Few household chores are as universally disliked as anything related to trash cans. They get ignored, pushed aside, and somehow always seem to smell worse. If you’ve ever felt like your bin is constantly working against you, you’re not alone. Luckily, a little consistency, especially with simple weekly trash can cleaning habits, can make such a huge difference. Below are three weekly practices that will help you get ahead of the smells and germs before they even have a chance.
- Give the Inside a Quick Weekly Wash (Yes, Even If It “Looks” Clean)
Trash cans lie. They can look clean on the inside and still be crawling with bacteria or hiding dried-on spills from who-knows-when. You toss things in and close the lid, and it’s easy to assume everything is fine. But if you stick your head close, or if the smell hits every time you walk by, you know something isn’t right.
Giving the inside a simple rinse once a week can be such a game changer. No pressure to scrub like you’re trying to restore a historical monument. Just a quick wash with warm water and a mild detergent does the trick. It loosens grime, washes away sticky residue, and stops germs from building up into something more sinister.
And it’s funny that this tiny effort pays off fast. After a couple of weeks of doing it, you’ll notice you’re no longer dreading the Monday morning bin run. The smell drops. The weird stickiness disappears. And the whole space around your trash can will be fresher.
- Replace Liners Before They Fail You
Ever pulled up a trash bag only to discover some mystery liquid dripping from the bottom? It’s one of those moments where you just sigh and wonder why life has to be like this. Nobody enjoys it. And yet, for some reason, we all stretch trash bags a little longer than we probably should.
Changing your liners once a week, even if they aren’t completely full, is one of those small rituals that feels strange at first but quickly becomes second nature. When you do it consistently, you avoid the dreaded bag rupture or that awful slosh of accumulated leakage at the bottom of the bin. You also stop food waste from molding inside the liner before you’ve had a chance to take it out.
Plus, let’s be real: liners that sit too long start clinging to the inside of the can. They trap moisture, harbour bacteria, and create odours that seem to settle into the plastic itself. When you make it a habit to replace them weekly, you’ll prevent a mess and give your trash can a fighting chance to stay clean.
- Wipe Down the Outside
You know how everyone focuses on the inside of the trash can? But the outside is the sneaky part. It’s the one you touch the most: the lid, the handle, the foot pedal, the rim. Those spots collect germs like magnets. And yet, because they don’t always look dirty, they get ignored.
A quick weekly wipe-down changes everything. You don’t need to go overboard. Just grab a disinfectant cloth or a damp cloth with a little cleaning spray. Go over the lid, the sides, the pedal (if you have one), and especially the top edge where people tend to press down trash with their hands. It takes less than a minute and makes a bigger difference.
Final Thoughts
Keeping odour and germs under control is simple. These weekly rituals—washing the inside, replacing liners early, wiping down the outside, and giving your trash can some fresh air—work together to keep things manageable and, honestly, far less gross. A cleaner trash can means a cleaner home. And a cleaner home always feels better to live in.
