelman says to fill a 16- to 20-ounce spray bottle with one teaspoon of dish detergent, ¼ cup of white vinegar, and the rest with water. “Vinegar is a great cleaning agent since it acts both as a deodorizer and a disinfectant,” she adds. “Thoroughly spray the interior, gently scrub it using a soft brush, and wipe in a ‘wax on, wax off’ Karate Kid motion.”
Clean Small Crevices
Gross liquids (I personally call it trash juice) or old food crumbs can get trapped in the small crevices of a trash can, so Edelman says it’s imperative to not neglect these areas when cleaning it. “Use an old toothbrush to clean hard-to-reach spots like tops under the lip, handle, or foot pedal,” she says. “Wipe the inside and outside completely dry with a clean microfiber towel or paper towel.”
Take Preventative Measures
Now that your trash can is sparkling clean, it’s best to practice some maintenance to both extend time in between cleanings and ensure that your kitchen never smells like trash. Edelman recommends sprinkling baking soda at the bottom of the can on a weekly basis to absorb odors, or adding a couple of newspaper pages to trap excess liquids and debris.
“Depending on how yucky your garbage can is, it’s best to clean it monthly to quarterly,” she says. Although scented trash bags can be useful in adding some fragrance, a more natural alternative is adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil to a couple of cotton balls and dropping those at the bottom of your can, underneath the trash bag.
This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Found the Best Way to Get My Kitchen to Smell Good Instantly (It’s Foolproof!)
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