When you spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals for friends and family, you don't want the food to taste bad or have unpleasant odors mixed in. Even if you clean your kitchen after each use, food residue, smoke, and crumbs can lurk in places you never think to look or clean and linger there for a while.
We will show you the best cleaning tips and home air freshener tricks to get rid of unpleasant kitchen odors for good and help you solve the problem and get rid of stubborn unpleasant odors for good, but first you need to find out the source of the smell.
Follow these five steps to clean your kitchen immediately after cooking and prevent bad odors from escaping and spreading throughout your home.
1. Oven
(Image courtesy of Tom Howley)
Ovens are often forgotten when it comes to weekly cleaning, but they are prone to daily spills, dirt, and stubborn grease buildup. Usually, ovens are the main culprits of bad kitchen odors. These oil deposits turn into grease and spread all over the oven. Although the grease buildup is not always visible, if you do not clean your oven thoroughly, the smell will remain and spread all over your kitchen.
You might be tempted to use your oven's automatic cleaning mode, but in most cases this won't give you the thorough clean you want, so instead, our cleaning expert Chiana Dickson recommends using The Pink Stuff, which you can buy on Amazon.
“The internet has been buzzing about this miracle household cleaning brand,” says Dixon. “The inside of your oven door is an especially tough spot to clean, even with the strongest oven cleaners. But with a little bit of The Pink Stuff, your oven door will be instantly clean, as will your gas stovetop or grill.”
The pink stuff – the miracle all-purpose cleaning paste
2. Dishwasher
(Image courtesy of Future / David Parmiter)
You might think that this hardworking dishwasher has an automatic cleaning function, but over time food residue and soap scum will build up, so if you've recently noticed that your dishes and cutlery are smelling bad, a dirty dishwasher could be the culprit.
Cleaning your dishwasher is no one's fun task, but a regular deep clean is essential to keep your kitchen smelling great and your dishes sparkling clean after every cycle.
“If you want to prevent odors or keep them from getting worse, start by scraping any excess food off your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher,” explains China Dixon. “This will limit the amount of food that gets stuck in the filter and prevent it from clogging, which is one of the biggest causes of bad dishwasher odors,” she says.
Cleaning with vinegar is the most effective way to get rid of stubborn odors, and there's a reason for that. Danielle Vivanco, cleaning expert and owner of Ace of Maids, agrees that nothing beats vinegar when it comes to eliminating tough odors in your home. “Cleaning your dishwasher monthly with vinegar works wonders for removing odors and mineral deposits. Adding a cup of white vinegar to the top rack and running the boiling cycle will help break down grease and remove stubborn odors.”
Harris Cleaning Vinegar All-Purpose Household Surface Cleaner
3. Kitchen sink
(Image courtesy of Nkuku)
Walking into a kitchen with a sparkling sink, gleaming faucet, and a fresh-smelling air is sure to instantly lift your spirits, even if the rest of the room isn't quite so clean. But even if your sink's surface looks clean, your garbage disposal might not be up to snuff.
The chamber inside your garbage disposal is pretty good at self-cleaning, but odors and food waste can build up in areas the chamber doesn't clean. To prevent odors from building up, make sure you clean it regularly, depending on your lifestyle and the amount of dishes you throw at it. Once a week is a good time.
It's also important to avoid pouring certain foods down your disposal, such as pasta, potatoes, rice, beans, fibrous foods like celery, and bones, which can clog the disposal and cause bad odors.
When cleaning your kitchen sink, try cleaning the garbage disposal's splash guard before it needs a thorough cleaning, as this is where food waste particles often build up and cause bad odors.
If that doesn't work or you need a more thorough clean, baking soda, lemon, vinegar, and ice are great for cleaning your garbage disposal without using harsh chemicals. Alternatively, Bastion Garbage Disposal Cleaner and Odor Eliminator Drops, available on Amazon, has many five-star reviews, with one reviewer describing the scent as “amazing.”
4. Refrigerator
(Image courtesy of Humphrey Munson)
Prone to spills and odors, this hardworking appliance never rests, so take 30 minutes to clean it up. A clean fridge will keep food and drinks fresher for longer and keep your kitchen odor-free.
“It's a good idea to clean your fridge regularly,” says Beko director Vijay Bhardwaj, “This will help prevent unpleasant odours from building up.”
To quickly remove odors and stains from your refrigerator, you can use baking soda and vinegar to clean the interior and disinfect it quickly and effectively. Do not use cleaning agents that may release harmful substances or odors into food. Also, be sure to rinse the cloth after cleaning the interior of your refrigerator.
5. Every corner
(Image courtesy of Future)
Cleaning your kitchen's hidden spots is essential to making it look and smell good. Think of the spaces between your oven, stove, and countertops as places where dirt and debris can accumulate. These nooks and crannies are often breeding grounds for food leftovers, which, if left to rot, will fill the air with foul odors.
If the gap is wide enough, use a vacuum attachment to suck up crumbs and dirt. Or, use a yard stick, long-handled duster, or broom handle to loosen dirt and grime and clean tricky areas. Or, buy kitchen counter gap covers to prevent problems before they occur.
Finally, and most importantly, clean up immediately after cooking: While it may be tempting to leave dishes, dirty glasses, and used baking foil until the next morning, this will inevitably leave a foul smell in your kitchen that will linger throughout your home.
