In the summer months, you may notice a stinky smell coming from the bottom of the garden.
This is because wheelie bins are like magnets for flies, bacteria and bad odours - especially in warmer weather.
The bin is also the perfect breeding ground for maggots with rotting food and warm, moist conditions providing them with ideal conditions to thrive.
Cleaning the wheelie bin is possibly one of the most disgusting household jobs so here's how to tackle it:
1. Rinse out food packaging
Before a smelly problem arises from the wheelie bin, you can reduce the chance of nasty odours by rising out food packaging before you bin it.
Rinse away any blood off meat packages and securely wrap any meat, bones or children's nappies in compostable bags or newspaper before putting in the bin.
2. Tie your bin bags tightly
Tie the top of your bin bags tightly before putting them in the wheelie bin to make sure nothing spills out.
Also you should squeeze out the air in the bin bags as you tie them as this helps slow the decomposition rate as well as as free up space inside your bin.
3. Store wheelie bins in the shade
You should store your wheelie bin in a shaded area, out of direct sunlight as the heat can speed up decomposition and create horrific smells as well as attracting bugs and flies.
4. Take a hose to it
Once your wheelie bin has been emptied, you should lay it on its side, pick out any leftover bits of rubbish and then rinse it with a powerful hose or pressure washer.
This should get rid of most of the dirt and old food sticking to the inside of the bin.
5. Use a bleach to clean the inside
Once the main dirt has been rinsed out, squirt some bleach or other anti-bacterial detergent into the inside of the bin along with some more water and then leave it sit for a few minutes.
Tip the dirty water into the drain and then rinse and tip again with water until it is clean.
6. Leave to dry
Leave your clean bin out to dry in the sun for a few hours.
You need to wait until it is completely dry before you close the lid or use the bin again.
7. Baking soda to neutralise odours
Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda at the bottom of your wheelie bin to neutralise odours
8. Maggots
If you are dealing with a dreaded case of maggots, your bin will need more than just a rinse.
First, remove the bag with the maggots and pour some bleach over it and re-bag and seal it tightly.
Pour boiling water over any maggots left inside the bin to try and kill them then wash our your bin according to the steps above.
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