How to Clean a Kitchen Bin

A kitchen bin plays an essential role in most homes. It’s where we put empty food packets, wrappers and cartons. A bin helps us to manage our waste better, and it helps to keep the house organised and decluttered.

Yet, when it comes to cleaning the kitchen, many people forget to clean the bin.

This is probably because when we take out a full rubbish bag and replace it with an empty one, we often assume that the bin is clean.

Sadly, this isn’t the case. And while bin bags do save bins from getting extra dirty, the kitchen bin still needs to be cleaned internally and externally.

So, how do you clean a kitchen bin? It’s much easier than you think, and it’ll take very little time.

 

How to Clean a Kitchen Bin

Below you’ll find a step-by-step guide to cleaning a kitchen bin. Initially the method below may take you some time, but if you stay on top of the cleaning, it shouldn’t take you very long to give your bin a refresh in the future.

Where should you clean a kitchen bin?

There’s going to be a considerable amount of water and splashing involved when you clean your bin, so the best place to clean it would be outside or in the bathtub/shower.

Step-by-step method for cleaning a kitchen bin

1. Pop your gloves on.
2. Empty the rubbish from the bin and dispose of it correctly.
3. Rinse the bin out with warm water to loosen up any dirt that’s inside.
4. Hold a colander at the top of the bin as you empty the dirty water out. This will catch any debris that shouldn’t go down the drain, like bits of plastic.
5. Fill the bin up halfway with warm water and add washing up liquid to it.
6. Dip a brush into the water and start scrubbing the inside of the bin.
7. Clean the bin’s lid in the same way.
8. Clean between the grooves and hinges.
9. Empty the dirty water out of the bin.
10. Dip a cloth in hot soapy water and clean the outside of the bin with it.
11. Give the inside of the bin a quick wipe down with some paper towels.
12. Spray a multipurpose disinfectant/official bin cleaner all over the inside of the bin.
13. Rub the disinfectant spray into the sides of the bin with a cloth.
14. Dry the inside of the bin with more paper towels if need be or leave the bin outside in the sun to air dry.
15. Spray the external regions of the bin with some disinfectant cleaner and rub it into the surface with a new cloth.
16. Always make sure the bin is dry before you add a new bin bag to it and return it to the house.

 

How Often Should You Clean a Kitchen Bin?

You should clean, or at the very minimum disinfect, your bin every time you replace the bin bag in the bin. 

This will keep your bin relatively clean, smelling fresh, and harmful germs should also be kept at bay. 

A deep clean should be done on a weekly basis. However, if you keep on top of your bin cleaning throughout the week, this deep clean shouldn’t take you very long because the bin will be quite clean. 

This deep clean just ensures that any stubborn dirt or liquid waste is removed from the bin. 

 

How Do You Keep a Kitchen Bin Clean?

The simplest way to keep your kitchen bin clean is to clean it regularly, there really is no way around this. 

Here are some tricks you can try: 

• When you take out a bin bag that’s full, wipe the inside of the bin down with a cloth and some disinfectant before you add a new bag to the bin. Be sure to mop up any residue that’s gathered at the bottom of the bin.
• Spray some disinfectant onto the bin’s lid every day to keep it free from bacteria.
• Wash your food cartons/tins/wrappers out before you add them to the bin.
• Spray some Bin Buddy or a similar deodorising spray at the bottom of the bin before you pop a new bag in. The scent should rise up through the bin and should keep it smelling fresh.
• Make sure you use your bins wisely—recycle wherever possible and use your food caddy.
• Use bin bags to catch the waste.

 

What Causes Maggots in Bins?

Flies and maggots are drawn to bins because they are dark, humid, food-filled havens that they can thrive in. 

Maggots like to feed their way through your waste, and in the process, they start to breed and multiply. 

If taken care of quickly, the problem can be handled with ease. However, if the infestation is not managed, it can get out of hand fast. 

It’s not uncommon for a bin to be overrun with an army of maggots in just a few short hours – and this can be quite a scary and yucky experience. 

How to get rid of maggots

Here are some ways you can try in order to remove maggots from your kitchen bin. 

Do remember that it is always better to stop this type of infestation from happening in the first place, and it’s wise to treat the issue as soon as possible. 

• If the maggots are in one place, say in a food waste bag, you should try to close this bag as best as you can, then double bag the bag (contain the maggots). You can then dispose of the bag in an appropriate manner. 
• Pour boiling water over the maggots to get rid of them. 
• Bleach and water the maggots out of your bin, but be careful if you have other pets in your home. (Do this in a safe spot).
• Salt the maggots and the area around the infestation.
• Use vinegar to eradicate the maggots.
• Call professional help if the problem has started to get out of control. 

When you’re done treating the maggots, you will need to wash the bin out and disinfect it. 

How to keep maggots away from the bin

The easiest way to keep maggots away from any of the bins in your house is to make the environment as unappealing to them as possible.

So, clean your bins out regularly, don’t leave food to rot inside your bin, disinfect your bin as much as you can, close your bin up so flies can’t get in to lay eggs in the first place, and don’t put your bin in direct heat. 

 

Why Do Kitchen Bins Smell?

Kitchen bins usually smell if they’re not emptied and cleaned on a regular basis. If food and general waste is left to sit and rot inside a dark bin for days/weeks on end, it’s likely that the bin will be humming. 

And more than that, if the bin is allowed to sit in this state for too long, maggots will start claiming the bin for themselves. 

What to do if your kitchen bin smells

The simplest answer: Clean the bin on a regular basis following the method outlined above.

In addition to this, you can try the following:

• Use some scented Bin Buddy to clean the bin. You could also spray some Bin Buddy at the bottom of the bin, so the scent rises up through the rubbish.
• Make sure the bin’s contents are as clean as possible – no food waste, clean packets and tins.
• Line the bottom of the bin with newspaper and add essential oil to it.
• Cat litter can be placed on the bottom of a bin to absorb liquids and smells.
• Sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda on the bottom of the bin to absorb any smells and liquids that tip in the bin.