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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

Step by step guide to cleaning a wheelie bin

27 replies

VenturaMabel · 04/02/2023 19:49

Novice wheelie bin cleaner here.

I'm thinking:

Big squirt of washing-up liquid (or bleach?) to bottom of bin

Add kettle of boiling water

Leave for 30 minutes

Tip out into drain

More squirts of washing up liquid around sides and bottom of bin

Blast with hose but not too much as don't want bin to be too heavy to empty into drain

Repeat as necessary

Can anyone improve on this?

OP posts:
BooCrew · 04/02/2023 19:50

We have a company come and do ours. It's great, just a tiny little pleasing thing. Started when we had a baby and two cats - our bin was revolting.

LeatherSoledShoes · 04/02/2023 19:50

No, I’ve never cleaned a wheelie bin.

WombatBombat · 04/02/2023 19:51

My neighbour cleans her wheelie bin & keeps an old mop in the garage specifically for it, with some diluted bleach left in for 30 mins or so.

I cba, but it seems to work for her.

TheChosenTwo · 04/02/2023 19:51

Maybe sacrifice an old broom to the cause - will help scrub the sides down. My neighbour regularly washes his out with jeyes fluid (is that what it’s called?! He’s evangelical about it, gets our there with a kettle and has a whale of a time.
We pay the bin cleaning people, once a month they come round and they’re brilliant.

FenghuangHoyan · 04/02/2023 19:52

Tip is on its side near the drain. Use hose. Job done.

Msgrieves · 04/02/2023 19:59

I'd put cleaning my bin into the same category as the woman down the road who sweeps the pavement, in the wind Hmm

My bitch from hell housing officer described my bin as "soiled" no fucking shit sherlock.

Mumof3girlsandaboy · 04/02/2023 20:03

I clean it myself
just pull some water in the bin , add a bit of washing up liquid and then use the outside sweeping brush or brum and clean it job done. Sometimes I use dettol multipurpose to clean it and it leaves my bin smelling nice

Itgoesalittlesomethinglikethis · 04/02/2023 20:05

Msgrieves · 04/02/2023 19:59

I'd put cleaning my bin into the same category as the woman down the road who sweeps the pavement, in the wind Hmm

My bitch from hell housing officer described my bin as "soiled" no fucking shit sherlock.

You have a point.
Our neighbours have a company which comes and clean theirs weekly. They do it front of our drive three houses on weirdly.
I sometimes think, let's do this, let's clean the bin. Then I look inside the bin and think of my other 100 jobs and say "nah".

BarrelOfOtters · 04/02/2023 20:07

We pay someone £6 to clean it once a month. They turn up on bin day. It’s a small nice thing.

MyBloodyMaryneedsmoreTabasco · 04/02/2023 20:09

I had to do mine last year thanks to the cat sitter who will never be asked to visit again.
Hot water, bleach. Scrub. Repeat as needed.

SunshineAndFizz · 04/02/2023 20:11

Our local wheelie bin cleaner charges £3.

Some things are worth paying for.

IreneJones · 04/02/2023 20:18

We pay £6 a month to have all three bins cleaned. It's worth every penny.

Basilthymerosemary · 04/02/2023 20:19

Tip on the side near drains. Spray with bleach/antibacterial. Leave for a while then spray with water. Leave top open to dry (when sunny) add some Epsom salts at the bottoms. Job done for a few months at least.

Theunamedcat · 04/02/2023 20:21

I drilled a hole in the bottom of mine to drain the water out of but it gets blocked easily as I didn't want it too big because of mice 😂

I wash it everytime in the summer and put a bin liner in plus double bag the kitchen waste bags (cats don't eat all the food and flies are attracted to it 🤢😯) basic disinfectant and lots of swishing in the winter its less often

bigbluebus · 04/02/2023 20:24

I've only cleaned mine once in all the years I've had it. I put some water in it with a hose pipe then tipped the bin up over a drain. That was good enough for me.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 04/02/2023 20:24

I do mine with a mop and bucket and disinfectant.

Sarahcoggles · 04/02/2023 20:25

Do you not put your rubbish in bin bags?

fizzyfood · 04/02/2023 20:25

Hosepipe and zoflora. A brush if it's in a bad way!

MurderAtTheBeautyPageant · 04/02/2023 20:28

I get my lover to do it when he pops in for a bin bath with a daiquiri on a warm day.

Step by step guide to cleaning a wheelie bin
007DoubleOSeven · 04/02/2023 20:30

Theunamedcat · 04/02/2023 20:21

I drilled a hole in the bottom of mine to drain the water out of but it gets blocked easily as I didn't want it too big because of mice 😂

I wash it everytime in the summer and put a bin liner in plus double bag the kitchen waste bags (cats don't eat all the food and flies are attracted to it 🤢😯) basic disinfectant and lots of swishing in the winter its less often

You know mice can get through holes the diameter of a biro?

kissthegirlshesnotbehindthedoor · 04/02/2023 20:50

Why are you all cleaning your wheelie bin?

Original poster
VenturaMabel · 04/02/2023 21:33

Basilthymerosemary
Of course - tip the bin on it's side near a drain. This is secret I've been seeking 😀

OP posts:
BarrelOfOtters · 05/02/2023 08:52

Ours smells, even though everything bagged up. Dog poo bags, 2 week bin collection, we cook a lot of fish…

Theunamedcat · 05/02/2023 13:04

007DoubleOSeven · 04/02/2023 20:30

You know mice can get through holes the diameter of a biro?

Show quote history

Yeah this is smaller I did it as a guide hole then changed my mind it sort of seeps if I put water in it

User137290646 · 05/02/2023 13:50

DH does ours, I did say we could get the bin cleaners in, he didn't want to do that so he does it. He uses a mop and Jeyes fluid, then hoses down.