It's one of the first questions managing agents ask us, and the honest answer is that it depends on the site. A store serving eight flats with a quiet recycling bin is a very different job from one serving forty flats with food waste and a hot, south-facing door. Here's what makes the difference, and how we work out a schedule.
What affects how often a store needs cleaning
- How many households use it. More flats means more bags, more spills and more leaks onto the floor.
- Food waste. Stores with food waste bins get smelly and attract flies much faster than stores with only general waste and recycling.
- Time of year. Warm weather speeds everything up. A store that's fine in February can have maggots in July.
- Enclosed or open. Enclosed stores hold smells and heat. Open bays are better ventilated but collect wind-blown litter and rainwater.
- How residents use it. Loose bags left on the floor, overfilled bins and lids left open all mean faster build-up.
- Collection frequency. If bins sit full for longer between collections, there's more time for residue to build up and smell.
Why timing matters as much as frequency
Cleaning a bin that's still full of rubbish doesn't achieve much. The best time to clean is straight after the council or waste contractor has emptied the bins, so the inside of every bin can be washed out and sanitised.
Bin collections usually run every 2 or 4 weeks. A fixed "first Monday of the month" clean drifts in and out of step with that, so some visits land when the bins are full. That's why we set a personalised schedule for each site, timed to land just after collection day.
Where to start
If the store is already in a poor state, with bags on the floor, staining and smells, a regular clean won't fix it in one go. We'd usually start with a Bin Store Reset: the waste is cleared, the store is cleaned and sanitised, and every bin is cleaned in one visit. From there, regular cleans keep it at that standard.
Signs a store needs cleaning more often: residents mention smells, flies gather around the lids, there's staining or sticky residue on the floor, or you're getting pest sightings near the store.
Getting a recommendation for your site
At a free Bin Store Health Check we look at the store, the bins, what's in them and how often they're collected, then recommend a schedule with a fixed price, plus VAT. If you manage several blocks, we can look at each site and give you a price per site.
Book a free Bin Store Health Check or call 0800 772 3074.