We know that a lot of people aren’t up on their wheelie bin cleanliness but a bit of maintenance every once in while wheelie pays off! You would be correct in thinking that wheelie bins are a place to dump all your rubbish and be a bit messy but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t good reasons to keep it in check, here are some of those reasons:
They wheelie smell: Most people take it as a given that their bin will smell, however, bad smells can attract all kinds of unwanted visitors such as flies and rodents. Thanks to some council’s fortnightly collections, it’s pretty easy to build up a smell quickly but there are ways of saving your nostrils such as bin air fresheners (yes they really exist!).
Germs: Where there is decomposing rubbish, there are germs. Particularly when the weather is warmer and humid.
Unwanted visitors: Insects and rodents are famously dirty critters who love nothing more than old rubbish. Flies and maggots are known to breed instead dirty bins and like to leave larvae lying all over the place. Foxes, badgers, rats and cats are also drawn to the stench of rotting rubbish and also enjoy rummaging through our bins and knocking them over etc.
Top tips:
- The best ways to keep unwanted bin antics to a minimum is to rinse out all the recyclable materials you’re throwing away e.g. rinsing out milk cartons, jars etc.
- Lining the bottom of your bins with news paper can help absorb some of the run away liquids at the bottom of your bin and help avoid the dreaded ‘bin juice’.
- We know it doesn’t sound fun but cleaning your bin out every now and then with some disinfectant will help keep those pesky germs and smells at bay.
- When throwing away food try to double bag the scraps to avoid leakage if one bag splits. Another top tip when throwing away food is to squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing it as this slows down decomposition.
- It might sound simple but make sure your bin lid is firmly closed and the bin itself is kept out of direct sunlight to avoid the rubbish inside getting warm and humid.
If you give your bin a bit of TLC every now and then, taking the bins out won’t be such a chore! Let us know your top wheelie bin maintenance tips.