How to Keep a Wheelie Bin Clean ...and Why It's Such Hard Work

Let’s face it, cleaning a wheelie bin is never going to be anyone's favourite chore. But with Southend Council households set to receive not one, not two, but three new wheelie bins as part of the Council’s 2025 rollout - bin hygiene is set to become a much bigger factor in the regular maintenance of our homes.

If you’re worried about keeping three whole wheelies clean and hygienic then this article is for you. While we offer professional total cleaning at a fraction of the hassle, we know some residents are brave enough to try to handle the task alone - and we salute you! So here’s how to do it right and perhaps provide a taste of why so many choose to outsource the problem to Bin 2 Clean!

🧽 Our Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning a Wheelie Bin Properly:

1. Wait for Collection Day:

You'll want your bin to be as empty as possible before attempting to clean it - so the best day to clean is of course the day of your council collection, or otherwise the day after that. You'll ideally want to get at it before it's needed for the next fortnight's rubbish and before new waste has time to stick.

2. Safety First:

Wear rubber gloves and old clothes - the residue from bins regularly contain lots of harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli - so you'll ideally want to change out of the cleaning clothes soon after to save cross-contamination risks in and around your home.

3. Rinse and Loosen:

Use a hose or a watering can to first flush out any stuck on debris. If you have a pressure washer you may understandably be tempted to use it to loosen any really stubborn debris, but bear in mind bacteria will become airborne in the process - so protecting eyes, nose and mouth are sensible choices.

4. Scrub Thoroughly:

If you choose not to utilise high pressure, you'll instead want to scrub the entire interior of the bin ideally using a long-handled brush. Pay special attention to the bottom corners and under the lid. Then rinse out with hose or watering can.

We don't recommend using a bleach solution at this stage, because the bristles of the brush are too likely to flick bleach around causing a hazard to eyes as well as wildlife and pets. For disinfection, see the next step after all dirt & grime has been dislodged.

5. Apply a disinfectant spray:

Carefully apply a disinfectant spray to the interior surfaces and exterior touch points. It is recommended to use a household premixed spray such as a Dettol Surface Cleanser simply due to the simplicity of application - a few sprays applies a fine mist evenly across all surfaces. This spray should not be allowed to get into eyes, inhaled or ingested - so appropriate eyes, nose and mouth protective equipment is highly recommended. Leave this spray for 3-5 minutes to allow it to act on any bacteria present in the bin.

6. Hose Down:

With all dirt and grime removed and bacteria killed, you can now rinse away residual disinfectant from all surfaces.

7. Drying:
If you're blessed with a nice warm dry day for your bin clean, tip the bin upside down to remove the majority of the liquid and then leave stood right way up to air dry with lid open. If you're not so lucky with the weather you may prefer to leave the bin upturned to drip dry, or if you have a suitable prop to leave it angled open upside-down even better. Remember the bin doesn't need to be bone dry, that isn't the mission. Clean, hygienic and fresh is the plan - no wheelie bin is airtight, so on wet days the inside of bins will naturally contain moisture and when the weather is dry enough they'll also dry out inside - you can always open the lid for half an hour on the next particularly dry day to help wick away any excess moisture.

8. Clean the Surrounding Area:

Leaking bins can leave residues on paving or walls, as well as any cleaning chemicals used in the process. It's highly recommended to responsibly pour away water containing chemical remnants (not to mention to dispose of any ejected bin waste).

😷 Why Regular Cleaning Matters More Than Ever:

Quite apart from the fact that we now have three wheelie bins each, the compounding effect of fortnightly collections means smells, bacteria, flies, maggots and other pests have every chance to thrive now - and with 3x more bin 'real estate' on each property, it'll be much harder to turn a blind eye - or nose!

Dirty bins attract:

• Flies which lay eggs that each hatch into hundreds of maggots in just 24–48 hours

• Maggots which turn into hundreds more flies in 7-10 days, especially quickly in warmer weather

• Unpleasant odours especially from fortnightly black bin collections & pink-lid container bins (uncleaned food packaging, spoiled milk in old bottles, etc!)

• Bacteria and germs that pose a health risk

• Foxes, rats, wasps and other pests that scavenge around unwashed bins

At Bin2Clean, we professionally clean your bins outside your home, on your bin day, using:

• Specialist professional wheelie bin cleaning trucks

• High-pressure jet washing that reaches every corner of your bins interior

• Eco-friendly disinfectant

• Deodorising spray application

• Disinfectant wipe down of all frequent touch points

• Proper drainage and wastewater disposal

• No dirt, grime or wastewater on your property or driveway - all our wastewater remains contained within our closed filtration system.

We restore your bins, hassle-free on your bin day - with intelligently spaced more frequent cleaning during hotter months!

And with our special limited time pre-launch offer a year long subscription costs less than the average take-away for 2.

🎯 Final Word:

If you’re committed to doing it yourself, we respect that - and we hope our guide has helped. But if you’d rather not spend your afternoons scrubbing the bottom of a bin... Bin2Clean is here for you!

Subscribe TODAY while our never to be repeated 56% off - £39 for a year special offer lasts and stay ahead of the smells, health hazards & bin day dread - without ever touching a single tap.