My kitchen bin still smells!!!

scorpio_princess

jessicamb wrote:

May be a silly question but are you emptying it often enough. I live on my own so if I'm being good thats one bin bag a week but if I put something like old bread or chicken carcass in there it is going to stink to high heavens after a couple of days - so I have to empty it more often, maybe even if its not full.

Otherwise a good scrub should get rid of any smells. There isnt anything on the lid inside is there? That could be it.

I also live on my own, so maybe i'm not emptying it as often as I could! The trouble is, I live in a block of flats, and we have a shared 'bin store', which happens to be a bit of a trek from my front door. Being disabled as I am, it's tricky for me to keep lugging stuff backwards and forwards (very annoying - I wish they'd let me keep it outside my door!). Also, you never know what you're going to find when you get to the bin store - if the refuse collectors haven't been, everything is overflowing and on the floor (which doens't get collected btw), and everyone uses everyone else's bins. But I will try to empty it more often, and put waste food in a seperate carrier bag.

Back to the cleaning side of things, I am using bin liners, and they are actually pretty good i.e i've not noticed any leaks or anything gungey at the bottom - it just seems like the smell has permeated the plastic inner bin.

What is Zoflora? Sounds like I need to give that a go!

I've just looked under the lid, and yes, it does have some 'residue' on there, which was absolutely vile! I will clean that with some vinegar today.

Thank you so much for all your tips - I love this forum!

Missy79

Zoflora is a concentrated disinfectant, it comes in a small bottle in a box in various smells - available im nost supermarkets and general stores

I have a similar bin and also find smells can linger - i would clean everynow and then as described and bag food waste - BUT make sure the bag has no small holes in - many carrier bags do for saftey reasons (bread packets, cereal bags etc would be better).

I've tried spraying with disinfectant but found that you get a lot of condensation inside the bin especially on the lid which in the end makes it worse 'cause everything is soggy - warm and soggy = bad smells.

seroxat_chick

I've always used Zoflora in my kitchen bin. Not only does it get rid of the nasties, it leaves my kitchen smelling lovely for days after!

Horasio

How does Zoflora compare to other disinfectants?

It is quite expensive as well compared to dettol

MrsTinks

AH but it smells so much better

Quick safety reminder for everyone is that both Zoflora and Dettol should not be used on floors or surfaces where pets are likely to come into contact with them. They both contain something that is highly poisnous to pets (it's not toxic to humans - but in pets because they are not able to process even tiny amounts of it it builds up and can become lethal) - rule of thumb if a disinfectant turns CLOUDY in water it contains the chemical that is poisonous to pets (I'll go try and find an article for you all and put it in here)

Sorry to hijack the thread all - just got reminded about it whilst reading the thread

Tine

Clairey_2

Oh my goodness, is this true about the pets? I have been using Zoflora for several years, and I even use it to wipe round my dogs' beds. It's the best disinfectant but I don't want to harm my dogs. Do you know of any alternative? In what way does it harm them? If they ingest/absorb through skin/paws etc?

beachbeth

tr3mor wrote:

I got rid of my kitchen bin for this reason. I now just put rubbish from a meal into a carrier bag, tie it up and chuck it in the bin outside.

Me too! I got fed up with my kitchen bin and bought one of those frames that you fit a bag to as there was less to clean than a normal bin. However, I got fed up of cleaning this too! As I have small middle section in my kitchen sink I just put my carrier bags from the supermarket in here. When it is full I tie it up and take it to the dustbin and put another fresh bag in its place. As I have to bleach and clean the sink anyway this means I have no bin to clean. Saves on the extra work.

dannahaz

The most likely cause, as already mentioned, is that it's not being emptied often enough.

However, it may be that there is some dirt or old food trapped somewhere. If you've already scrubbed out the inside, make sure you scrub the inside of the lid and where the lid catch is. WOrth a try?

MrsTinks

Clairey wrote:

Oh my goodness, is this true about the pets? I have been using Zoflora for several years, and I even use it to wipe round my dogs' beds. It's the best disinfectant but I don't want to harm my dogs. Do you know of any alternative? In what way does it harm them? If they ingest/absorb through skin/paws etc?

Well it's proved that it is definitely poisonous to Cats. Some vets are in disagreement about how harmful it is to cats however My vet said "if in doubt - use something you're sure about"...

A LOT of people think it's safe around dogs so I am sure yours are all fine But if you have cats then please be careful! The ingredient that you need to look out for is Phenol - infact a variation of this is used to spray fruit trees - I assume to keep free of pests...

If in doubt then ask your Vet

tr3mor

beachbeth wrote:

Me too! I got fed up with my kitchen bin and bought one of those frames that you fit a bag to as there was less to clean than a normal bin. However, I got fed up of cleaning this too! As I have small middle section in my kitchen sink I just put my carrier bags from the supermarket in here. When it is full I tie it up and take it to the dustbin and put another fresh bag in its place. As I have to bleach and clean the sink anyway this means I have no bin to clean. Saves on the extra work.

That's a great place to keep it. I hadn't thought of that! Mine just gets kicked around on the floor