c/apartment-composting

3

wren976•1d ago

Spent $80 on that countertop compost bin and it was a total waste

I got one of those fancy stainless steel countertop bins with a charcoal filter about 3 months ago. Looked nice, but the smell still leaked out after a week because the filter doesn't work as good as they say. Plus the bin was too small for my kitchen scraps, I was emptying it every 2 days. Now I just use a old plastic container I keep in my freezer. It cost me zero dollars and it doesn't smell at all. Has anyone else had better luck with those pricey bins or am I just doing something wrong?

11

shah.olivia•1d ago

My countertop compost bin finally stopped smelling thanks to a simple fix

I kept getting fruit flies and a weird sour smell from my kitchen compost even though I was layering browns. Then my neighbor in unit 4B told me to freeze my scraps before putting them in the bin instead of dumping them straight in. I tried it with a batch of banana peels and apple cores last week and it actually worked. Has anyone else had luck freezing scraps or do you have another trick for small apartment composting?

7

kim.emma•4d ago

Realized my worm bin was drowning after 4 months of soggy scraps

I finally figured out that adding too much melon rind and cucumber was basically waterlogging my bins when I opened it up and smelled the WORST swampy rot last Tuesday, has anyone else had to tweak their greens to browns ratio for apartment composting?

26

elizabetht56•4d ago

I gave up on bokashi bins after 6 months of moldy frustration

I used to swear by bokashi bins for my tiny studio in Chicago. Thought the fermenting thing was genius for apartment living. But after 6 months I had mold growing on the bran layer and it smelled like a rotten pickle factory. Now I just use a simple worm bin under my sink. It's way less fussy and my worms handle everything from coffee grounds to crushed eggshells. Has anyone else ditched bokashi for worms and never looked back?

26

the_jennifer•4d ago

Pro tip: Check your worm bin for fruit fly larvae before it's too late

I visited a friend's apartment in Chicago last weekend and she had a worm bin that looked fine on top. When she opened it to show me, there were tiny white larvae crawling all through her kitchen scraps. She had been tossing in banana peels and melon rinds without burying them deep enough. Has anyone found a reliable way to keep fruit flies out of a small indoor bin?

25

finley_lopez98•4d ago

My bokashi bin went rogue 3 weeks ago

I started a bokashi system last winter and it was working fine until 3 weeks ago when I opened the spigot and got a blast of fermented liquid that smelled like a distillery had a bad day. The bokashi bran I used was expired by about 6 months, which might be why the microbes went crazy. Anyone else had a bokashi batch get overly active and acidic like that?

5

felix_coleman87•5d ago

Rant: Stop throwing citrus peels in your worm bin

I kept wondering why my worm bin smelled like a rotting fruit stand and had flies everywhere. Turns out citrus peels are way too acidic for worms and they’ll literally crawl to the other side of the bin to avoid them. I finally figured this out after I lost half my worms in one month from a single grapefruit rind. Stick to apple cores and coffee grounds for your composting worms, folks. Anyone else deal with a worm exodus over orange peels?

17

amy692•5d ago

Warning: My kitchen smelled weird for a week after I tried bokashi composting

I got this bokashi bucket kit online for $30 thinking it would be a game changer for my tiny Chicago apartment. But I made the mistake of not draining the liquid every 2 days like the instructions said. After day 5 my whole kitchen smelled like pickled garbage and I had to dump the whole thing outside. Anyone else have a hard time keeping up with the draining schedule?

20

maxm50•5d ago

My neighbor told me I was composting wrong for 3 months

Caught her in the hall and she said my bin smelled because I was adding too many citrus peels - turns out she was right. Anyone else have a neighbor drop a composting truth bomb on them?

15

sandralee•8d ago

Got shut down by my building manager for my bokashi bin last week

I've been using a bokashi bin under my sink for about 6 months now and it worked great. No smell, no bugs, just some weird fermented pickle type smell when I opened it. But last Tuesday my building manager came by for a fire alarm check and spotted it. She said it was against policy to have any kind of composting system indoors because of potential pest issues. I tried to explain that bokashi is anaerobic and sealed but she didn't care. Now I'm stuck with a bucket of fermented food scraps and no idea what to do with it. Has anyone else run into apartment rules blocking their compost setup? How did you get around it?

24

julia_fisher28•10d ago

Don't trust those fancy countertop composters, learned the hard way

I dropped $300 on one of those electric countertop composters that claims to turn scraps into fertilizer in hours. After 6 months of using it, I found out it's basically just a fancy dehydrator that shrinks the volume but doesn't actually break down the material. I took it to a local community garden and they told me it was just dried scraps, not compost. Had to toss the whole batch and start over with a normal bin system. Anyone else get tricked by these expensive machines?

10

juliaa25•11d ago

That one trick my neighbor swore by ruined my compost bin

My neighbor Linda told me to add more water to my worm bin to speed things up, said she does it every week with great results. I dumped in a whole extra cup and within three days everything smelled like rotten eggs and half my worms crawled up the sides and died. Has anyone else had a worm bin go anaerobic from too much moisture?

13

ryanburns•11d ago

My bokashi bin got absolutely invaded by fruit flies and it changed my whole approach

I was doing the whole apartment composting thing with a bokashi bucket under my sink for about 4 months and honestly thought I had it dialed in. Then last Tuesday I came home from my delivery shift and lifted the lid and there were hundreds of tiny fruit flies swarming out of it (gross, I know). I realized I had been dumping in mango peels and watermelon rinds without burying them under the bran properly. So I had to haul the whole bucket down to my building's trash room, dump it out, and start fresh. Now I keep a little spray bottle with vinegar water next to the bin and hit it every time I open the lid. Also I started freezing my scraps for 24 hours before adding them to the bucket, which kills any eggs before they can hatch. Has anyone else dealt with getting an infestation under control without just giving up on the whole system?

6

the_skyler•14d ago

PSA: that $25 compost tumbler I bought off FB marketplace was a total scam

I grabbed this secondhand tumbler thinking it'd be perfect for my 400 sq ft apartment balcony but the thing leaks slime everywhere when it rains. The seal is busted and now I've got gross liquid pooling on my floor every time I water my plants. Anyone found a decent small bin under $50 that actually stays closed?

2

parkerkim•15d ago

Why does everyone in my building use coffee grounds but never balance them with browns?

I swear I see bags of coffee grounds in the compost bin every single day, but nobody ever adds shredded paper or cardboard. Last week I opened the bin and it smelled like a wet dog that rolled in old espresso grounds. I had to haul 5 gallons of my own shredded junk mail down to the basement just to fix the balance. Has anyone else dealt with a whole building full of people who only add greens and ignore the carbon side?

17

the_piper•16d ago

Finally got my first batch of compost from my countertop bin after 4 months

I kept messing up by adding too much citrus peel until a friend told me it slows down the breakdown, so I backed off and now the pile is actually cooking right - anyone else struggle with balancing what goes in their small bin?

19

eric_murphy36•16d ago

I finally figured out my bokashi bin smells after 8 months of trying everything

Turned out I was adding too much moisture with wet scraps and not enough bran, so my bin took 3 extra days per batch to stop stinking up the whole kitchen, has anyone else had that moisture ratio issue?

15

lee.lucas•17d ago

Serious question about using coffee grounds vs filters

I used to toss both my coffee grounds and paper filters straight into the bin thinking it was fine, but last month I read that the filters take forever to break down unless they're unbleached. Has anyone else had issues with compost piles getting too many filters mixed in?

8

the_miles•17d ago

Stop putting citrus peels in your apartment bin, it's ruining the compost

I keep seeing people in my building tossing orange and lemon peels into the shared compost bucket, and every time I open it it smells like a moldy fruit stand. After 3 months of this, I did a little research and found out citrus peels take forever to break down in a small bin and actually kill the good bacteria because of the acidity. My bin got this weird slimy film on top until I finally posted a note asking people to leave citrus out. Has anyone else dealt with this in their apartment setup or found a way to make citrus work without the smell?

11

linda_clark•18d ago

PSA: My old bucket method was a moldy nightmare compared to this worm bin I set up 2 months ago

I used to just toss scraps in a 5 gallon bucket with some dirt and hope for the best... ended up with this slimy, smelly mess every time. Switched to a simple worm bin from a kit I found at a hardware store in Denver. The worms actually eat everything now, no smells, and I got my first batch of castings last week. Has anyone else had that gross bucket phase before switching to something better?

16

wright.drew•19d ago

Vent: Bought a $60 countertop composter that just made sloppy sludge

I got suckered into one of those electric countertop composters from a big box store. Paid $62 for it at Home Depot in Austin and after 3 weeks it just made a wet, smelly mess that attracted fruit flies. My tiny apartment kitchen can't handle that stench. Has anyone else had better luck with bokashi bins or is that more trouble than it's worth?

2

reese_bell•19d ago

My neighbor said banana peels are fine in the bin, now my apartment smells like a distillery

Turns out tossing whole peels in there without chopping them up makes them ferment instead of break down, and I learned that after 3 weeks of gagging every time I opened the lid. Anyone else have a quick fix for when your bin turns into a science experiment gone wrong?

16

jade32•19d ago

Realized my worm bin went from stinky mess to almost no smell after I stopped adding citrus peels.

It took about 3 months for me to notice the difference, but now I just toss orange rinds in the freezer first and the whole setup barely smells at all anymore, has anyone else had that happen?

23

angelaellis•20d ago

Tried keeping my compost bin in the freezer instead of under the sink

After 3 weeks without any smell or fruit flies I realized the cold stops decomposition completely so now I just thaw scraps before adding them to the bokashi bucket, has anyone else tried this freezer method for small apartments?

0

jason_robinson•20d ago

My neighbor moved out and left me their worm bin

Last month a lady on the third floor knocked on my door holding a plastic tub full of red wigglers. She said she was moving to a place with a yard and didn't want to take them. I had never done worm composting before but I said yes. Three weeks in and my kitchen scraps are disappearing faster than my trash can ever handled. Has anyone else gotten handed a bin from a stranger?