Yesterday, I went downstairs in the morning and was greeted by a very bad smell. Apparently for some reason, one of the pots I used for making stock was put away dirty. Another (clean) pot had been stacked in it, so it was assumed to be clean. Yuck.
A smelly kitchen can be a challenge, whether is from something that could have easily been prevented, such as my pot fail or something that is sometimes unavoidable, such as lingering cooking smells.
Fortunately, there are some fast fixes that have nothing to do with spraying chemicals in the air, mostly about using natural methods and attacking the smell at the source before it becomes a problem.
Taking Out the Trash
The usual suspect in our home for odors is our large trash can. Just a little whiff of some garbage can wind up making a big stink later. Our solution is to keep a smaller bag hung and nearby for any food that might go bad and smell overnight, such as the trimmings from raw chicken. The smaller bags can get dumped right away without having to waste a large bag.
Plastic supermarket bags work great for this, but you can also purchase the smaller waste basket size bags.
Once a week, use a wet paper towel to wipe down the rim and both the inside and outside of the lid. Douse the can with a spray of disinfectant, too.
Cooking Smells
I love that commercial where the fish that the family ate for dinner starts swimming across their living room, the point being that the smell was still lingering. Their solution was a spray. Mine is to boil a cup of water with with about 3 tablespoons of white vinegar. The vinegar neutralizes the odor in just a few minutes.