Prevent a Stinky Garbage Before It Happens with These Tips from a Cleaning Editor

Follow these simple tips to prevent an embarrassingly smelly trash can.

As a cleaning editor, I’ve learned that I can scrub my home all day long, but there’s one thing that can ruin the work I did to make my space feel spotless—a stinky garbage. A foul-smelling garbage can spread its odor into every crevice of a room, totally erasing all of my prior cleaning efforts—and covering it up with a candle or air freshener seems to only make it worse. To stop this smelly issue before it starts, I’ve collected a few tips that everyone can implement in their own cleaning routine. 

Related: 7 Natural Ways to Eliminate Odors and Make Your Home Smell Amazing

How to Prevent a Smelly Garbage

The first step in getting rid of putrid scents coming from the waste receptacle is avoiding them from happening in the first place, as strong smells like rotting food can stick around long after the source has been removed. Use my go-to practices for keeping a clean-smelling garbage can. Don’t worry—they won’t add much time to your existing cleaning routine.

1. Take the Trash Out Often

The frequency of how often you take out the garbage is a key factor in preventing foul odors from festering in your trash can. Where the garbage can is located and what kind of waste goes into it should determine how often it should be taken to a garage or outdoor receptacle. For instance, the kitchen trash should be removed daily, or every other day, since it receives the most food scraps. Other waste bins around the house that hold solely dry debris might only need to be taken out once a week. It’s important to shift the mindset of only taking the trash out when it’s full, to taking it out if there’s something in it that could turn stinky.

Related: 19 Household Items You Should Probably Throw Out Now

2. Use a High-Quality Trash Can

The type of trash can you use can make a big difference in the smell that comes from it. A swing-top trash can lets odors escape into your home more easily than one that completely seals shut when it closes. Some even have included scent pods that absorb the bad scents and release good ones. To make separating easier, you can also purchase a trash can that has isolated compartments for recycling and composting materials. Ideally, a separated compost bin would allow some air to flow into it to slow the decomposition process and prevent odors.

3. Be Mindful of What You Throw Away

If you’re unable to repurpose your food scraps (like turning veggies into chips or bread into croutons), there are two ways that you can avoid a scrap-filled and funky-smelling garbage: Composting and using the garbage disposal. Aim to compost whenever possible to be more environmentally friendly. Foods that make great composting materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, and types of grains, like bread or pasta.

Remaining scraps that are soft or liquid can go down the garbage disposal. However, grease should always be thrown in the trash, as well as hard items like chicken bones. While not all smelly food can avoid being thrown in the kitchen trash, using a compost pile and garbage disposal can help minimize them.

Related: How to Clean a Garbage Disposal to Eliminate Stinky Odors

4. Clean the Trash Can

Other house items like sinks and toilets are cleaned often, so why don’t we clean our trash cans too? If you have a pesky smell that just won’t go away, it might be a sign that it’s time to deep-clean the can itself. To deep-clean an empty trash can, rinse it out with a hose and use a disinfectant or all-purpose cleaner to soak and scrub it. Rinse it again and let it air-dry before sprinkling some baking soda on the bottom to help deodorize it for future use. Special deodorizing packs or essential oils on a cotton ball would work similarly.

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