The worm bin I swore off actually fixed my smell problem

I ignored vermicomposting for like a year because the idea of worms in my kitchen made me cringe, but after my bin went anaerobic for the third time in my 400 sq ft studio in Portland, I gave it a shot. The difference in odor between a sealed worm bin and a wet pile is night and day, has anyone else made the switch after fighting the rot smell?

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hugo_jones26d agoTop Commenter

Gently push back on that "sealed" part, because that's actually where a lot of folks trip up. Worm bins aren't really sealed, they just have a lid that keeps the smell in better than an open pile, but they still need airflow or they'll go anaerobic on you too. I had mine in a closet for a while and thought the same thing, then I opened it one day and got a whiff that made me question my life choices. The real fix for me was drilling a few extra holes near the top and fluffing the bedding more often, plus not adding as much wet food scraps. Once I treated it like a living thing that needs oxygen instead of a stink-proof box, it went from zero smell to actually kinda earthy, which is wild for a studio apartment.