How To Keep Trash Can from Smelling: Know Top 8 Odor- eliminating Tools
Nothing can be more embarrassing than a stinky trash can in your house. Imagine you are guests coming to your house and experiencing garbage odors. Sounds horrible, right?
However, don’t worry; you can easily kill trash odors by following simple tricks. Deal with your trash can odors effortlessly by knowing how to keep trash can from smelling through this article.
The kill or neutralize trash can smells, you can try different methods. Start with cleaning the trash can and using tough trash bags. Also, growing the habit of trash removal in time will save your trash can from strong odors.
Besides these, baking soda, lemon peels, vinegar, bleach, coffee, cat litter, and essential oils are great tools for killing trash odors.
Are you interested to know about all the tricks to remove trash odors? If so, then buckle up and keep reading this article.
Things You Must Follow To Avoid A Smelly Trash Can
Doing certain things can prevent garbage cans from smelling bad. Many people use different types of tools to eliminate smells. Now, using smell-deterring tools will surely help you, but there are some trash can managing habits that you must follow.
Regular maintenance of the habits below will help prevent odors and unpleasant scents from your trash bin.
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Remove The Trash In Time
If you have the habit of keeping your garbage inside the trash can for a long period, it is high time you change this habit. The food waste does not take time to rot and quickly starts smelling bad. So, if you have any food or organic waste inside your indoor or outdoor garbage cans, you must remove them before they spread odors.
Always Use A Garbage Bag To Throw Trash
If you habitually throw food waste or other decaying matter openly into the trash can, you must stop it now! Rotten food scraps are the main reason behind a smelly trash can.
So, it would be best to put your daily trash inside a trash bag and throw them into the trash cans.
Any trash that remains open inside a trash bin will emit a smell whenever you open the lid. Remember, kitchen trash will start smelling as soon as it decomposes.
So, from food scraps to pet waste and dirty diapers, you must pack everything in a trash bag before disposing of them in your outdoor trash cans.
Now, if you have less kitchen trash to throw in your outside garbage cans, in such a case, you can use smaller garbage bags.
Use A Good Quality Trash Bag
Many people think there is no need to consider quality while buying a trash bag. But it is the wrong step to take. It would be best if you always bought trash bags that are thick and leak-proof to prevent smells from coming out.
Moreover, low-quality garbage bags have higher chances of tearing off. They cannot resist the pressure inside the garbage cans and often burst off. So, if you want to avoid such a mess, there is no alternative to using tough and leak-proof trash bags.
Go Through A Regular Cleaning Process
It is common for garbage cans to pile up all sorts of debris inside. That is why you must regularly clean your garbage bin, or else scraping off the attached debris becomes tough. It might not be possible for you to clean your trash cans daily, so it is okay if you clean them twice or thrice a week.
Many prefer to call a cleaning expert to help clean their trash cans. However, it is an easy task, and you can do this by following a DIY method.
Follow the below steps to clean your stinky trash can-
- Make a cleaning solution by mixing warm water, white vinegar, and dish soap.
- Pour the solution into a spray bottle.
- Empty the trash bin and spray the solution all over the trash can.
- Wait for a few minutes to sit the cleaning solution.
- After that, scrub the bin thoroughly.
- Use a long-handled scrub brush to reach inside the trash can and clean it.
- Next, wash the trash bin with tap water.
Do Not Overfill The Trash Cans
If you cram too much trash into your outdoor garbage cans, the trash bin lid will not close properly. As a result, bad odors will easily come out of the trash can.
Many people use compressors to compress the trash bags inside the trash can to place as much trash as they want. But it is a bad practice. You should naturally keep the trash bags without compressing them and remove the trash before it overfills.
Top 9 Tools That Helps To Prevent Trash Cans From Smelling
The most effective tools that help to eliminate garbage smells are mentioned below-
Baking Soda
Baking soda is the most effective solution when the issue is about eliminating odors from trash cans. This ingredient works like magic in removing food scraps’ strong, intolerable odor and decaying organic matter from trash bins.
First, clean the trash can thoroughly and soak the water with the help of a paper towel. After the trash can is fully dried, sprinkle one cup of baking soda at the bottom and leave it overnight.
The baking soda will absorb the moisture and make your trash can smell fresh. You can also read How to Kill Flies in Trash Can?
Bleach
Besides rotten food and organic matter, germs inside the trash can stimulate the odors. In such a case, bleach plays a vital role in killing the germs to get rid of the stinky trash can.
However, be careful while using bleach to remove garbage odors. Do not add too much bleach to your trash can; otherwise, it will damage the finish of the can. Moreover, bleach is an inflammable matter, so ensure the area where you clean your trash can is well-ventilated.
Though bleach is a heavily diluted element, it works perfectly and eliminates the stinky garbage smell. The cleaning procedure is given below-
Empty the trash can.
- Wash and scrub the trash can with dish soap.
- Mix 1/4th cup of bleach with two gallons of hot water.
- Pour the mixture into the trash can.
- Let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes.
- Remove the mixture and scrub the trash can thoroughly to clean the tough debris attached to the trash can.
- Wash the trash can with normal tap water by using a garden hose.
Charcoal Filter
An activated charcoal filter is one of the best tools often used to neutralize odors in trash cans. You can get this filter from any grocery or super shop near your area. There is not much work to do with this filter. All you have to do is attach the charcoal filter under the trash can lid and close the lid.
Also, you can attach the filter inside the cabinets if you have a pull-out cabinet trash can. The charcoal infused inside the filter will slowly neutralize the bad smells of food and animal waste.
Litter
It might sound odd, but cat litter helps to eliminate the garbage smell. The cat litter can absorb moisture and prevent odors from trash cans. Moreover, it leaves a fresh smell inside the garbage bin and keeps your house odor-free.
Now, you do not have much work to do. All you have to do is dump the cat litter at the ground level of your trash can, and then you are ready to use your garbage disposal. Remember, cat litter becomes damp over time, so you must change it every week.
Scented Trash Bags
Using deodorizing or scented trash bags also helps eliminate odors from outdoor trash cans. While buying a scented trash bag, make sure the bag is durable and made of high-quality plastic. Or else low-quality trash bags usually get ripped off, which helps the odor to come out of the trash can.
Coffee Beans
Who doesn’t like the aroma of coffee beans? I am sure everyone does. Spread a coat of coffee beans over the base of your trash can and wait for the magic to happen. The coffee beans absorb the pungent smell and leave a fresh scent in your trash can. However, please make sure the coffee beans are dry completely before disposing of trash over them.
Dryer Sheets
Dryer sheets are another simple yet useful tool that helps to eliminate garbage odor. Just keep a dryer sheet inside a trash can and see how quickly it absorbs the stinky odors from the trash can.
Lemon Peels
The lemon peel contains citrus, an excellent element for removing strong odors from your trash can. Moreover, citrus zest is a natural air fresher that is non-toxic to humans. It does not only cover the offensive smell but also neutralizes them so that the smell does not come back.
Now, how to use lemon to remove odors? The process is simple. Just peel some lemons or oranges and put them over the trash can base. Then dispose of trash, and you will see no pungent smell coming out from your trash can.
Essential Oils
You can easily make odor removing spray with the help of essential oils and some natural household ingredients. Now there are many types of essential oils that help in preventing odors. For example, essential oils from lemongrass, lime, lavender, basil leaves, cinnamon, and thyme are best for removing smells.
Take one cup of normal water, two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol, half a cup of vinegar, and ten drops of essential oils (any flavor you choose). Then pour them into a spray bottle and give it a good mix. That is all! Your odor-removing spray is ready to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my trash can always smell?
Microorganisms and bacteria from decaying organic matter and food scraps are the main reason behind a smelly trash can. Microbes start multiplying as soon as the food starts to decompose. Also, take releases chemicals that result in bad smells in your trash bins.
Why does my bin smell so quickly?
Too much exposure to the heat makes your trash can smelly as soon as you dispose of garbage. The food scraps rot quickly when they come in contact with too much heat. So, never place your garbage can under direct sunlight. Shady areas are the best place for garbage cans.
What kills odor naturally?
Several household ingredients like bleach, baking soda, and vinegar are best known for being trash can odor killers. Also, they are chemical-free and non-toxic to humans. Besides these, coffee and lemon peels also kill bad smells.
Final Words
That is all about the tricks and tips about how to keep trash can from smelling. With the help of different odor-removing tools, you can easily prevent your trash can from smelling bad.
Remember, odor-removing tools like bleach, baking soda, dryer sheets, coffee beans, charcoal filters, cat litter, etc., are best. But you must grow some trash maintenance habits like cleaning trash cans regularly, using garbage bags, and timely garbage removal to prevent odors.
Hopefully, the tricks and methods mentioned in this article will help you to get rid of stinky trash cans.