Do you smell the garbage when you open the drawer above the trash

15 years ago

Okay, strange question. We are getting ready to put things away in the new cabs. Right next to the sink is the pull-out drawer/cab that is for trash cans. Above that is another pull-out drawer. Since they are both next to the sink, I wanted to put my silverware in the top drawer above the "trash" cab. I'm wondering if every time I open that drawer I will smell the trash beneath it. Or if the smell would somehow "permeate" the silverware. Of course, I will be taking the trash out often, but we all know how that can be :-) Thanks!

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Comments (18)

jenna_j
15 years ago
No smells from ours. :)
Buehl
15 years ago
Our trash pullout cabinet has a fixed wood "divider" b/w the trash area & the drawer above. So far, no trash smell at all and it's been 9 months.

However, I'm not sure I'd want to put flatware, utensils, or linens in that drawer...to me it seems unsanitary...it's probably not, but it's a perception thing! FWIW, that drawer is the junk drawer for us. [Everyone ends up w/a "junk drawer" somewhere...to control where it would end up, I planned for it!]
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We had our foil, plastic, wrap, etc over the garbage pullout, because it was a logical place to wrap leftovers or scrape plates. I much prefer a freestanding garbage pail and cleaner cabs. I never felt that I could get to the back to really clean out the trash cab. I'd pull out the guts as much as possible and still have trouble with reach. It was a function issue for me. I think if you have no other choice, then it is not the end of the world to put the silverware over the garbage. I just would hate for a guest to open my silverware drawer and get a noseful of rotting garbage (if someone put something that belongs outside in there without me knowing). We usually hustle any meat or fish trimmings to the outside cans during prep or after dinner. Occasionally, something will sit overnight and ripen and gross us out in the a.m.. IRW, that is going to happen.
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Fori
15 years ago
I have the same concerns!

I'm thinking it's a good place for garbage bags...but junk seems good too!
fin1
15 years ago
I had considered putting my trash in the cabinet under the silverware drawer, but decided it was unsanitary. It seems like the germs or bacteria or whatever will migrate upward. I still think under the sink will work best for me. I did not want to have a whole garbage/recycling bin area as the bins or bags just seem too heavy to lift. I am still trying to figure it all out.
lowspark
15 years ago
It doesn't smell. We do take out the garbage pretty much nightly, so even the trash itself doesn't smell. I keep foil, plastic wrap, ziploc bags AND tea bags & sweet n low packiets in my drawer above the trash. Just because that's the most convenient place for all of that. No problems and I don't think it's unsanitary.
redroze
15 years ago
Ours doesn't smell...but I also don't like the idea of having cutlery just above the garbage. Not just for sanitary purposes, but psychological ones! We put aluminum foil, saran wrap and waxed paper in our drawer.

Do you have an island behind the dishwasher? Perhaps you can keep the cutlery there so you only have to spin around.
jejvtr
15 years ago
THere is a little cut out (maybe 2-3")w/louvered metal plate vent in the back part of our pull out cab - no smells here
rhome410
15 years ago
No odor from ours. We keep our knives in the drawer above the trash.
vicnsb
15 years ago
No smell here either. My drawer holds dishtowels.
vic
suzatwork
15 years ago
We had our cabinet builder put in a wood panel/divider between the bottom trash and drawer above it. Before that, I had concerns about the smell drifting into the drawer. We keep knives in ours now - and no smells!
patti823
15 years ago
I keep my silverware above the trash, and no smells at all!!
flseadog
15 years ago
It does depend on how diligent you are. DS, a bachelor, lives in a condo with the pull out trash and knives in the drawer above. On a recent visit I opened the drawer to get a knife and almost fell over from the smell. He had shrimp for dinner the day before, put the shells in the trash and forgot to take out the trash when he left for work the next morning. Everyone on this forum sounds very careful either about what they put in the trash or making sure it goes out. I guess the moral of the story is to know your own habits.
lowspark
15 years ago
Good point flseadog. I guess if your garbage is going to smell, then the drawer above it is going to smell, no matter what you store in it. So... whether it's cutlery or dishtowels or foil or whatever, you pretty much have to be diligent about taking the trash out, especially when you've got smelly (or potentially smelly) stuff in there.
friedajune
15 years ago
No smells with the drawer above my pull-out trash. I use my garbage disposer a lot. I made sure to get a powerful disposer so that I can grind not only vegetable peelings and the like, but chicken bones and even the aforementioned shrimp shells. (never had a clog or problem with my disposer, BTW)
3katz4me
15 years ago
No - nothing seems to escape the trash pullout except when it's open. My drawer above trash is completely closed off from the pullout below - and I have silverware in it.
nkkp
15 years ago
My mother has had one for over 25 years and she hasn't had any problems with smells. She does keep a small trash can and empties it a couple of times during the week. I have planned for a drawer above mine. I was planning on placing my flatware in it but after reading the thoughts from redroze I don't know if I can or not! lol!
lascatx
15 years ago
Mine has the trash completely enclosed below and the drawer above doesn't share any space with the trash. We use the drawer for a knife block in the island and have never had an odor problem. In fact, if you use liners, the whole trash bin area stays very clean. The hardware that holds the trash bin includes a basket that holds liners, so there is no need to take up the space above.
rtmom2
15 years ago
I posted a very similair question about 4 mths ago when we were planning our kitchen. Anyway, everyone said no problem and I have no problems with my trash cabinet or neighboring cabinets smelling.

Do you smell the garbage when you open the drawer above the trash

Comments (18)

jenna_j

Buehl

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