Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

The things that can make a kitchen smell.

29 replies

Threedaysaweek2019 · 16/11/2019 13:02

Ruling out the bin and caddy that I have bleached with hot water to an inch of their lives, what other things can make a kitchen smell?

Something is smelling and I’m trying to find the source ....
I’ve cleaned the fridge out also.
Any suggestions welcome 💐.

OP posts:
Defender90 · 16/11/2019 13:11

The drain? It's usually the drains in my kitchen.

notso · 16/11/2019 13:12

An old potato your toddler wedged in between the worktop and the dishwasher! This was the case for us a few years ago, took ages to find it.

Drain,
Dishwasher,
Washing machine,
Rotting vegetables somewhere,
A hidden leak under the cupboards or under the sink,
Unemptied coffee machine.

Busydrinkingcoffee1 · 16/11/2019 13:14

Something under the floorboards (if you have them)?

Eckhart · 16/11/2019 13:14

The drains? Pour some bleach down it and wait for a bit then empty the boiled kettle down it (carefully, to avoid a boiling-flying-bleach scenario)

Or... has something fallen under the fridge/cupboards and started getting slimy? A tiny little prawn can be so so offensive.

Hope find it, it's really annoying 'looking' for a smell!

PullingMySocksUp · 16/11/2019 13:16

Dish cloth?

FrogFairy · 16/11/2019 13:22

A dead animal.

Did you clean the drip tray on the back of your fridge (the outside not the inside)

Egg · 16/11/2019 13:29

Dishwasher and surrounding area? I have family members who put stuff in the dishwasher without realising they have dripped milk etc down the edge which then dries and becomes invisible. I’m always having to scrub the floor area in front of the dishwasher and round the edges where it doesn’t get cleaned when dishwasher is on but is also out of sight when dishwasher is closed.

MsChatterbox · 16/11/2019 13:38

The bottom of the draining rack?

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 16/11/2019 13:39

Drain hole at the back of the fridge? Squidge some Milton down it, that seems to help if it gets a bit whiffy.

Sink plughole? Tip some bicarb down it, then follow with some clear vinegar. I do it every few months and it's so satisfying.

Have you checked under/behind the cooker? Something could have slipped into hiding and gone rotten.

GoodDogBellaBoo · 16/11/2019 13:45

Drain, fan above cooker needs cleaning, edges around dishwasher, dead mouse behind sink..

cushioncovers · 16/11/2019 13:48

Old potatoes made my kitchen absolutely reek once. We had a bag of them we'd forgotten about.

HopeClearwater · 16/11/2019 23:29

Another vote for the drip tray on the underside of the fridge. Pull fridge out, look for tray. Also find a number of old Cheerios that got under there too ... yuck

Threedaysaweek2019 · 17/11/2019 08:28

Thanks for replying all.
I think it’s the fridge and I have some Milton so I’ll sort that out.
Plus I’ll follow the bicarbonate and clear vinegar sink advice also.

Cringing at the thought of a dead mouse..🐭 🤮

OP posts:
Threedaysaweek2019 · 17/11/2019 08:34

....or rather, gagging than cringing.

OP posts:
Threedaysaweek2019 · 17/11/2019 08:35

Oops, yes the dishwasher also...

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 17/11/2019 13:49

Grease on the top of the cupboards
Grease behind the back of the oven. You can take them off & put them in the dw.
The drain under the fridge
The area between the sink over flow and the plug.
The dw filter
The walls if you haven’t washed them.

The washing machine filter
The pipe under the washing machine drawer.

Threedaysaweek2019 · 17/11/2019 14:42

Update:

I’ve cleaned the drip tray behind the fridge and vacuumed the grille (.sp) and poured some Milton down the drain hole.

Poured bleach down the kitchen sink drain then used boiling hot water from the kettle a little later on.

I can’t smell anything now...🙂

@Fluffycloudland The walls if you haven’t washed them
The kitchen walls or the dishwasher walls?

OP posts:
GiantKitten · 17/11/2019 14:50

My sink is smelling currently when I let the water out. I think it’s from the overflow. I have some of that Buster plughole deodorant stuff, I need to try that.

I also have a random niff in the vicinity of the bin, but not the bin because the lid is a very tight fit. I need to investigate further too...

Hate random mysterious smells Grin

Fluffycloudland77 · 17/11/2019 14:54

The actual walls. Wilko do cheap sugar soap for the job.

AmateurSwami · 17/11/2019 14:56

Was losing my mind at a vile smell last week- it was the inner section of my slow cooker.

Thanksgiving2019 · 17/11/2019 15:00

As small bowl of bicarbonate of soda left on the side in the kitchen will absorb bad smells - for the record also works in teenage boys rooms Smile

Threedaysaweek2019 · 17/11/2019 15:50

Ah right @Fluffycloudland77, sugar soap fr the kitchen walls it is then (adds to list).
I have bicarbonate of soda, so I can dig out a small bowl for that.

Surprising, isn’t it, what can cause a smell....

OP posts:
KondoKonvert · 17/11/2019 16:05

Rank water in the bottom of a plant pot?

Threedaysaweek2019 · 17/11/2019 16:11

No houseplants here @KondoKonvert, I kill them off....😂.

OP posts:
KondoKonvert · 17/11/2019 16:20

I know the feeling. I leave mine rotting in tank water 😂