Potatoes are some of the most commonly used vegetables in the world. Available in all parts of the globe in sizes big and small, potatoes have become incredibly popular in different cuisines.
Most people like to keep potatoes in large quantities in their houses, because they don’t go bad at room temperature for quite a few days, and they can easily be peeled, sliced, or chopped up and used in a variety of dishes.
However, potatoes tend to rot. If you put the potatoes in your kitchen cabinet or any container and forgot about them, they are going to rot after a while. It’s not going to be easy for you to get rid of this terrible smell of rotten potatoes either, because if you haven’t taken action in a long while, the smell is only going to get worse.
There is always a bin that most people keep at home where they place all their potatoes. But, if you have one in which the potatoes did not go gently into the night and ended up getting bad, you are going to have your work cut out for you.
Removing the smell is definitely not going to be easy, and you are going to have to spend a bit of time cleaning the whole thing up. There are a number of different things that you can do to get rid of bad smells from around the house, especially a potent one like rotten potatoes.
But, there are a few things that you can do to try and get rid of the rotten potatoes.
Get Rid of Them
The first step is to get rid of the potatoes. It’s going to be difficult for you to stand in the same room as the rotten potatoes.
Moreover, when disposing of the rotten potatoes, you need to first place them in a bag. Make sure you seal it up tightly before you throw the rotten potatoes in the garbage bin.
In some cases, the odor might be completely dispelled once you get rid of the rotten potatoes. But, in most cases, the odor may have already seeped into other surfaces, and now you are going to have to clean up the whole thing.
Ventilation
It’s important that you get adequate ventilation in your house. The first step is to open the windows around the house and turn on some fans. You are going to need as much ventilation within the room as you can get.
If the smell is particularly disturbing, you might want to wear a mask as well before you get to work.
Start Cleaning the Cabinets
If the rotten potatoes were kept in a cabinet, you might want to start by removing all of the contents from within the cabinet. If there were other organic materials kept in the cabinet, you might want to remove those as well.
Smell each and everything to make sure that it’s fresh, otherwise discard those as well.
You need to empty the cabinet in an orderly fashion. If there are other perishables that have begun to rot, you might want to place them in a bag as well.
Items that smell fine can be temporarily relocated from the cabinets while you work on them.
Vinegar
Vinegar has widely been used for cleaning up the kitchen cabinets, and it is one of the most popular methods for getting rid of the odors. All you need to do is create a mixture of vinegar and water, and then rub it on all surfaces of the cabinet.
You will want to make sure that the vinegar isn’t too diluted, so it’s best to use equal parts of water and equal parts of vinegar. Keep in mind that vinegar itself has a pretty strong smell, which often tends to linger on for quite some time.
If you know that there is a specific food stain from which the odor is emanating, you might want to leave a small puddle of water and vinegar on top of it. Let it soak on the stain for the next few hours before you clean it up.
Another thing that you can do is place white vinegar in a bowl, and leave it open in the cabinet for at least a week. Vinegar is capable of absorbing the smell within the cabinet.
If you have no other place to keep the different things that were in the cabinet, you might want to place the liquid in a jar, and poke a few holes in the lid. Or, you can also leave the lid open and let the vinegar do its job.
Coffee Grounds
There are a few instances in which the rotten potato smell will be impossible to get rid of. Even the white vinegar might not work at all. When that happens, you might have to adopt a different tactic. Take a saucer and pour coffee grounds in it. Fill it up as much as you can.
If you can’t leave them out in the open, you can always place them in a jar and remove the lid. Or, you can also poke holes in the lid to get rid of the smell. Coffee grounds have a very overpowering smell.
You can also place the coffee grounds in an old piece of cloth, a paper towel, or any other absorbent material which will make it easy for the coffee grounds to absorb the smell caused by the rotten potatoes.
Baking Soda
One of the most effective items that is readily available in most houses is baking soda. Baking soda is able to absorb virtually all kinds of bad smells, and is also incredibly easy to find.
If you don’t have baking soda at home, just run to your local grocery store, and you can find it there. Baking soda has been around for a long while and is quite commonly used for getting rid of bad smells.
All you need to do is place the baking soda in a container, and leave it in the cabinet that is reeking. The baking soda is able to absorb the remaining odor from within the cabinet, and will also prevent any new odors from taking over.
These are just some of the simpler methods that you can use to get rid of the smell of bad potatoes from your kitchen.
However, before you try any of these methods, it might be a wise idea to spray some deodorizer or an alcohol-based perfume in the cabinet. This trick might work as well, especially if the rotten potatoes hadn’t been kept in the cabinets for a long period of time.
You should know that almost all of these methods can be used for other smells as well. In fact, if there is any kind of bad smell in your house, you can use these materials to absorb it and get rid of the smell.
But, don’t expect them to work wonders overnight; it might take a day or two before the smell actually goes away.
These are just a few things that you should know about getting rid of bad smells in your house.
I have a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When I’m not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies…I’m at home with my wife, two daughters and a dog. Outside of family, I love grilling and barbequing on my Big Green Egg and working on projects around the house.