Moving into a new apartment can be very exciting. You get to buy new furniture and new household items, many of which will come in boxes. When you decide to recycle those cardboard boxes, one ton of the cardboard can save over nine cubic yards of landfill space.

So, now that you’ve done your good deed to help the environment by properly recycling your boxes, what happens if you notice a strong and unpleasant odor coming from the trash that remains in your house. Let’s take a look at a few ways in which you can take care of the scent.

Air Everything Out
You may notice that even after you’ve handled waste removal, you still find yourself smelling a scent that needs to go. By taking the initial step of opening all of the windows, opening doors, and turning on a fan to make sure that the air is circulating, you’re helping the smell fly out of your apartment. You only need to leave the doors and windows open for about five to six hours, but if it’s been that long and you still notice a problem, leave the windows and doors open for a longer amount of time. Unless it’s freezing outside, or if you have kids or a pet that can’t deal with the extensive fresh air, you can leave the windows and doors open for days at a time.

Scented Garbage Bags
Another way to hinder the strong smell of garbage, use a scented bag. These bags come in all types of size, texture, and scents, so you will definitely be able to find one that works in your home. However, keep in mind that the bags won’t help to fully eliminate the scent in the garbage can, it’ll just help to mask it.

Wash the Can
If you notice that nothing else is working, your garbage can itself may actually be the leading problem. Spray your can with a cleaning product and wash it out. Then, rinse the whole thing with water, spray it again, and repeat the process.

Waste removal goes above and beyond the task of just taking the garbage out. To eliminate the garbage smell in your apartment, make sure you consistently clean your can, air your apartment out, and use scented garbage bags.