The smell of cigarette smoke and rotting cabbages can give you a major headache. At times, you can even lose your appetite when you get a whiff of dead carcass and garbage. Have you experienced any of these? Imagine smelling a whole hodgepodge of these smells in one place; that’s how deadly trash can smells can become.

Trash can odors are difficult odors to remove for most cleaning products. Trash cans, trash bins, garbage cans, trash compactors, garbage disposals, roll out containers and trash dumpsters all have consistent, persistent and lingering odors after you remove the trash and refuse from the receptacle.

It is not an easy task however, to remove trash can smells, especially within a confined area, for instance in the refrigerator, in the trunk at the back of your car, in the wardrobe or in a poorly ventilated tiny room nearest the can.

Garbage is such a general term that is it difficult for most cleaning and air freshening products to be able to produce a cleaning product for effective garbage odor removal. Trash can smells can permeate anywhere, especially considering that it can contain some of the deadliest and most stubborn smells in one place.

Don’t be surprised that most the things that can remove the bad smell can easily be found in your kitchen. You can also use the combination of any of the tips below together to effectively remove any bad trash can smell. Try those tips and you will say goodbye to trash can smells forever.

Trash Can Smell Removal

* Trash Can Cleanup: Hose down the can on a sunny day. Pour one gallon of water mixed with three cups of bleach into the rinsed trash can. Agitate the bleach and water mixture in the can. Let it sit for one hour, stirring the bleach every ten minutes.

Use a long-handled brush to scrub the sides of the can. Pour out the bleach and water. Be sure you scrub the lid as well. Let the can and lid dry in a sunny spot. The ultraviolet light from the sun kills the odor-causing organisms. Be sure to let the can dry before adding any new trash.

* Charcoal: Charcoal is on the top of the list of smell deodorizers as it is one of the best absorbent agents that can soak up the bad odor. Charcoal is also widely used as water filters and in most odor-removing commercial products. You can put a medium-sized chunk of charcoal inside your smelly patio for instance, and leave it there for a couple of days. You will notice that it can effectively remove the trash can smell.

* Baking soda: This is also a good absorbent. Put a generous amount of baking soda in an uncovered container (the size of the container depends on the size of the confined area) and leave it for several days. Remove the baking soda and replace it with new one and leave it for a couple of days. Continue replacing the baking soda until it has cleared the trash can smell.

* Spring Fever: The best way to get rid of the trash can smell? Get rid of it from the source. Be more prudent with your waste materials. Put things away as soon as you’re done using them. Throw things away as soon you know you won’t use them. Everyday maintenance is the key to a breathable, livable home.

This may all seem anal and tiring, but if you really want to avoid your home smelling like a dumpster, then you better shape up and not throw your trash all around as if your home is a dumpster. Be responsible of your trash for your own sake, or don’t be and suffer the consequences.

Trash Can Smell Masking

If you can’t beat them, hide them; that’s the whole idea behind perfumes and some such products, isn’t it? The methods below basically mask the smell with another more powerful odor rather than remove the smell, so you should be sure you are going to be happy with the result.

* Vanilla Essence: Pour several drops of vanilla essence on a couple of cotton wools. Toss the cotton wools inside the confined spaces nearest your trash can. Leave them for several days and you will notice that the area smells nice, or at least smells nicer.

* Lemon or Lime Peels: Just put some lemon or lime peels into an uncovered container and leave them inside the confined area for a couple of days. The citrus smell will naturally replace the bad trash can smell.

* Mint Extract: If you favor neither the smell of citrus nor vanilla, you can perhaps use mint extract instead. Pour several drops of mint extract on a couple of cotton wools. Toss the cotton wools inside the confined space and leave them for a couple of days.

* Coffee: Ground coffee has a nice, crisp natural aroma. Just put about a cup of ground coffee in a flat, uncovered container. Place the container inside the confined space for several days. If the bad smell is extremely horrible, put more ground coffee. The area will smell of fresh coffee for many days.

* Tea: If you don’t like coffee, you can use tea bags instead. Just place 2-3 tea bags inside the confined space. The tea leaves in the bags will not only absorb the trash can smell but will also release the natural aroma of tea.

* Orange peels: Get an orange and poke it with a sharp object like a needle or fork to form small holes. Place each of the cloves inside these small holes until most of the orange surfaces are covered. It may look like a hedgehog with the cloves jutting out of the orange fruit. Leave it in the confined area for a couple of days. The area will smell nice with the said combinations.

* Pandan Leaf: It is easy to get pandan leaf in tropical countries as it is widely used in Southeast Asian cooking to add aroma to dishes. Its pleasant aroma also acts as natural air freshener. Just take a few strips of the pandan leaves and tie them into knots. Place the leaves inside the confined space and leave them until the leaves are withered or dried up. Replace the leaves regularly until the trash can smell goes away.

Trash Can Smell Removing Products

* The Bad Air Sponge: This is not a new odor removal product. It has been around for the last 25 years being used for odor removal in such places as The White House, The Smithsonian, The NJ Transit Authority, and the World Trade Center.

Garbage odor removal is an easy process for the Bad Air Sponge because removing odor from in and around garbage cans is the same process as removing odor from in and around trash dumpsters. Odor is really an airborne molecule, and the Bad Air Sponge actually neutralizes the airborne odor- causing particles, thus removing garbage odor for as long as you use the sponge.

* Odorzout General Household All Surface Granules: This product is made up of Zeolite Minerals and is 100% natural. Also, the product and its components are entirely made in the USA. It has no perfumes, chemicals or additives. The product has no odor of its own.

It can be used in a variety of odor eliminating ways. It is used dry, and is sprinkled lightly to get rid of odors. It may be used indoors or outside. It may be used on the following surfaces and more: carpet, tile, wood, dirt, cement, cloth, plastic and so on.

* Febreze NOTICEables: This alternating scent oil warmer from Febreze includes two complementary scents that rotate automatically throughout the day for surprisingly noticeable, long-lasting freshness. So as the scent changes, the freshness is renewed, and you don’t have to worry about trash can odors any longer.

Preventive Maintenance

* Trash Can Maintenance: You can prevent garbage can odors by preventing bag leaks. That is, prevent bag leaks in your trash bags before you put them into the can. This is the cause of most smells in your can. Add baking soda to your kitchen trash bags and can to absorb odors.

Make sure you secure anything wet inside a tightly-tied plastic bag. Don’t put any un-bagged trash in your can. After you empty the can, let the can air out overnight. Wash your can out with chlorine bleach solution at least once a month to prevent any recurring odor problems.

* Trash Segregation: Obviously, putting all the trash into one place will make the resulting stench all the more powerful, what with the combined forces of rotting food, cigarette smoke, used diapers, moldy carpet and worn-out leather jacket forming Captain Planetcide.

It’s quite easy to segregate trash; just put all your recyclables (containers, cans, jars, aluminum, tin, plastics and whatnot) in one container and all your biodegradable materials in separate garbage dispensers according to their type (Green Waste, Food Waste, Paper Waste and Biodegradable Plastics). Put most of your food waste in the garbage disposal, never in the can.

Finally, have a presence of mind when it comes to segregation. Create a (small) space for things to be donated and recycled and clear it out as soon as it gets full. Limit your storage space and "junk" drawers so you don’t have the opportunity to just toss clutter in a closet and forget about it.