Do you have an unpleasant odor in your kitchen? Well, you’re probably not alone! Garbage, pieces of food, poorly maintained appliances, etc. can all cause nasty odors. Thankfully there are a few tips and tricks to help you combat this discomfort. Here are some tips to help you get rid of kitchen odors:
Garbage can
The garbage can is one of the main sources of unpleasant odors in a kitchen. That’s not surprise because … well, you know … it’s a garbage can! There are some techniques that can solve this problem.
First of all; clean your garbage can regularly. You can do this with a mixture of water and vinegar or a disinfectant that kills germs and masks odors (don’t forget to allow the garbage can to dry before you use it again). The odor problem caused by garbage cans usually stems from food residue that hasn’t been washed down properly.
Toss a few orange, lime or lemon peels into the garbage can. They will give it a fresh citrus aroma. Try to do this weekly, along with proper cleaning once a month. Your garbage can will never develop a bad odor again!
Garbage disposal
It’s not uncommon for the garbage disposal to create unwanted smells. To solve this problem, simply drop some orange peels into garbage disposal unit and grind it up to get rid of foul odors.
Vinegar-lemon cubes can also help. Fill an ice cube tray with 8 parts water and 1 part vinegar. Cut up a lemon and drop a small piece of the lemon rind into each slot. Leave the solution to freeze. Drop the cubes in the garbage disposal to get red of the smell. The ice will also sharpen the blades and dislodge any pieces of food that may be stuck.
Dishwashing liquid might also do the trick. Fill the sink’s with hot water and add 1/8 cup of grease-cutting dishwashing liquid. When the sink is full, release the stopper and turn the disposal on. The water will clean away the grime and clean the pipes out.
The fridge
A fridge is one of the kitchen appliances that can easily get dirty. Sticky shelves are almost unavoidable.
For those of you who hate cleaning the fridge; wrap the kitchen shelves in plastic for easy cleaning. After a few weeks you can simply remove it and replace it with another sheet.
Another great way to prevent fridge smells: put some unscented cat litter in a pot and place it inside the fridge. The cat litter will absorb the smell.
Create new scents
Instead of removing the source of the odor, you can always mask it with a fresh scent. There are several ways to give your entire kitchen (and home) a lovely aroma, for example:
If you love the smell of coffee, you can oven roast some coffee beans. That delicious coffee scent will fill the entire kitchen in no time.
Another ‘oven recipe’ that is very effective goes as follows: preheat your oven to 200° F. Place a baking sheet with cinnamon, sugar and a tablespoon of butter inside. Let it sit in the oven for about 3 hours.
Instead of using air fresheners, try to boil orange peels with a tablespoon of cinnamon (a tip from one of our first articles). The combination of oils from the orange peels and cinnamon creates a lovely scent that beats any air freshener.
Alternatively you get a pot with water and add a few sprigs of rosemary and a teaspoon of vanilla. When the water’s boiling, add a few slices of lemon. The steam will carry this lovely scent through the house. (recipe by Morgan Moore)
And last but not least; fresh flowers, herbs or scented candles can also do wonders. It’s a tried & tested solution against kitchen odors that can’t be forgotten.
