Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to keep your kitchen clean and tidy, it still seems to smell dirty, and while wiping all the surfaces regularly and not leaving dirty dishes in the sink can help reduce kitchen smells, it’s often not enough.
With this in mind, here are five helpful tips to ensure that your kitchen smells fresh and inviting, every day of the week, morning, noon and night:
- Keep the garbage disposal clean
Garbage disposals are a fantastic invention, but if left uncleaned for weeks or months on end, they can soon make more than just your sink smell bad.
These tips should help you keep your garbage disposal clean:
- For a natural solution, grind lemon or orange peel in the disposal, alternatively, you can pour a cup full of your favourite scented dish soap into it
- Try running the tap for a full minute to flush everything through
- Use a half cup of baking soda poured into the disposal to help neutralize any nasty odors; remember to let it sit for a minimum of half an hour before flushing it through with water
Cleaning your garbage disposal once or twice a week takes so little time, that everyone can fit it into their schedule, no matter how busy you may be.
- Don’t neglect the trash can
Some trash smells worse than others, but ideally, no trash should be left stewing inside a can for days on end. Empty the can before it fills, and if something really smelly has gone in there, empty it before the stench has a chance to permeate the entire kitchen, or even the rest of your home. Spillages are also common with trash cans, so each time you empty it, give it a quick spray with your favourite anti-bacterial cleaning solution, and wipe it down thoroughly.
If you have guests coming over and don’t have time to empty the trash before they arrive, or simply want a quick fix, you can pour a half cup of baking soda into the bag, some coffee grounds or some charcoal to neutralize the stench.
- Deep clean the refrigerator
Even if you regularly remove outdated food from your fridge, it can start to smell over time if not cleaned at least once a month. Be sure to get into all of the corners, and where possible, take all of the food and drink out (you can place it in a cooler if you’re worried about it getting too warm), and remove all drawers and shelves so that you can give them a soak in some soapy water.
Deep cleaning a refrigerator isn’t everybody’s idea of fun, though, and depending on how full and/or how dirty it is, this task can take more than a few minutes. So, if you know your fridge needs cleaning (because the smell coming out of it is telling you so!), why not add it to the list of chores to be completed by your cleaning service, or if you don’t yet use one, start!
- Clean your sponges and cloths
The fact that we use sponges and cloths to clean things, means that by their very nature, they could start harboring bacteria and become smelly if not washed and disinfected themselves. Try throwing them in your machine with a regular wash, soaking them in vinegar or bleach for a few hours, or zapping them in the microwave to kill of germs and smells.
- Clean out your oven
Even non-smelly food items cooked in an oven can cause it to smell if spillages aren’t cleaned up properly (or at all), or food debris is left to sit there cooking each time your oven is turned on. Give your oven a deep clean as often as needed, but at least twice a year, to prevent it from making your kitchen smell every time you use it.
The key to a fresh smelling kitchen is to not delay cleaning up spillages, and to pay attention to equipment used daily, such as garbage disposals, fridges and ovens. Hiring a cleaning service is a wonderfully effective way to keep your entire home smelling clean, all of the time, and enables you to enjoy the sweet smells of cleanliness, with none of the time and effort!
