No matter how hard you work to keep your kitchen clean and tidy, if you’re not properly washing your bin, you’ll soon know about it. Just like your outdoor wheelie bins, your interior trash cans can kick up quite a stink after a while.
Since your kitchen bin also happens to be in your home, and around the area where you prepare food, it’s even more important to make sure you keep that bin clean.
If you’re thinking that it might be time to master cleaning the dreaded bin once and for all, we’re here to teach you how to clean a kitchen bin effectively.
Why Does My Kitchen Bin Always Smell?
You may wonder why you always seem to struggle with a stinky bin, particularly if you’re careful to change the bin bag frequently and clean out the bottom of the bin when you can.
Ultimately, no matter how hard you try, your kitchen bin is going to come into contact with a lot of smelly rubbish. Old food, leftovers, and a gradual buildup of bacteria when you add something new to your bin all contribute to quite the smell.
If you want to avoid a consistent smell, then you might need to commit to taking the bin out on a regular basis or changing the way you deal with rubbish. Great tips to stop your bin from smelling include:
- Put food waste in a compost bin instead of your bin
- Avoid leaving bin bags with food and smelly things in them to sit for too long
- Use a fresh bag and empty your bin before the rubbish is overflowing
- Clean out cans, bottles, and other items before you put them in the bin
- Clean any spills or dribbles immediately to protect the bottom of the bin
- Place bicarbonate of soda or cat litter in the bottom of the bin to absorb smells
- Keep your bin out of direct sunlight and keep the bin dry!
How to Clean Your Bin
To stop bin cleaning from becoming too much of a chore, it’s a good idea to take regular steps to clean kitchen bins and wheelie bins each day. Making sure you wipe the bin lid with disinfectant spray and change the garbage bag regularly is a good idea. You can also wash the outside of the bin when you’re cleaning your kitchen and the rest of your home.
However, occasionally, a deep clean of your home bins may be necessary. When this time comes, make sure you have a good pair of rubber gloves; it can get gross inside of that bin.
First, start by taking any trash outside and placing it in your wheelie bin, out of the way. Make sure you get anything stuck to the inside of the bins, like wrappers or food.
When the bin is totally empty, take your garden hose, or a pressure cleaner on a low setting if you have one, and douse the inside of the bin with water. Give it a thorough rinse to remove excess food particles. Next, use some water and disinfectant, or dish soap, to fill the bottom part of the inner container of your bin. Let the water settle in the bottom for a few minutes and use a fresh toilet brush to scrub the inside.
It may take a decent amount of scrubbing before you get an odour-free kitchen bin. Don’t be afraid to use a fresh-scented cleaner or disinfectant to get rid of excess smells.
Once you’re done scrubbing, empty the water outside, and rinse the whole bin again with the spray from your hose or pressure washer. Make sure you remove all the cleaning solutions you used during the deep cleaning. Still using your rubber gloves, wipe down the outside of your bin when you’re done with the rinse. Regularly cleaning the bin exterior is a good idea for keeping your kitchen looking great.
Using a kitchen roll, dry most of the bin and wipe away any remaining grime or particles you can see. Don’t forget to scrub the top, the lid, and the pedal too. If it’s a nice day, you can leave the bin outside to dry the rest of the way.
Keeping Your Bin Clean
When your bin is dry, you can add some essential oil drops or something with a fresh scent to help tackle the future smells that are coming its way. Whenever you clean your bin, top it up with a sprinkling of baking soda on the bottom, and your favourite essential oil. Cat litter that has a scent added to it is excellent too.
A few other quick tips you can use when cleaning your bin include:
Stick with Pedal Bins
This will ensure that you have a more hygienic kitchen, because you’re not touching the top of your bin with your hands.
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Empty as Often as Necessary
Emptying your bin every day is ideal, but if you don’t need to do it this often, that’s fine. Just be sure you’re keeping the baking soda topped up.
Pay for the Right Bin Bags
Use a high-quality bin bag so you don’t have to worry about them always splitting when you pull them out of the bin.
Deep Clean Related Products at the Same Time
Clean your rubbish bin and your wheelie bin at around the same time if you have a chance.
Consider a Bin Odour Eliminator
There are plenty of products out there that help to reduce bin odour. Consider giving some of them a try.
Garbage building up? Eliminate the smell by placing and #AirRestore Air Naturalizer in your kitchen. #odorsnomore pic.twitter.com/PFrl9BPGwB
— AirRestore (@AirRestoreUSA) September 24, 2016
How Often Should You Clean Your Kitchen Bin?
You don’t have to deep clean your kitchen bin every day. However, you should be keeping it in excellent condition. Wipe your bin dry every time you notice a splatter or a dribble of food and get rid of stains immediately. Deal with bin problems (like a split bag) straight away, and spray the bin regularly with disinfectant to keep it fresh.
You should probably be deep cleaning your bin at least once a week if you use it regularly. If you have a messy family, you might need to do it more often.
Summary
Keeping your kitchen tidy also means keeping everything clean and odour-free. We hope this guide on how to clean a kitchen bin was useful and you can use this information to maintain your kitchen hygiene and get rid of those bin odours once and for all.
Do you have more tips and tricks on how to keep garbage bins from smelling? Let us know in the comments below.
Additional Resources
Rebekah is a writer who loves to explore new products and find hacks that make life easier. She has a knack for all things home improvement, health and fitness. So you’ll often find her on Pinterest or browsing Houzz for ideas.
She’s always looking for the next thing to fix up around the house or what gadget might be just right for her lifestyle. Rebekah enjoys exploring new recipes, taking care of her family, and making sure she stays healthy with regular workouts at the gym.