To clean a kitchen trash can, empty it, take out the inner bucket, and scrub it with hot water and dish soap. Disinfect the bucket with a diluted bleach solution made according to the bleach label, then rinse. Wipe the lid, rim, and pedal separately, and let everything dry completely before the new bag goes in. Once a month is enough for most kitchens.
Do it straight away after a bag leaks. A puddle of old juice in the bottom of the shell is what makes a bin smell long after you've taken the trash out.
Step by step#
- Take out the bag and any loose scraps. Lift out the inner bucket if your can has one.
- Take the bucket to the bathtub, a utility sink, or outside to the hose. The kitchen sink is the wrong place for bin residue.
- Fill the bottom with hot water and a squirt of dish soap. Scrub the inside with a long-handled brush, paying attention to the bottom corners, the handle recesses, and the rim where the bag folds over.
- Rinse it out.
- Disinfect the bucket if it's had raw meat juice or anything moldy in it. Use household bleach diluted as the bottle directs, leave it for the contact time on the label, then rinse. Wear gloves and keep the room ventilated.
- While the bucket soaks, wipe the inside of the outer shell, the underside of the lid, the hinge, and the pedal with warm soapy water and a cloth. Use a cleaner that suits the finish (see below).
- Dry everything with a towel, then leave the bucket upside down for half an hour to finish drying. Put a fresh bag in only once it's dry.
Where the smell actually hides#
When a clean-looking bin still smells, it's usually one of these:
- The bottom of the outer shell, under the inner bucket. Leaks drain through and sit there unseen.
- The underside of the lid, which catches splashes every time you scrape a plate.
- The rim and bag-retaining ring, where a torn bag smears whatever was inside it.
- The pedal linkage and hinge, which collect drips and crumbs.
Pull the bucket out and look in the shell every time you change the bag. It takes five seconds and catches most problems before they start to smell.
Stainless steel bins need gentler treatment outside#
Bleach is fine on a plastic inner bucket. It's bad for the stainless shell. For its steel step cans, simplehuman's care instructions say to clean the exterior with a soft cloth, warm water, and mild detergent, and not to use steel wool, steel polish, bleach, salts, or acids, all of which can damage the finish. The same page suggests soaking the removable inner bucket in diluted household bleach to deal with odor.
So it's two different jobs. Strong stuff goes on the plastic insert, and only mild soap and water goes on the outside. Wipe stainless in the direction of the grain and dry it so it doesn't streak. Our guide to cleaning stainless steel appliances covers fingerprint-resistant finishes that are even fussier.
Sensor cans have a battery pack and electronics in the lid. Don't put the lid under running water. Wipe it with a damp cloth, keep moisture away from the sensor window, and check the manual before taking anything apart.
Don't mix bleach with other cleaners#
Rinse out any other cleaner before using bleach, and never combine bleach with vinegar or ammonia in the same bucket. The Washington State Department of Health warns that bleach mixed with ammonia produces toxic chloramine gases and bleach mixed with an acid such as vinegar releases chlorine gas.
How to keep a kitchen trash can from smelling#
- Take out food waste before it gets ripe, not when the bag is full. In warm weather, every day or two.
- Wrap meat and fish scraps in newspaper or an old produce bag, or keep them in the freezer until trash day.
- Use the right bag size. A bag that's too small slips down and leaks into the shell.
- Put a folded paper towel or a sheet of newspaper in the bottom of the bucket under the bag to soak up small leaks. Replace it with each bag.
- Sprinkle a little baking soda in the bottom of the empty bucket. simplehuman mentions a baking soda solution as another option for the inner bucket.
- Drain wet food in the sink strainer before scraping it into the bin.
If the smell stays after a full clean, check the sink drain and, if you have one, the garbage disposal. Both sit in the same cabinet or next to it, and it's easy to blame the wrong one.
A monthly ChoreLists.com reminder to wash the bin out keeps it from getting to the point where you notice it from across the room.