Smelly Kitchen Tips

Unless you’re an absolute clean-freak or you don’t keep food in your kitchen, you are bound to have some smelly situations from time-to-time. Here are a few tricks we’ve found do wonders with all kinds of stinks:

*Stinky Sink- What makes it smelly is the food scraps in the garbage disposer or pipes. First clean the disposer blades by grinding up some ice cubes. Thoroughly rinse the rubber gasket, if you have one (flip it up and get the underside, too).
Finally, even if you dont have a disposer, pour in half a cup of baking soda while running warm tap water.

* Cooking Fumes-Broiled fish yesterday? Burned popcorn? Try this: in a saucepan, mix 3 tablespoons of white vinegar and 1 cup of water and boil for several minutes. The acidic vinegar will neautralize the alkaline odors. Problem solved

* Treat your trash can-As soon as you get a whiff of a smelly trash can, empty the can and wipe it with a wet paper towel. Then spray the can with a disinfectant spray (Lysol works great!). Let it dry before you put the new bag in. Do this once a week.

*Spa day for appliances-If your dishwasher starts smelling like a seedy New York restaurant, it’s time to take action. Clean the filter (below bottom rack) by whisking out any particles with a paper towel. Then run a “rinse only” or “quick rinse” with the machine empty, this will wash away the debris. Make sure to leave the door open after the cycle ends, let it air out. For a smelly fridge and freezer, make sure to toss the leftovers. Face it: you are not going to eat the General Tso’s chicken from last week! From the freezer, make sure to dump the old ice cubes, they’re just collecting odor (you can grind them with your garbage disposal!). Clean the obvious spills with a sponge. Pour a thin layer of fresh baking soda into a few small, shallow dishes. Cover this with plastic wrap and punch holes in it. Distribute on shelves to keep the air fresh (up to three months!). You can also pick up a few ARM & HAMMERrefrigerator air filters.

*Oven spills-As soon as you see the spill in the oven, sprinkle a generous amount of salt on it. This will keep the burning “scent” at bay and will also make it easier to wipe off once the oven has cooled down.