When thinking of wheelie bin hygeine, it is important to think about what are you putting in the bin.
Most people don’t give a second thought to what are the consequences of their actions in the short, medium and long term.
For example, because the wheelie bin is outside of their house, they think that there is no potential harm that can come to them. They could not be further from the truth with some potentially life threatening germs and bacteria residing in a poorly looked after bin.
Children and the elderly are particularly at risk due to their immune system being more vulnerable.
Some of the things you should always consider are:-
- Are the items you are putting in the bin food?
- Does this food have an odour?
- Will this odour attract flies?
- Can you bag or double-bag the items to mask the smell?
- How long are the items going to sit in the bin before the next collection?
Now that most councils have employed a fortnightly collection service, it is inevitable that some items are going to be sat in your bin for 14 days, once you start filling it back up after it has been emptied.
Adding to this problem is the changeable weather we enjoy in the UK, a couple of warm days and the contents of the bin are decaying more rapidly, and are a massive breeding groung for bacteria, germs and a magnet for flies to lay their eggs.
If you can limit particularly smelly foods from having to stay in your bin for long periods will help, bagging up, even double bagging smelly foods or carcases will also decrease your chances of attracting flies.
Another tip, but not always possible is to try and keep your bin out of the sunlight where it will heat up and accelerate the decomposing process, even odours that are not that strong to us will attract flies to lay their eggs.
If you can clean and disinfect your bin regularly, you will decreasing your chances of maggots and flies dramatically.
Taking some or all of the steps above will help and as always if you would like to eradicate a problem you might have now, you can book a clean here