What is that rotting, awful smell wafting into your backyard or worse, your garage? More importantly, how can you make it stop?
Chances are, it's coming from whatever is inside of your main trash bin. Especially during the hot, humid weather, it could get super-smelly.
It needs to be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis to create good air quality and to keep pests away. What is the easiest way to do this?
My preference is to drag the main bin onto our driveway and clean it outside, following these steps.
1. Gather your tools. You will need a garden hose or a bucket filled with water and a good, soapy
dish detergent, like Dawn...which, by the way, cleans nearly everything! You'll also need a long-handled scrub brush, cleaning
gloves, a mask (to help you deal with the odors), and protective glasses.
2. Mix your cleaning solution. Put on your mask and safety glasses. Mix one gallon of warm water with a squirt of dish soap for each of the trash cans you want to clean. You can do this right in the trash can (the
force of the hose water will "mix" it) or mix it in a bucket first and pour it in.
3. Soak and scrub. Pour the solution into each garbage container and then scrub inside
(and outside) with your long-handled brush. Don't rinse immediately. Allow to sit about 10 minutes. Then, scrub it again.
4. Rinse and dry. Dump the soapy solution out,
rinse inside and out with clean water, dump any leftover water out, and leave the top off the garbage bin in the sunshine to dry...about an hour.
It's very important that you allow the bin
to dry all the way. You don't want to be adding trash to a wet bin, which will create a breeding ground for germs and insects.
If you live in a warm weather area, try to clean the trash bin
in this manner once a month...or sooner if you detect a bad odor. If you're adding stinky kitty litter from your cat's litter box to it, you may need to do this job more often.
Cleaning the
main trash bin is definitely more challenging, during some months, for anyone living in a state where it gets very cold during the winter. Of course, odors aren't as noticeable when it's freezing outside.
We live in Wisconsin, and clean ours monthly, during all the months when our outdoor hose can be used.
A few other tips:
- Use your garbage disposal: If you have a garbage disposal, use it for whatever you can. This will result in less trash in the trash bin, and less of a chance of rotting food.
- Use your freezer: If you know whatever you're putting into your trash bin is going to be super smelly, like the leftover bones from a rotisserie chicken or the rinds from a melon, consider putting these items into a plastic bag and freezing them until trash pick-up day. Just be sure to add a reminder to your phone's calendar to notify you to
throw them out.
- Use heavy-duty trash bags: Bag your trash in heavy-duty trash bags and tie them tightly. Never add stray trash to your trash bin. Always use bags.
- Don't overstuff your trash bags. It makes it more challenging to tie them and may cause them to rip. These openings will release odors into the air...and may attract rodents and bugs as well.
- Put it in the shade. If you keep your trash bin outside, rather than in the garage, keep it in a shady spot if possible. It helps lessen odors.
- Add a few dryer sheets to the bottom of the trash bin. They'll help to
absorb odors. Replace them every month.
- Do a mini-cleaning each week: When you take out the trash for the trash collectors, spray Lysol (or any disinfectant) into your trash bin before replacing your trash bag.
- Make your life easier. The best time to clean your trash bin is the day that trash is picked up...when it's empty.
