I’ve always been a summer girl at heart, but even I can admit there are certain drawbacks to all this hot weather. For one, I absolutely ABHOR taking the trash out to our big outdoor trash cans during the summertime.
Why? Well, when it’s nearly 100°F outside and our big black trash cans are full of garbage, it’s not uncommon to be able to smell all that garbage from several feet away. And the stench is about ten times worse once you open the lid—it’s enough to trigger anyone’s gag reflex!
But luckily for me (and for those of you who also struggle with this problem), there’s a fairly simple solution to the problem of stinky outdoor trash cans. In today’s blog post, I’ll be sharing a simple step-by-step process for how to deodorize your outdoor trash cans quickly and easily!
How To Deodorize A Stinky Outdoor Trash Can
You’ll need:
- Dish soap
- Garden hose with sprayer attachment
- White vinegar (optional)
- Broom, scrubber, or long-handled scrub brush (optional)
Directions:
Step 1 – Empty It
In order to properly clean your trash can, you’ll need to empty it out entirely. The best way to do this (if you can time it right) is to wait to clean your trash can until right after it’s been emptied out by the garbage truck.
(If you don’t want to wait, you can always just pull any trash out of the can and set it aside somewhere.)
Step 2 – Add Soap
Next, pull your trash can to an area you don’t mind getting wet and soapy, like a driveway, the gutter, or even your lawn. Once you’ve relocated your empty trash can, squirt a bit of dish soap into the bottom of the can.
(Don’t have a good spot outside to wash your trash can? Take it to a self-serve car wash and spray it down there!)
Step 3 – Wash It
Grab your garden hose and sprayer attachment, and turn it on to the most powerful sprayer setting. Spray the inside of the can thoroughly to “pressure wash” it, paying special attention to any visibly grimy spots.
Step 4 – Rinse It
Once you feel like your trash can has gotten a thorough washing, dump out the soapy water. Use the hose again to rinse any remaining suds or grime out of the can, allow it to drip-dry for a few minutes, then smell the trash can again.
If the stink is gone (or mostly gone—it’s a trash can, so it’s probably not going to smell great), you’re done! Let the trash can dry completely before replacing or adding trash to it.
If your trash can still smells, simply proceed to Step 5!
Step 5 – Use Vinegar (Optional)
If washing your trash can wasn’t enough to get rid of the stink, you can use white vinegar to help neutralize those stubborn odors. After rinsing all of the soapy water out of your trash can, pour around two cups of white vinegar into the bottom of the can.
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Use an old broom or scrubber to scrub the vinegar around the inside of the can. Allow the vinegar to sit in the bottom of the can for an hour or two, then rinse the can again with your hose.
At this point, the smell should be much less noticeable. Allow your trash can to dry completely before adding trash to it, and you’re done!
3 Bonus Tips For Stinky Trash Cans
- Don’t store your trash can inside your garage. Keeping your trash cans in an enclosed space will only concentrate the smelly aroma of the garbage inside the case!
- When choosing an outdoor location for your trash cans, look for a shady spot. Keeping them out of direct sunlight will help control odor levels.
- Don’t like seeing your trash cans outside? Use an outdoor screen like this one to shield the cans from view!
- You can use dishwasher tablets to clean your garbage cans: drop a tablet or two in an empty can, add hot water, and let it soak until the tablets have dissolved. Give it a scrub with your old broom, dump out the water, and you’re done!
Do you have any tips or tricks for smelly trash cans?
Right after trash pickup, we lay a few plastic grocery bags in the bottom, it helps to keep trash from sticking. (In my area these can’t be recycled.)
I live in a warm area. After the start of hot weather and again just before it begins to cool down, I wash the cans. Right after pickup, I put enough straight fabuloso or pine sol into the can to just cover the bottom. Let it sit in the sun with the lid closed for a day or two. Add some water and scrub with an inexpensive plastic broom from the yard. Tip it into the curb and give it a good rinse.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best spray I have found to kill garbage odors in plastic trash bins is Earth’s Answer Microbial Deodorizer by Gardens Alive! It is a microbial digester of organic waste, and there is NO garbage smell after spraying it into a garbage can that you have cleaned out of debris. It contains beneficial bacteria, natural surfactants and a citrus fragrance. I spray it in and use a paper towel to spread it to all the nooks and crannies of the can – bottom and sides. Don’t rinse afterwards. Leave it there. It’s amazing stuff.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you Bea, this sounds great, where do you get this product?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This new trash can that was developed freezes your trash in minutes which means no more odor which should eliminate a stinky outdoor trash can. It is called Petal and only costs $1 per month in electricity. There are no liners required and it completely eliminates odors, bugs, rodents and viruses. It can be purchased at petalclean.com
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve noticed there is a company now that will come around and clean the cans for you. I think that sounds like a winning idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s VERY EASY!! Buy the 65+ gallon Garbage Bags (Amazon) & a Gorilla Rubber Band~Fits inside the can & place rubber band @ outside to hold it up~Simply Place ALL garbage inside then remove band, tie bag & put out for pickup!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Save rubber band for next one! Never
have stinky garbage & mine sits in the Sun. Clean can w/Steamer every 6 mos & BE
I definitely wouldn’t leave the lid open. We can get some strong wind gusts during certain times of the year and I can see trash flying out of the bin. I live in the Midwest.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put old paper or store plastic bags in the bottom after its cranny slightly damp . They stick to the bottom and after thrash has been emptied if they haven’t fallen out I can just pop them out and the can isn’t as dirty
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes! I do this but I use a old toilet brush. Long handle and just as nasty. Since I compost it’s been cleaner and less stinky!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I never have a problem with mine. I use trash bags and hose the inside out once a year. I often leave the bag in my container on trash day and they dump the container leaving the bag. After enough stinky stuff gets thrown in the bag week after week, I pull the bag, tie it and set it out front. The container sits in my garage and I often leave the top OFF because things don’t smell as bad as leaving it covered in 100 degree weather.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think everyone uses bags but it can still get really smelly. I have two cats so I have bags from cleaning out the litter box twice a day!!! YUCK! Therefore I do the same thing Jill is talking about on a weekly basis, right after the bins are emptied. Also…Dawn dish washing liquid is very safe for the environment and will not hurt your grass, shrubs, driveway or anything. You can even wash your fresh fruits and veggies in water with Dawn in it so they are safe to eat. Have you seen the commercial showing the baby duck being washed in Dawn after an oil spill? Not just hype. It is for real.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you. I was wondering about this! Very helpful to me.
Ditto. The only time ours gets stinky is when my husband doesn’t follow trash can protocol and throws stuff in the trash can (not in a bag). Easy Peasy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I wash out the garbage cans every week . I spray the inside down with water then pour a little Pine Sol . I use a broom from the 99 cent store to scrub the inside.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I would not wash the garbage cans on the grass and let the dirty water weather it be Pine Sol or dishwashing liquid run onto the grass. I think the grass would die.
One of the things we do to minimize the smell is to pour a whole bag of kitty litter (the cheapest kind) into the bottom of the can. We change it out about every 3 to 4 months when we clean them. It doesn’t completely get rid of the smell, but it sure helps and it absorbs any wet stuff that leaks out of the bags, making it easier to get clean.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.How do you get the kitty litter to stay in when they tip the bins to empty them?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What a great idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.These are great tips after the fact…. how about avoiding the repulsive odor as much as you can beforehand. I always rinse out or wash if need be any and all food containers (jars, cans, plastic) before putting in a trash receptacle. Never, ever put food scraps of any kind in the trash; either put down garbage disposal if available or wrap up the scraps and freeze until trash day when you throw out. After trash pick up, open up the can and let the sun and air naturally clean it out. I have been doing this for years and can not remember the last time I had to clean the can. Another good tip….. put an oversized heavy duty plastic lawn bag in your trash can as a liner and throw smaller trash bags into it daily to further contain the trash. Great good luck to all on this “smelly” problem:)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I personally would use Thieves Household Cleaner to clean out the trash container as it is a safe product to use with no nasties in it. I use this to clean everything and threw out all the other cleaners–Windex, Four O Nine,–you name it–I threw it out. Used all unhealthy products for 10 years cleaning for others using their products and finally found out how unhealthy they were and have beenusing THC since 1999.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Why not sprinkle baking soda and a few drops of peppermint oil in the bottom of the trashcan after the trash can dries??? Also why not line the can with a large trash liner and after each time the trash is picked up–line the trash can again and the can will not continue to smell as the smell will be in the trash can liner which will be picked up by the trash company each week.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I do not have the problem of trash and actual garbage in mine…it is just the smell of the stuff in the bags putting out that lovely, pungent odor as it bakes in the sun. Crazy as this sounds…if I have certain foods that I do not run in my disposal, I take a Ziplock bag and mark it “trash” and put stuff in it until the night before they pick up and put it in the trash bin then. Unfortunately, that cannot be done with my “kitty-poop” bags. :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best way to keep garbage cans stink free to NEVER put trash in it that isn’t first bagged. My husband loves to throw stuff directly in the can! It migrates to the bottom where part of it inevitably gets stuck, decomposes, and stinks to high heaven. If I can manage to keep hubby from doing this our two cans stay stink-free.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We got a new to us trash can from the pick up people. It was empty, clean, but oh so stinky. I sprayed Fabrize in it and the smell went away. It was horrible before. We wash our cans now regularly. We no longer have pick up, but take it to the land fill ourselves.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We have bears. We have to store our cans inside or we’d spend every morning picking up trash. We use all of those tips and tricks to keep our garbage cans clean. We also put mothballs in the bottom and spray Lysol. That helps a lot! FYI: Chicken remnants and shrimp shells create the worst stink…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee, many of us must keep our cans inside all winter in order to be able to move them down to the curb. Otherwise they are surrounded by mountains of snow and ice and must be literally dragged across a lawn that might be three feet deep in snow to get them to the driveway. Also, don’t you guys get skunks and raccoons getting into your trash? The garage is the only solution. Love your info!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We bought “bin straps” to keep te raccoons out. We also take our garbage out at 7 a.m. the morning of collection due to raccoons. They are a huge problem, huge. Maggots are a problem in the heat too; flies get in the indoor trash bags and we have to make sure everything is bagged tightly.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m actually pretty disturbed that the advice here is to just pour the ‘soapy’ water or ‘all-purpose cleaner’ or worse… ‘bleach’ outside? That’s terrible advice and is really irresponsible when it comes to the environment. If you’re giving advice that people are following you should consider something that is safe and will be eco-friendly. It might be convenient to use, and make it easier to clean, but soap along with chemicals were not meant to be poured out as if they don’t affect everything around them. They are not clean either.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee, I use your method already, except I use blue Dawn. I use blue Dawn to clean everything and for a number of reasons – (1) I am trying to preserve the environment. If Blue Dawn is gentle enough to clean oil-soaked wildlife from careless oil spills, it’s good enough to be poured into water for cleaning and dumped outside in small amounts, or down the drain.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.(2) Also, and most importantly to me, I have parrots, and parrots have very delicate respiratory systems and I will not risk anything, such as using hydrogen peroxide, that I think may damage them.
(3) It is versatile does save money from the unnecessary expense of store bought cleaners.
I was thinking about thias a business what do you think is a fair price to ckean the big iutside can.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.LOL! Where we live there is a service called Canology that does this with eco-friendly cleaners! I don’t know how much they charge (I live in an apartment, so we have a dumpster not cans), but they promise to leave your cans “clean, sanitized, and smelling fresh!”
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Totally agree with you. I have a touchless trash can for my kitchen it absorbs all the odors when you place an odor-filter. My biggest problem is the outdoor trash cans. It’s actually very frustrating having to deal with unpleasant garbage odors every single week. I hope I can find a good odor-filtering outdoor trash can. Found my touchless trash can here
https://sleekdwellings.com/
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Regarding the “Smelly Outdoor Trash Cans” matter, 1st mistake done was non-segregating the waste. There are many recyclables (plastic, paper, glass, etc.). You can separate the bio-waste and compost. The milk and other similar cans/cups, etc., should be washed before put into the trash.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put a few moth balls in the can!! it definately takes care or diaper smells
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Mothballs are poison.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you Julie–I did not know mothballs are poison–I never use them but that is good to know and I will research that so I can pass that information along.
Another tip: We drilled a few small holes into the bottom of our trash can. We have to keep it our doors and sometimes the trash leaks or the lid isn’t perfectly aligned so rain gets in. Occaionally, possums get in and chew open a bag. All THAT is what stinks. I’ve found the trash to be much cleaner/dryer since the holes were drilled. Do about 8 small holes or so. That way, if 1-2 get clogged it will still drain. I still have to soak it with bleach or something on occasion, but not as often.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.TIP: When you soak it in bleach or detergent, be sure and either pour the chemical water onto a weed infested area, to help I’ll weeds, OR pour it onto an area that has a little mildew or dirt build up, to help clean it. MULTI-TASKING cleansers are cool!
Instead of immediately throwing out the empty food bags that came with ziptops, I save them. Any smelly trash goes into those bags and the odors stay sealed up, I have no smells in the house or in the trash receptacle. The bags can’t be recycled in my area, so it seems like a reasonable way to use them and conform with the regulation that all trash be bagged.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Unfortunately, your “chemical water” will leach into the ground and into the water table, polluting everything downstream. Don’t pour any chemicals onto the soil, weedy or not!
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