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Coffee ground trick really helped my worm bin smell

I started tossing my used coffee filters straight into my worm bin about 3 weeks ago and the smell has basically disappeared. I wasn't expecting it to work that fast since I only use maybe 2 filters a day from my single cup maker. Has anyone else noticed their compost smells less after adding coffee grounds?
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2 Comments
david739
david73916d agoTop Commenter
About 4 days in I had the same experience. I thought I was just smelling my own coffee breath at first but nope, the bin actually smelled less funky. I use maybe 3 filters a day and it still worked. Funny thing is I told my neighbor about it and he said I was just masking the smell with coffee. But I swear the bin just smells like dirt now instead of something rotting. I guess being a caffeine addict has its perks.
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jesse_nguyen
Your neighbor is wrong about just masking the smell. Coffee grounds change the carbon to nitrogen ratio in the bin, which actually stops the bad bacteria from taking over. I had the same worry about masking vs fixing, but after a month of adding grounds my bin just smells like damp earth and nothing like garbage at all. It's really a night and day difference. Makes me wonder why more compost guides don't push coffee grounds harder for odor control. Glad to hear it's working for you too.
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