25 Simple Ways To Keep Your Kitchen Smelling Clean And Fresh
You know that moment you walk into the kitchen and a smell hits you directly in the face, not a pleasant one either. But how do you know what is smelling bad, how to prevent something in your kitchen from starting to smell bad and how to keep your kitchen smelling fresh and clean?
The first thing that pops in your head is ‘why does my kitchen smell?’
Then you walk around your kitchen looking for the offending item, but sometimes it’s a build-up of different smells and this is where this list is going to help you identify what’s causing the offensive smell in your kitchen and how to make it stop.
There is nothing worse than someone popping over and your kitchen smells bad.
If you want your kitchen to smell good, here are 25 simple ways to keep your kitchen smelling clean and fresh.
Removing Kitchen Odours
Don’t panic I know where the smells lurk and how to ensure that you protect your nose from any offensive smell coming from the kitchen. It’s more about keeping your kitchen cleaner than anything else.
If you want to find out how to make your kitchen smell good, then check out these 25 tips and ideas.
Related article: Simple And Effective Tips To A Clean Kitchen
Why Does My Kitchen Smell?
There are a number of different reasons why your kitchen smells and we are going to track these down and learn how to eliminate those nasty whiffs.
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You will learn the best way to keep your house smelling fresh or at the very least your kitchen.
Related article: 18 Reasons Why You Need To Clean
1: Let The Fresh Air In
The easiest way to get rid of any unwanted smell is to ensure that you are opening your window to let the smell out and fresh air in. There is nothing better than the smell of nothing but good clean fresh air, it can be the best air freshener for kitchens.
It’s a natural kitchen deodorizer and it will help to eliminate those smells that often linger after cooking.
Related: Clean Your Kitchen
2: Turn On The Fans
But what if you don’t have a window which you can open, some kitchens don’t have them? You must have some type of fan; this can be in the wall directly to the outside or the fan above your hob/stove and will help to pull out the smell from your kitchen.
Any type of kitchen fan made to extract smells that are lingering in the air as well as whilst you are cooking. Moisture is often produced during the cooking process and you don’t want this floating around your kitchen either.
It helps to remove odor in the kitchen as well as moisture from cooking.
Related article: How To Spring Clean Your Kitchen
3: Clean Your Filters
If you have a filter on your hob/stove fan make sure you are cleaning it regularly and if there is a filter you will need to make sure that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions on cleaning or changing the filter. A dirty filter won’t do a great job and it will prevent it from working effectively at removing any kitchen odor.
You might even find that it releases smells into the air because the air is being sucked through grease and it can only do so much. It will also make the fan work extra hard and could burn the motor out quicker.
Related article: 3 Reasons Why You Should Deep Clean Your Oven
4: Clean Fans Too
Ensure you are cleaning your fans regularly, not just the filters but the whole appliance. Being in a kitchen grease can easily build up on these appliances and smells are trapped in this grease. So keeping it clean with a degreaser is a must for ensuring that it’s not potentially adding to the possibility of a smell.
There are a few degreasers that are on the market that I think to work well, but my favorite one is the Astonish Premium Edtion Grease Lifter.
5: Keeping The Bin Clean
How to get rid of the trash can smell? Is a question I’m often asked.
Keep your kitchen bin empty. The more frequently you empty it the less it’s going to smell. You can use bin powder, you add this to your bin to help deodorize and keep the bin smelling fresh in-between cleaning. You can get a lot of different bin powders; I tend to use them in warmer weather when things can start to smell quicker. I use this bin powder, and I know Mrs Hinch uses this one too.
But you also have to keep the kitchen bin clean. Wipe it out every time you empty the rubbish, spray some disinfectant and let that sit for a few minutes to make sure you give it time to work. Wiping too quickly will remove the product before it’s had a chance to do its job.
By just doing this you will keep the kitchen bin from smelling.
Related article: How To Deep Clean The Bathroom
6: Compost Bin
Whilst we are on the topic of bins if you have a compost bin in your kitchen to collect food scraps, either having it collected by your council or having your own compost bin you need to keep this clean. You must wash out your compost caddy after emptying it and if you can get one with a filter, this will help to absorb any smells then remember to change the filter regularly to ensure it’s doing its job.
7: Clean Counter Tops
Keeping your countertops clean is a must, it’s easy for crumbs to build up and start to grow bacteria and it’s this that can add to the smell in your kitchen. It will also potentially attract insects and rodents that would then add to even more potential problems in your kitchen than just a bad smell.
The products I use for cleaning my countertops include:
8: Look Up
Sometimes it’s possible for food to splatter up under cupboards and this can potentially cause odor from the food rotting or attracting bacteria and mold/mould. It’s simple to clean under your cupboards even just using warm soapy water.
But there is nothing worse than opening a kitchen cupboard and a musty smell hits you straight in the face. Sometimes this is just because the doors are shut and items warm up and let off an odor.
You need a cabinet odor absorber, just a small pot of baking soda will do the trick, and it will absorb all the smell in your cupboard.
Alternatively, you can use a charcoal filter, it will remove kitchen cabinet odor with ease.
9: Light Bulbs Need Cleaning
When you clean your lights in the kitchen try wiping the bulbs over with a non-flammable cleaning product that you love the scent of, so when the light is turned on the smell fills the kitchen. I love to use the Astonish range as they are non-flammable for this type of cleaning.
10: Your Sponges And Cloths Smell
Your sponges and cloths that you use to wash up can harbor germs, lots of them and these can smell if they are not changed or washed frequently. Cloths should be cleaned daily to reduce the risk of smells in your kitchen. You can even sanitize sponges and cloths in the microwave or the dishwasher but check the manufacturer’s instructions before trying this.
11: Wash Tea Towels
Your tea towels or drying cloths need to be clean too. They are used to dry up items and if left they can quickly smell and harbor germs. It’s good practice to have a clean one at least once a day. When you wash them make sure that you are washing them in hot enough water to kill bacteria.
12: Food Storage
If you want to get rid of kitchen smells you need to ensure that you are storing food correctly, if something isn’t stored in the right way it can quickly go bad and this can lead to unpleasant smells in your kitchen.
13: Keep Your Bread Bin Clean
If you have a bread bin, you must keep this clean. It’s so easy to forget what is in there especially if you don’t have bread daily and this can quickly go moldy /mouldy. Even if it sits on your countertops it’s something you can easily miss.
14: Clean Inside Your Fridge
Clean the inside of your fridge, you will be surprised how things can hide in the fridge and go bad before you even realize it. Keeping your fridge in tip-top shape is a must. Try leaving half a lemon in the fridge to absorb odors or you can try a small pot of baking soda/bicarbonate of soda to absorb any lingering food odors.
15: Clean Under Your Fridge
If you can move your fridge to clean underneath it if you can’t move it you can buy a tool like this to help you pull anything that has fallen onto the fall and gone under the fridge. You will be amazed at what you can find. For some reason, I always find dog food pieces under mine!
16: Fridges Have Drip Trays?
Whilst we are on the subject of fridges, some come with a drip tray at the back, the water is supposed to evaporate but sometimes it doesn’t and as with any standing water it can quickly become stagnant and smell. You will need to follow the manufacturer’s directions on how to remove this and clean it but it is something that can smell out your kitchen. I had to do this recently with my fridge freezer which had started to let off a funny smell.
17: Tackling The Floor
Cleaning the floor is really important in keeping your kitchen smelling good. Not only does it kill the germs and bacteria that are often present on the floor but the product you use has an impact on how the kitchen smells. So, it’s really important to like the smell of your cleaning products, I like this one.
18: Under Appliances
While we are on the floor let’s think about under your oven/stove. How often do you move it and clean it underneath? Food particles get dropped and they can smell and attract insects and vermin into our kitchens, and this isn’t good for making your kitchen smell great. If you can’t pull out your oven you can use one of these tools to help keep it clean.
19: Dishwasher Smells
Your dishwasher is going to cause offensive odors unless you keep it clean. Make a point to check your filter regularly and to wipe and clean the inside to prevent the possibility of it starting to smell. Using a dishwasher cleaner is a good option, you can get them cheaply from most supermarkets, but you will still need to clean out your filter.
Related articles: How To Clean Your Dishwasher, Simple And Easy To Make Homemade Dishwasher Detergent, How To Make Your Own Dishwasher Tablets At Home
20: The Kitchen Sink
If you don’t keep your kitchen sink clean and the drain cleaner you might find that there is an unpleasant smell coming from the drain in your sink.
It’s important to keep this clean and there are a number of different ways to do this. You can use a drain unblocker which is a liquid that you pour down the sink. Keeping it clean is more about maintenance than waiting for it to block. Use a cleaner that has a disinfectant in it like Zoflora and flush it down your sink with hot water.
Deodorize the kitchen sink often to ensure that smells don’t have a chance to linger.
21: The Power Of Baking Soda
If you want to prevent somewhere from smelling having a pot of baking soda/bicarbonate of soda will help to absorb smells, they are little pots of kitchen deodorizers for your home. I put a small pot of this in my microwave to absorb any smells from the food that I cook in there. It works and there are no unpleasant odors coming from my microwave.
22: White Vinegar Absorbs Smells
If you are looking to absorb odors, then you need to consider leaving a glass of white vinegar on the side of your kitchen. This will slowly absorb any bad smells in your kitchen, it’s not fast acting but it does help to absorb any cooking odors.
Related article: Why You Should Clean Your Home With White Vinegar
23: Using A Diffuser
If you are looking for a subtle smell in your kitchen all the time, then you might want to consider a diffuser. I like the ability to add essential oils to the air but I’m careful to pick ones that aren’t overpowering for the kitchen. This is the diffuser that I have and love.
24: Pot Pourri In The Kitchen
If you want something more flowery why not try a potpourri sachet that you can put in different areas of your kitchen to keep your kitchen smelling nice? I wouldn’t put these in cupboards that hold food as you won’t want the food to get tainted by the smell.
25: Using A Charcoal Filter
Charcoal is a natural deodorizer and you can buy this in little bags that you can put in different areas of your kitchen. They won’t make your kitchen smell pretty; they are purely to absorb any smell in your kitchen. They are a great idea if you are looking for a kitchen odor eliminator as they prevent smells from lingering, but they will absorb any smell, and this includes the nice smells too.
How To Make Your Kitchen Smell Fresh?
If you want your kitchen to smell good, all the time you need to ensure that you are keeping on top of some of the cleaning tasks there.
Often, the smell in kitchens comes from food that is going bad and is in the bin or it’s from what you’ve cooked for tea.
These are different types of smells and there are different ways to deal with them. To prevent your kitchen from smelling bad you need to keep it clean and the products that you use will help to make your kitchen smell good.
For the smells that are let off when we cook, you need to tackle the cleaning of the dishes and pans used to make the meal, but sometimes the smells linger and that’s when you need to think of alternative options for making your kitchen smell good.
Making sure your kitchen is clean and using natural air, by opening the window or products that absorb bad smells your kitchen will never smell bad again.
