Removing Kitchen Odors

Written by Lee Wyatt (last updated December 23, 2019)

Have you ever noticed just how easy it is to get all kinds of nasty odors in the kitchen? All it takes is one little accident with the stove, forgetting to take out the garbage, or any numbers of little things and you have a nightmare odor that just doesn't want to go away. Removing kitchen odors is entirely possible as long as you know what to do. Just use any of these methods, and you will soon have an odor free kitchen again.

  • Use some vinegar. Pour a mixture of 1/4 cup vinegar (white vinegar is best) and about one quart of water into a large part, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, and allow the mixture to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. The vapors will spread out over that time period, and as they spread will neutralize the offending odors that are in your kitchen. Once the time has elapsed, turn the heat off, and then pour the mixture down your drain.
  • Clean all spatters. A common reason for offending odors in the kitchen is spattered food that hasn't gotten cleaned up like it should have. You may need to look around the kitchen a bit, but once you have found the spatters, clean it up. Clean the area first by using a little bit of your favorite degreasing liquid soap, and then sanitize the area by wiping it down with some watered down bleach. After sanitizing the area, rinse it down with a wet rag.
  • Don't forget your disposal. Perhaps one of the most common areas that you can find odors emanating from is the garbage disposal. This means that this is a rather important area that you can't afford to forget. You can purchase odor-eliminating solutions and cleaning aids for your garbage disposal at most grocery and department stores, simply use them according to the directions on the packaging. In addition, you can also slice up some citrus fruit (such as oranges, limes, lemons, and grapefruit) and put them into your disposal. Simply turn the disposal on like, you normally do, and you should notice that the odor is eliminated rather quickly.
  • Clean out the garbage can. Garbage cans collect odors as easily as they collect garbage. You can easily eliminate this problem by cleaning the garbage can, as needed, and disinfecting it as well. Simply be sure that you use hot soapy water, and have the soap be your favorite degreasing dish soap. Once you have washed out the can, and removed all the stains, disinfect the can by using a 25/75 mixture of bleach and water (the bleach should be the 25 percent, and the water should be the 75.
  • Clean your linens. Regularly clean the linens in your kitchen. This means that all the drapes, towels, napkins, tablecloths, placemats, and so on need to be washed. Typically you can wash them as you would any other type of linen, just make sure that you use anything that could damage the cloth.

While each of these methods will work, and the more that you use in conjunction with each other the better, there is one sure fire method that you should keep in mind. That method is to avoid any of the common causes of kitchen odors in the first place. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Take a little bit of time, and be a little more thorough in your cooking and cleaning methods, and you will have a dramatically decreased chance of kitchen odors.

Author Bio

Lee Wyatt

Contributor of numerous Tips.Net articles, Lee Wyatt is quickly becoming a regular "Jack of all trades." He is currently an independent contractor specializing in writing and editing. Contact him today for all of your writing and editing needs! Click here to contact. ...

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