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You’ve wiped the counters, mopped the floor, and scrubbed the sink, but still there’s a lingering odor in the kitchen. Odors can linger after cooking smelly food, but they should be gone by the next morning. If you still smell something off, check the usual suspects.
Take Out the Trash
Even if you have a lid on your kitchen garbage can, odors from rotting food can escape. Everybody wants to be thrifty and not waste trash bags. But if you’ve recently thrown away perishable food, don’t wait until the can is full; empty it right away.
Then, before putting in a new trash bag, check to make sure there isn’t something spilled on the bottom or sides of the can. Bags can leak, accidents can happen, and people can be careless in throwing things away. A good cleaning with a disinfecting cleaner may eliminate the problem.
Clean Out Your Fridge
You could have a bad piece of fruit or month-old leftovers rotting somewhere in the back of your refrigerator. When the fridge is packed, you can’t see everything, and that’s not all. An overcrowded fridge can make your food spoil faster.
Take some time to clean everything out of your fridge and throw away old and expired items. Then clean shelves and bins to get rid of any spills. Putting an open box of baking soda in the fridge can help absorb odors, but make it a habit to clean old food out on garbage collection day.
Freshen Your Sink Drain
If everything else is clean, the odor could be coming from your sink drain. If you have a garbage disposal, there could be bits of food and grease trapped in it. The worst offenders are potato peels, rice, and coffee grounds. But even without a garbage disposal, your drain can get coated with smelly gunk.
Clean the drain by using a combination of baking soda and vinegar. Pour a cup of baking soda in the drain followed by a cup of vinegar and let it sit while it foams up. Then rinse it in hot water followed by plenty of cold water.
The source of kitchen odor is almost always spilled or rotting food that has been overlooked or neglected. Once you have your kitchen smelling great again, take extra care when disposing of scraps or leftovers, and remember to keep your refrigerator organized and tidy.
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