How to get rid of mold in a trash can

Scrub it off with detergent and water, rinse, then dry the can completely - physical removal is what works, not a chemical. Mold needs moisture, a food source and still air, and a trash can in a warm kitchen or a damp garage supplies all three. Killing it without removing it leaves the dead growth and the stain, and killing it without drying the can means it is back within a fortnight.

Where you find it tells you where the moisture is: under the lid rim means condensation, in the base means a leaked bag, in the pedal channel means a spill that ran down the inside of the body. Each one has a different fix, and the cleaning is the easy part.

The instinct is to reach for bleach, and on a hard non-porous surface like a plastic or stainless can it will kill surface growth. But three things make it the wrong first move.

• It does not remove anything. Bleach lightens the stain, which looks like success. The dead growth and the organic film it fed on are still there, and both are food for the next colony.
• It does not degrease. The film in a trash can is fat and protein. Bleach reacts with the surface of that film and stops. A detergent or degreaser lifts it off, which is what actually denies the mold its food.
• It is a real hazard mixed with anything else. Bleach plus an ammonia-based cleaner produces chloramine gas, and this is exactly the situation - a sequence of products in an enclosed space - where people do it by accident.

Detergent and scrubbing first. If you then want to disinfect, use a product whose label covers the surface you are treating - OdoBan's EPA-registered label names garbage cans specifically, which is a better basis than guessing.

1. Step 01

   Empty it and take it outside

   Remove the bag and the inner bucket if there is one. Work outdoors on grass, or in a bathtub if it is a small can and the weather is against you. Mist the mold with water before you start so you are not scrubbing dry spores into the air.

2. Step 02

   Wash with detergent, not a disinfectant

   Hot water and an all-purpose cleaner or degreaser. Simple Green publishes a method for garbage cans; any detergent concentrate works on the same principle. Coat the whole interior, the underside of the lid and the rim channel, and give it a few minutes to work.

3. Step 03

   Scrub every seam, not just the flat surfaces

   Mold lives in the places a cloth does not reach: the channel under the lid rim, the hinge recess, the gap between the body and the base trim, and the pedal housing. A small stiff detail brush is the tool - this is a job for bristles, not a sponge.

4. Step 04

   Rinse thoroughly

   Dead growth and detergent residue both feed the next colony, so rinse until the water runs clear. Pay particular attention to the base, where rinse water pools and where you least want it left.

5. Step 05

   Disinfect, only if you want to

   Optional, and genuinely worth it if the mold followed a leaked bag of food waste. Use a disinfectant concentrate at the label dilution, keep the surface wet for the full stated dwell time, and rinse if the label says to. This step kills; the previous three removed.

6. Step 06

   Dry it completely - this is the step that matters

   Stand the can upside down with the lid open, outdoors in direct sun if possible, for at least an hour and longer if it is cool. Then dry the rim channel and the lid seam with a cloth, because they hold water after the walls are dry. Do not fit a new bag until the inside is dry to the touch.

Mold that recurs in the same spot is telling you where the moisture is. Fix the input and you will not do this again.

What this job actually needs: a detergent concentrate to remove the growth, a disinfectant with a label that covers garbage cans if you want to follow up, and brushes small enough to get into the rim channel.

Best cleaner overall

Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner

The degreaser we would reach for first: it breaks down the fat and food residue that actually makes a can smell, and Simple Green publishes a garbage can method for it.

$9.64 · View on Amazon

Price as of October 16, 2026.  #ad How we make money

Best disinfectant

OdoBan Disinfectant and Odor Eliminator Concentrate

The registered disinfectant step, and one of the few whose EPA label carries directions for garbage cans and waste receptacles specifically.

$18.92 · View on Amazon

Price as of October 16, 2026.  #ad How we make money

Best detail brushes

OXO Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set

Two small stiff brushes for the three places a trash can actually smells from: the underside of the rim, the pedal channel and the lid hinge.

$9.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of October 16, 2026.  #ad How we make money

The single most effective habit is the same one that fixes most can problems: bag it, tie it, and do not let wet waste sit loose. A can that only ever receives tied bags has almost no moisture and no food source. How to stop trash can smell covers the related version of this problem, and how to clean a trash can is the routine version of the method above.

A plastic or stainless can is non-porous, so mold cannot grow into the material - which means almost any can can be saved. Three exceptions are worth knowing. If the body is cracked, growth gets into the crack and you will never reach it. If the can has an absorbent part - a fabric liner sleeve, a foam gasket, a cardboard-backed filter housing - that part has to be replaced rather than cleaned. And if the mold is inside a sealed mechanism, like a sensor can's lid module, there is nothing to scrub.

On the cracked-body case, replacing the can is the cheaper answer than repeated cleaning, and if the lid is the only casualty it may be available as a part. Trash can lid replacement.