A garbage disposal. When mine broke (after 14 years of hard use), and I couldn't use it for a few days until the replacement was installed, my pullout garbage smelled to high heaven. The coffee grounds alone...(how does something that smells so good at first, smell so horrid later).

If you decide to install a garbage disposal, you must get one that is 3/4 hp or 1 hp, not less. If you are on septic, Insinkerator makes one specifically for septic, and people have been very happy with it. If your under-sink space is cramped, Insinkerator makes a compact model, and people are happy with that. Do not get a badger anything.

Also make sure to wash your pullout garbage container. Smells can linger there, but that would be the case whether it's in a pullout or not.

I would try to find a can that fits your pull out system that also has a lid of its own.

For example rev a shelf has tops for at least two cans in its system. https://www.rev-a-shelf.com/p-258-accessories-replacement-containers-for-polymer-waste-containers.aspx

I converted mine to...well, I didn't convert it, but I keep the dog food in it.

Trash in a cabinet doesn't work for everyone. My family made a mess of it. I have room for free-range loose trash cans so it wasn't hard for me to abandon the trash cabinet.

I don't really smell the trash in mine unless someone placed something smelly in it ... Iike my DH will do, after eating a tin of sardines! If I prepare something smelly I will take that trash to the outside bin right away.

If no one is taking out the trash and people place really smelly stuff in it then you are going to get smells.

My parents have a bin under the sink and it gets emptied out every night.

This isn't particularly helpful, and I'm entirely neutral on trash bin placement -- but several thoughts:

- If you're smelling the garbage while it's INSIDE a cabinet, won't you smell it even more strongly if it's in a can OUTSIDE a cabinet? Do you have a particularly strong sense of smell?

- Not to be indelicate, but are you pregnant? I ask because my nose worked overtime -- and not in a good way -- when I was expecting!

- Is it possible that since you didn't want this contraption, you're subconsciously looking for something wrong with it?

- Since he's the one who's OCD about trash and this thing was his idea, perhaps he could commit to taking it out EVERY SINGLE NIGHT?

- Also, a can with a lid is a good idea. Because I own a Beagle, I have a lidded and locked trash can, and I rarely smell anything from it.

That was a great video clip!

I saw another Beagle-home-alone clip. Spoiler: This Beagle uses kitchen drawers as stepping stools! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mMcFH3nSoU

No, my fellow doesn't do those things ... or, if he does, he's smart enough to put the chair back. But, seriously, no. My Beagle is blind (from birth), and as a result, he is afraid of his feet leaving the floor. That makes sense: he doesn't know how far down it is, so he feels secure with his feet on the floor. Also, my Beagle is kinda runty-small ... definitely smaller than the dog in this video ... I don't think he could/would make the jump from the countertop. He does reach up to the kitchen tabletop.

However, 95% of his thoughts have to do with food, and he is just as obsessed and relentless as the dog in that video. He is also just as smart as that dog; that is, he can "plan" and use tools in the same way that dog used the chair to reach the countertop.

chispa, that is hilarious. I was thinking, "well, if we leave a chair out, even our doxie/cavy spaniel mix jumps on the table" and then the pup started moving the chair over to the counter! I was rolling on the floor. I love beagles!

OP, as I've gotten older, my sense of smell has deteriorated, if that''s any comfort to you. Our pullout cans get emptied every day and our cans are small enough that I can wash them frequently. I wipe out the cabinet as well because...stuff.

BTW, unless your DH is having intrusive thoughts about the garbage can pullout and tries to control the resulting anxiety with meaningless rituals that he realizes are meaningless, he does not have OCD (a person can't be an illness), so at least you can stop worrying about that.

Assuming it's the trash you're smelling...If it smells now, it will smell no matter where you put it. It's not the fact that it's a pullout, it's what's in the bin and/or how often it is taken out and/or how often it's cleaned (especially if people aren't the greatest at being sure trash & spills are going into the bins and not dripping on the sides of the bin or the pullout itself (like kids!))

.

If it's the cabinetry you're smelling, do all your cabinets have the same odor? How long has it been since the cabinets were installed?

Do you know the brand of the pullout system? Many of the manufacturers of those units make lids for the cans.. Check into Rev-a-shelf...

Good luck

So I have a can with a step on lid that never smells, which I prefer. I don't like the idea of using a hundred plastic bags to keep the smell down. I don't want to step outside every time I make something as not to use my garbage! I do have a crazy sense of smell....so I'm looking to convert the drawer to something else but I'm not sure how to! That was my original question I think....

Sounds like a reasonable option to explore would be lids for your pull out. No smell for you and no view for your husband. How about it.

You can probably remove the door and the pullout guts, add some shelves (or use it to store tall things, possibly with vertical dividers), and put hinges on the door. There will be a few holes you can fill or ignore. Google how to install euro hinges. It's more tricky than regular old fashioned hinges but there's a lot of info out there because they are so common now.

You CAN recover your stinky cabinet! That cabinet will always stink for you (and it will always stink for me!) so get the trash out now!

Really, I totally get it.

I put stinky garbage (like meat scraps) in the freezer until garbage day. But yes, pull-outs do tend to get dirty over the years but I imagine trash cans do too...

Yes, but you can take a garbage can outside and pressure wash it clean. Not so much with a cabinet.

Our pullout never smells. I think it's a matter of keeping food waste not in the trash cans. One can holds recyclables and the other trash. If I have a meat tray or other juicy item, it goes to the outside trash within the hour. We don't use trash can liners, but we do wash the cans as needed - which isn't all that often as it turns out.

Garbage, meaning food waste, paper towels, and tissues, goes in a repurposed dog food bowl on the counter. That bowl gets emptied into the green waste can outside as needed. Last night it had onion and garlic skins, tomato skins, ends off of celery, green beans, and carrots, carrot peels, the insides of bell pepper, and parsley stems. It got emptied before we ate that dinner, and a stainless steel bowl is easy to wash. This morning it has a paper towel, used tea leaves, and two rosemary stems that didn't get used last night. There's no rush to empty it at the moment. Even on the hottest days of summer there is no smell. (We do have a garbage disposal, but it mostly gets used for the odd bits that end up in the sink from rinsing plates or wiping off the cutting board. This saves water - a good thing in this area - and provides the makings of municipal compost. It also keeps food waste out of the public sewer system.)

We would be more help to Mar if we can suggest what to do with the cabinet instead of telling her she's wrong to want her trash somewhere else!

I'm just as self righteous about my waste production and disposal as
everyone else, but I too prefer to keep my trash out of the cabinets.

Hi! Looking at the other doors in the kitchen does your pull out door have the routing etc that is needed and the frame of the cabinet the same? Is the pull out screwed and tracks below? Just a matter of removing and getting hinges. The box probably has holes for shelf pins. Have shelves cut to size. Hope this helps.

Is this the type of trash can pullout you have currently? Where the door is attached?

If so then, changing the interior to pullout with door attached options.

Sometimes the doors are glued, so in that case you may have to get a custom box made to use the existing mechanism.

I use the smallest plastic bag you can buy and take it out often.

Regarding reuses of your pull out bin, I would download the Rev a Shelf catalog , but more immediately you could use the existing bin for tubes of wrapping paper, tin foil etc - I.e. anything long and thin. I too, dislike pull out garbage bins and vastly prefer something with a lid and step-on pedal. Never any smell. And those pull out ones situated right under the sink - the most heavily used spot in the kitchen, what’s up with that placement? I will say, people who love pull out bins are hard to persuade otherwise. During my kitchen remodel both of my sisters inquired anxiously more than once about where the garbage pull out was going to be. I don’t get their affection for them either.

I am also debating the garbage cabinet vs. freestanding. My fear is that I won’t be able to fit much in there. We also don’t have much cupboard space to spare. Advise?

You can fit plenty into a well-designed trash pullout. In my ex kitchen I retrofitted a 12" cabinet with a pullout that held 2 cans. It was smaller than I like but the other option was cans in the dining nook. It wasn't bad (and the cabinet was super gross before the conversion so I didn't feel like I was messing anything up). Look at can sizes for the different pullout sizes and compare them to what you use now.

If you opt to not do a pullout, be sure you have a spot for can(s) so they aren't in the middle of the floor. :)

The little trash cans under the sink are an option for people who don't mind taking out the trash every day...I guess it works for some, but it can be a lot of plastic bags.

Multiple small bags are not more plastic than one large bag.

If you have a small kitchen I would not waste valuable storage for a trash can.

Maybe something like this undersink. I like this type, because the trash covered & contained when closed. That way it will not effect the surroundings. You could keep a bigger freestanding with lid elsewhere, if home has a lot of trash going in & out.

Under counter sink mat is a good idea to help protect cabinet bottom

I know this is an old thread, but I'm having this same problem. It is as though the cabinet itself smells. If I open the drawer which is on top of the pull out trash cabinet the smell escapes. I wash them every few days and use baking soda. I also don't let trash sit in it for very long; 2 days max. I wonder if it is the type of wood or material the cabinett that surrounds it is made of. My girlfriend has a pull out and hers doesn't smell at all. The inside of her cabinets are made of real wood; not mdf or whatever the other stuff is called, which is what my interior cabinets are made of.

We just bought a house that has an ancient trash compactor. It doesn't smell at all! I don't use the compacting feature but put my trash can in it.