How to Wash Trash Cans and Recycling Bins

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One way to get rid of a foul smell in a home or an office is to wash out trash cans. Honestly, there’s only so much a scented trash bag can do. Go the extra mile with your professional cleaning business and offer this extra cleaning to your customers. Here’s how to clean dirty trash cans and recycling bins fast and efficiently for your customers…without pulling your hair out.

Okay, so this is classic, While collecting trash in your customer’s homes or office buildings, you come across that smell. Oh, you know the one. The smell of onions, garlic, old meat, and mildew!

Ugh!!

So what would you do? Simply replace the bag and keep it moving to stay on schedule? Or take the time and wash the stink away?

(Hahaha, hehe, we’ll keep it clean here…)

Most cleaning services want to provide a great experience for their customers, just as long as it doesn’t cause an inconvenience of time and material.

Let’s be honest.

But check this out… consider charging the customer for your extra time. Yea, extra time = extra money. Besides, you’re helping your customers in a bigger way. So offer to provide this detail cleaning task for an additional fee.

To make this process easier for you, here’s a quick tip to help with your time and material to clean trash cans and recycling bins for your cleaning business clientele.

Enter the FREE DEEP CLEANING CHALLENGE. You’ll learn how to upsell this detail cleaning task to make more money and encourage good customer service starting TODAY!

How to clean dirty trash cans and recycling bins

Materials needed to clean trash cans and recycling bins

Towels or paper towels (your preference)
Disinfecting soap in a spray bottle. I like Thieves!
Good music to keep you in a good mood
Trash bags

Instructions for cleaning trash cans (2 great tips)

Collect all trash cans and take them to one designated cleaning area preferably the slop sink or janitor’s closet at office buildings. For homes, take the cans to a utility sink or laundry room sink.
Remove all bags and loose debris from all cans.
Rinse cans and recycling bins first.
Spray heavenly with cleaning solution and water and let sit according to chemical’s instruction.
Wipe with paper towels or cloths.
Rinse again.
Then wipe dry on the interior and exterior of the cans and bins.

Mwah!!! All done. Now the offices or houses won’t reek of onions and garlic as soon as you walk in. This is a simple tip to clean trash cans and recycling bins for your professional cleaning customers.

I grew my office cleaning side hustle into a ½ million-dollar corporation with the partnership of my husband and our amazing staff. In 2020, I retired my service-based business to shift my focus and passion from serving cleaning clientele to serving cleaning business owners.

Utilizing my 27+ years’ experience, I offer free and paid products exclusively for cleaning business owners and cleaning side hustlers at A Janitor’s Story® Website and my VIP Group Coaching Membership App.

I’ve served other cleaning pros by helping them to turn one time cleaning jobs into high paying recurring customers, create excellent client retention practices, develop hiring systems that really work, build marketing techniques that convert and so much more.

If this is a place you’d like to explore, I’d love to serve you too. Simply sign up to my free weekly email newsletter for tips and inspiration. I can’t wait to meet you inside.