Follow these tips to reduce odors from garbage in kitchen trash cans:

  • Put a section of newspaper in the bottom of your kitchen trash can to absorb any liquids.
  • Put another section of newspaper in the bottom of the plastic trash bag.
  • Sprinkle scented kitty litter (about one cup) in the garbage bag to absorb liquids and provide a fresh smell.

Watch this video to find out more.

Further Information

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Joe Truini: No matter where you keep your kitchen trash, whether it’s under the sink or in a pantry, chances are you’re going to have to deal with offensive odors from time to time. Here are a couple of tricks that can help prevent that.

First of all, a lot of odors are caused by liquids that spill out of the trash, so we’re going to start by absorbing the liquids with newspaper. First put some under the trash bag, directly in the bottom of the can, because these bags aren’t completely waterproof and sometimes they’ll get a hole and the liquids will leak out. And then, soon as you put in a new bag, add a few more pieces of newspaper, you don’t need much, maybe three or four sections. And again, that will help absorb liquids.

Now, to make sure that every bit of liquids get absorbed, we can enhance it with a little kitty litter. So pour in, you don’t need that much, maybe a cup or so, right on top of the newspaper at the bottom. Now, what the kitty litter is going to do is not only absorb excess liquids; but also, if you get the scented brand, it’s going to smell nice and fresh.

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avatar for Joe Truini

Joe Truini

Radio Show Co-Host

Joe Truini is a contractor, author, and the host of “Simple Solutions” on Today’s Homeowner TV and the weekly Today’s Homeowner radio show. He has worked on both large commercial projects and residential remodeling, and has written for national publications such as This Old House and Popular Mechanics. He has also written eight books, including three best-selling shed-building books. Joe lives in Connecticut with his family and enjoys hiking, traveling, and baseball in his spare time.

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