Do you notice nasty odors consistently coming from your home or business’s garbage cans? These odors can make living at home or working in the office unpleasant and uncomfortable. Don’t continue to put up with these unpleasant smells—learn eight ways to deal with bad smells from your trash can.
1. Empty Trash Cans More Often
If you notice your garbage cans at home or in the office starting to smell unpleasant very quickly, you may need to increase how often you take out the trash. If your smelly trash cans are in a very high-traffic area such as your kitchen or a common room, they will collect garbage fast. If this excess garbage sits for too long in the bin, its odor will start to spread throughout the room.
Whether you empty your own bins at home or have a hired cleaning service empty your cans in the office, try increasing the frequency of your dumpster runs to solve your stinky bin problem.
2. Use Trash Bags
Throwing waste directly into your trash can indirectly cause waste odors to linger in your home or office. Even the sturdiest garbage bins will start to absorb food and waste odors after a certain time. This fact is especially true if you use plastic bins at home.
Lining your garbage cans with trash bags before throwing trash in provides a buffer between the waste and your trash can, which helps cut down on odor absorption. Garbage receptacles can still absorb odors over time, but garbage bags significantly delay this process. You can even find scented or deodorized trash bags that can help reduce the smell of garbage as they collect it.
3. Deep Clean Your Trash Can
Even after using garbage bags, your trash cans will start to absorb odors after prolonged periods of use. This issue could be due to your bags tearing or ripping, garbage spills, or unavoidable simply scent absorption over time. After enough use, you’ll either need to deep clean your trash can to address the smell or replace it.
You should try to regularly clean your garbage can to keep it fresh and to promote the most hygienic conditions. Disinfecting wipes and sprays that include bleach are effective at killing bacteria and removing spills and stains hiding inside your garbage bin.
4. Separate Composting Materials
Some garbage cans will start to smell more rapidly due to the types of trash and waste they collect. For example, a trash can in your home or business’s kitchen area will have a stronger odor due to the food waste you toss into it. Fortunately, you can combat some of these food smell sources by separating your compostable materials from the rest of the waste.
Try starting a composting bin for excess food scraps such as eggshells, fruit and vegetable peels, and more. Keeping these items out of your garbage cans will help you reduce occupied capacity in your receptacles and help keep some of the odor down. You can even add other household and business composting materials to the pile, such as paper scraps and yard waste.
5. Scatter Baking Soda
You may have heard of leaving an open box of baking soda in your refrigerator to help reduce food odors. Well, you can apply the same method to your garbage can to tackle unpleasant odors. You can leave the box of baking soda at the bottom of your trash can underneath the bag or you can create smaller baking soda sachets to save room.
To create a quick and easy sachet, place small coffee filters flat and fill them with baking soda, then tie the coffee filter off with a rubber band or string. Place these smaller packs at the bottom of each garbage can—just remember to replace them each month so they remain effective.
6. Use Odor-Eliminating Essential Oils
If you have an essential oil collection at home, you can use these oils in several ways to stop a smelly garbage can. Essential oils are an effective and safe way to add a fresh scent and keep your garbage bins smelling fragrant instead of unpleasant.
You can diffuse essential oils into a deodorizing spray by adding distilled water, white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and your favorite essential oils to a spray bottle. Use this mixture as you add garbage to your can to keep it from smelling. Alternatively, you can also try soaking a cotton ball in essential oils and dropping it into the bottom of the garbage bag or can itself.
7. Utilize Coffee Beans and Grounds
Coffee grounds and beans have a strong aroma that is ideal for absorbing and masking other smells. Many perfume or candle shops use coffee beans as a “reset button” while sampling scents. You can utilize coffee beans in the same way at home or in the office.
Use coffee beans or coffee grounds as a base layer for your garbage or compost pile. The nutty and strong scent of coffee will overpower the odor of the garbage or waste. Used coffee grounds also make great composting material in general, so don’t skimp on adding these to your pile.
8. Consider Other Home Deodorizers
There are plenty of extra DIY deodorizers that you can find scattered around your home besides coffee grounds and essential oils. It might surprise you to learn that cat litter makes a good DIY deodorizer. After all, cat litter helps cut down on odors in your cat’s litter box, right? If you have a cat at home, utilize some of their clean litter at the bottom of your garbage bag. The litter will clump to absorb moisture and odors from the waste.
Another simple home remedy for smelly garbage cans is to use dryer sheets. Place one or two dryer sheets at the bottom of your garbage can or bag to add a fresh scent and deodorize pungent smells.
If you notice strong waste odors coming from your trash can consistently, it might be time to upgrade your home or business’s garbage can. Shop at Trash Cans Depot for commercial indoor trash cans to start fresh with a new receptacle. With your replacement on hand, you can put these eight ways to deal with bad smells from your trash can to use and protect your brand-new bin from future odors.
