Why does our trash always smell?

Question

The trash can in our kitchen is a stainless steal can with a lid. We empty it about once a week since we don't build up that much trash but it always smells so bad. We've tried cleaning it and using deodorizers but I can't figure out why it's always so awful.

Answer 1

I am afraid you are just not emptying it enough.  You really need to empty it every day.  Put a smaller bag in the top of the can so that you don't waste a large bag and take it out once a day.  Your trash is no more smelly than anyone else's it is just you have it sitting in a warm kitchen too long.

Answer 2

Take out the trash everyday.  

Answer 3

I would suggest taking it out more often, maybe getting a smaller trash bin and taking it out more and washing it with bleach or lysol once a week. It's definatly from bacteria. All that food from the week builds up and it rots and there is bacteria. Bacteria causes odor.  

Answer 4

If you clean it then place a liner down in the bottom. Put some coffee grounds in the bottom, it will help soak up the smell. When you vacuume take out the trash and vaccume the grounds up and replace it. Good Luck!

Answer 5

cuz its trash, its not supposed to smell good

Answer 6

Some people actually put food in little plastic grocery bags after cooking or cleaning and they tie it up then throw it away. It contains the smell better until you are able to take it out. As opposed to having the whole trash bag open with all kinds of food for a week.

Answer 7

Yes, it's the build up.  Plus, if you put food scraps in it and let them sit for a week, it will smell.  If I don't take our garbage out every other day, it stinks....

Take the can outside, put warm water & dish soap in it.  I'd use a toilet bowl cleaner & start scrubbing.

When you're done, let it dry & sprinkle baking soda in it.

Answer 8

You can deodorize the can with bleach, lysol, lemon juice, vinegar, or any number of other things. I'd suggest a good rinse once a week with one of those things, and dry it off before putting a plastic bag in it. I don't have garbage pickup where I live, so have to take the garbage to the dump myself. Naturally, I don't do that every week since it costs the same to throw out 10 bags as it does one. I don't want smelly garbage around outdoors since there are occasional bears where I live. I compost all vegetable garbage. I keep two small garbage containers in the kitchen. One is for food related things, one for everything else. Any food-type garbage that could get really smelly, such as meat, fish, cheese, butter wrappers and so on, goes into a plastic bag in the freezer till garbage day. When the small bags in the kitchen are full, they go outside into separate containers for food and non-food. Especially in summer, it helps to take the kitchen garbage out often. It's when it sits for days in the container that it gets really bad.

Answer 9

Ours gets a little bit smellier in the summertime, too.  I'm not sure if it's the types of foods we eat then (more fresh veg & more veg scraps) or the weather in general that helps it to compost faster.

Does it smell after you empty it?  If so, you might want to give it a good scrub & let it dry in the sun all day, to give it a good airing out.  

Or, is it possible that a scrap of decaying food has somehow lodged itself somewhere in or on the can (does it have a lining that could be hiding something)?