I would start with #4. Your cabinet guy should have done this in the first place. A little baking soda can't hurt in the meantime.

Hafele's versions of these pull outs have a fixed metal panel that stays in the cabinet and sits above the trash can with a small gap (for closing clearance). It would be easy to have a sheet metal shop build a comparable part. Also, the cabinets should be fully skinned to start with so there would not be a passage from cabinet to cabinet except possibly where the counter top didn't perfectly lie on the cabinet frame.

kas

If your unit is a Rev-A-Shelf unit you may be able to buy a lid to fit your existing can. I believe they sell them for their 35 (RV-35) and 50 qt (RV-50) cans and they are not expensive.

I have struggled with a similar problem and found the Hefty odor control (unscented!) tall kitchen bags to be helpful. Kind of amazing, actually.

I think if the garbage smells that bad, you need to take it out. Even if you have it airtight, as soon as you open the lid, the smell will jump out at you. I'd rather use smaller bags and get it out of the kitchen before the stench is too bad. Garbage needs to be removed frequently.
FWIW - we did not do a diaper genie, but would put the stinky diapers in the outside garbage.

Yeah, don't put any smelly trash in it. Put it in your garbage disposal if you have one or take it outside. Nothing else will work.

I am so worried about that too. I just get sick with the smell of garbage. We are gourmet chefs at home and are having our kitchen redone. I still would like to use our old fashioned step on can (can we, pun!). Maybe for just the wet stuff. I just cannot fathom garbage or trash without a lid. We only throw our garbage out once at night and do not wish to make the trip outside more often. Is this such a bad idea.

I want to mention that we had the same set up in our old house with no odor problem. In this house, we thought it was something about the way the cabs were constructed -- glue or some kind of caulk. It is not really a garbage smell, just unpleasant, and we have not been able to pinpoint it.

We also understand that taking garbage to the garage frequently is a good thing. But, there has to be a balance between getting stuff out and wasting bags. We eat virtually no packaged food, recycle faithfully and save out scraps for DIL's chickens. We could easily go a week or more with one tall bag, but we don't.

(I guess I'm just sayin' it ain't about hygiene...)

What exactly are you smelling then? If you are composting and etc? I guess I'm saying "what does your trash smell like" which is kind of a creepy thing to ask. But what is in there to smell?

We believe you on the hygiene thing! Lol.

Could it be a dead rodent? Those little invaders can work themselves into some pretty small spots!

We did ask our cabinet maker to put a barrier between the trash cabinet and the drawer above it. It was more to reduce the general yuckiness factor than for odor, but I guess it has helped with odor, too. On the other hand, unless something really nasty just got thrown away, I haven't noticed an odor, even with the trash pullout open. We're very careful about spills as we toss things in there, and we take it out quite frequently. Also, if there's something particularly smelly or gross to be tossed (you know, like the forgotten container from the back of the fridge with the now unrecognizable contents), it goes directly to the outside bin.

Thanks live wire oak for that suggestion. I'll check and get back to you....

Our trash pull out in at the end of the peninsula with a pantry pullout next to it and the dishwasher next to that. Sometimes our trash smells REALLY bad especially after DH has had his very stinky french cheese! I don't even like the smell of banana peels in the trash. However, we have never had the trash smell crossover to the adjacent cabinet or even into the drawer above the trash can. The same is true for our beach house trash pullout. The cabinet maker definitely should have taken this into consideration by making the pull out a closed box. You should see if he can fix it.

We only use our island's 2-can trash pullout for recycling (which we make more of than trash) and still use our SS trashcan (that was almost $100 new) for garbage waste. My husband insisted - no garbage in a cabinet and it seems like it was wise for us.

For the reasons mentioned above, we too nixed the in-cabinet trash. I prefer the step on lidded stainless steel stand alone trash.

You must be so frustrated. I have a super sensitive sense
of smell and this would iritate me to no end. I imagine
you are a little annoyed with how this turned out.
Who would have thought this could be an issue. It is not
until you begin using your kitchen that you realize the
space on the island and air flow could effect smells.
I like the idea of having a lid or having your cab maker
come up with a plan to block off the air flow.

Meanwhile Baking soda, and scented garbage bags and
even an air freshner might help you.
~boxer

wd

I did not read through all the posts so pardon if I am repeating here

We have a 2 13 gal trash pull out -
The cabinet maker did cut a vent hole in the back of that cab a little metal vent plate over it.
We have lots of trash here :) - It goes out minimum of 1x/day - No smells when cab is shut or when I open the flatware drawer above.

Good luck

Why not just take out the garbage more often?? The last thing I want to store in my beautiful new kitchen is trash!

We have two bins as well and both trash & recyclables go out about every other day and we have no problems w/odors.

The only times I remember having an issue was when we went away for a a week or two and forgot to take out the trash...as soon as we opened up the trash bin we realized out mistake! However, no odors traveled to adjacent cabinets nor to the drawer above.

We do have a wooden divider b/w the top drawer and the opening below.

FWIW, the trash in our old kitchen's freestanding trash can smelled once in a while (bigger bag so stayed around longer) and we knew as soon as we walked into the house. The trash odor in the pullout, OTOH, wasn't apparent until we opened the pullout. I think our trash pullout is better at containing odors than a freestanding trash can.

I never have an issue with garbage smells spreading to the rest of my cabinetry unless (A) I haven't taken the trash out (I typically don't go longer than 24 hrs., 36 max), or (B) I haven't washed the garbage bin itself recently. The plastic garbage bin can really hold onto odors, even if you have nothing smelly in there currently. Try washing the plastic bin out with Ajax powder, give it a good scrub, let dry.

I also use my disposal a lot. I made sure to get a 3/4 hp Waste King which is powerful with a lot of torque. I even put chicken bones down there.

I agree with the other poster who said even if you install some kind of metal shield, you will still get hit with the odor when you open the garbage pull-out. So those shields take care of the symptom, not the underlying cause. As I said, scrub the bin out, use the disposal, and take out the garbage with more frequency.

Where did you store your garbage before it was in a pull-out? Did it smell then?

We compost just about every scrap of food (bones, meat,etc.), so our garbage never smells. We even throw wet diapers in there. Poopy ones go into the diaper champ right outside the door into the garage. How often do you take the trash out? I'm sorry you are experiencing this.

Garbage smells bad, no matter how often you take it outside...and it's going to smell even worse, with hot, humid weather.

I've had similar concerns and we take out our garbage everyday, but we cook with meat, feed the cats can food sometimes, etc.

My solution is to have a standard sized garbage built into the island for paper/plastic/non-smelly garbage...and keep the smaller garbage can, under the sink. This will be for smelly garbage and will keep the smell from getting into the rest of the storage area.

It will still be taken out everyday, but garbage doesn't seem to smell as bad under the sink. Is it better isolation, having the vent for the plumbing? No idea, but many of my friends keep their garbage under the sink, without too many problems :)

We did number 4. Yeah, tell us we're slobs and disgusting because our trash stinks. Thanks.

But 4 works pretty well for us. Our trash gets very messy.

Hahahahahaha. Whatever happened to the OP???

Fori- LOL! Everyone's trash stinks...it's garbage! :)

I am guessing the OP's garbage "woke up" and has her trapped in a closet. Lol.

Garbage is unruly that way.