How to Get Rid of Stubborn Kitchen Smells Permanently
Submitted by Andy_B on Thursday, 10 July 2025 Page Views: 157
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There’s an unavoidable connection between kitchens and food that naturally leads to the proliferation of unwanted smells. You prepare your food in the kitchen, and it’s also where your scraps go when you’re done eating your meals. It’s almost impossible to prevent a kitchen from harbouring unwanted odours at one point or another.Thankfully, most kitchens are designed with that in mind. There’s no way to avoid unwanted kitchen smells completely, but at least it’s possible to keep them at bay. With just a bit of effort, you can remove a stubborn kitchen smell at its source and prevent it from ever coming back.
Here’s a step-by-step roadmap explaining exactly what you need to do.
Don’t Do Things That Contribute to Bad Kitchen Smells
The best way to eliminate foul odours in the kitchen is to stop doing the things that cause those smells in the first place. If you smoke, for instance, you definitely don’t want to do that in your kitchen – or anywhere else in your home, for that matter. Get some vape juice and enjoy your nicotine in a way that won’t make your kitchen stink.Take your trash out promptly; don’t leave it in the rubbish bin until it starts to make the whole room smell bad. It’s really ideal for you to take the trash out at the end of each day.
If you have a waste disposal unit, use it to dispose of as many of your food scraps as possible. Here are some quick tips on proper waste disposal usage.
• Only send soft foods down the waste disposal.
• Always run cold water when using the waste disposal and for several seconds after using it to encourage complete drainage.
• Don’t send foods down the waste disposal that are overly fibrous, stringy or granular. Celery strings can wrap themselves around the disposal’s blades. Coffee grounds and eggshells can also potentially cause damage.
• Don’t send large animal bones down the waste disposal. They’re too hard for the blades and can cause damage.
• Don’t send any form of cooking grease down the waste disposal. Although it may get through the disposal unit, it’ll collect on the insides of the drainpipes and eventually cause a clog.
Deodorise Your Rubbish Bin
If you’ve been in the habit of allowing your trash to remain in the rubbish bin for a while before taking it out of the house, there’s a good chance that the bin is starting to become a bit smelly. Clean it thoroughly and deodorise it by rubbing the inside with a liberal amount of hydrogen peroxide or another oxidising odour neutraliser.Do you have a rubbish bin that’s made from plastic or has a plastic liner? Plastic is porous and tends to harbour unwanted smells – so if you’ve been using the same bin for a long time, completely deodorising it may be difficult or impossible. In this case, replacing the bin may be a more efficient option than trying to clean it.
Clean and Deodorise Your Drain and Waste Disposal
Even if you only put the correct things down your waste disposal and drain, you’re still likely to notice some unpleasant smells in your kitchen sink from time to time. Here are some easy strategies for eliminating unpleasant smells coming from the drain and waste disposal.• Use an enzyme-based drain opener to dissolve any residual organic matter. This technique is particularly helpful for clearing away any hardened grease that might be stuck to the insides of the pipes.
• Put baking soda down the drain and follow with a cup of white vinegar. The foaming action will help to remove food particles stuck under the waste disposal’s blades, and it’ll also clean the underside of the splash guard at the top of the disposal unit.
• Ice and lemon peels can also work well to deodorise the interior of a waste disposal unit. Put a few ice cubes and lemon peels in the disposal and run it for several seconds with plenty of cold water.
• Maintain your drain by pouring a generous amount of dish soap down the drain along with a pot of boiling water once a month. The soap helps to remove organic matter from the insides of the pipes. Note, however, that boiling water isn’t safe for plastic pipes.
Clean Your Refrigerator and Freezer
When was the last time you cleaned your refrigerator and freezer? Both areas will harbour unwanted odours from stinky cheese, half-finished milk and other old food items. If you haven’t gone through the fridge and freezer in a while, remove those things and clean all surfaces thoroughly. You can also place open boxes of baking soda in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb and trap unwanted smells.
Check for a Water Leak Under the Sink
Have you ever noticed unpleasant odours in the cabinets under your sink? If so, it’s possible that you’ve got a water leak somewhere. Excess moisture can cause musty smells because the humidity encourages mould to grow. Here’s what you can do about it.• Contact a plumber and have him or her inspect your pipes. It’s important to fix leaks promptly because they can eventually cause major property damage.
• Seal any cracks in the caulk around the edges of the sink. This is something that you might be able to do yourself; it’s easiest to get a nice-looking result if you use a caulk gun.
• Put a desiccant product like DampRid under the sink to absorb and remove excess moisture.
Maintain Your Kitchen After Cleaning It
After you’ve given your kitchen a top-to-bottom cleaning and removed the unwanted smells, maintenance is the final step. Keeping your drains clean, taking out the rubbish promptly and minimising excess moisture are the three best ways of doing that, but you don’t have to stop there.• Put bags of activated charcoal in hard-to-reach places such as in the back corners of cabinets.
• Make sure that your kitchen always has good ventilation. If the kitchen has a window, open it while you cook your meals.
• If adequate ventilation isn’t possible, consider buying a HEPA air filter with an activated charcoal stage to trap airborne odours and allergens.
