[Ian Rochester]

I've just bought myself an established wheelie bin cleaning business, currently 7 days work every 4 weeks with roughly 500 customers.

Couple of questions, what chemical do people put in there pressure washer solution if any and what deodoriser do you use.

What sort of freqency do people do, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, also, how long to wash a normal regular wheelie bin?

I'm sending one of my guys out with the seller next week for the week to learn the round and the machine/technique.

How much do people charge for normal 240ltr bins and also for 360 or 1100 ltr bins?

You can email me at ian@lionheartcleaning.co.uk

Thanks

[Alan McTernan]

Hi Ian,

Surely all those questions will be answered by the seller?

Hope it all goes well

Regards
Alan

[Ian Rochester]

He has answers for them, and they may well be the best of answers, I just want to know others opinions. 

Did your mother not teach you not to always take everything you're told at face value and to find out things for yourself. 

[Scoop]

Hi Ian

Sorry for late reply - don't know if it will be any good now.

I am a wheelie bin cleaner in the East Midlands.

Solution I use is 1 litre of Traffic film remover (TFR) detergent and 1 litre thick bleach in 400 litres of water.

Frequency is usually 4 weeks. In my area we have Landfill bin, recycle bin and sometimes green (garden waste bin). I charge £2.50 a clean but some areas will stand more - £3.00 seems to be the norm now and many charge £4.00.

How long to wash a bin is tricky as it depends on the job you do. I wipe all of my bins inside and out which takes longer. Some just jet and leave the bin upside down which is fine if the customer is happy. I also try to make sure I've removed almost all of the water which takes even longer. I probably do 10 an hour but I know that many can do 20 an hour.

The 1100 ltr 4 wheeled bins are usually £8 for a two week cleaning cycle and £10 for a 4 week cleaning cycle. I also charge a 'First clean' of 50% more as first clean can often be a nightmare.

Hope this helps

Laurence

[simbo]

sorry to hijack but do you need any special licence or permits?
paul

[Scoop]

Hi Paul

Yes. You need a waste water discharge licence available from your local water board. Waste water must go down a foul drain and not a surface water drain. Mine costs about £140/year including a supplement because I'm not on a water metre.

I also carry a waste bin in the van. If there is a lot of rubbish in the customers bin (say more than 5kg) I will bag it and put it back in their bin once I've cleaned it. But for small amounts of rubbish it's best to have your own bin. For this you need to be registered as a Waste Carrier with the Environment Agency - costs £154 for the first registration.

[ian bloe]

Hi guys, this is my first time on clean it up. I have a bin cleaning round in east sussex that has grown steadily over last 3 years, however I would like to do more commercial bin cleaning, has anyone got any tips on how to grow this kind of business, ie working with block managers, letting managers etc. cheers Ian. www.sussexbincleaning.co.uk   

[Scoop]

Hi Ian

Probably not the answer that you want but most effective is to target and write to them. A nice punchy letter on colour laser printer with a pic of you jetwashing a 4 wheel bin and send out as many as you can. Then when they ignore you, write to them again a month later. Stats show that you can get 5 No's before you get a Yes.

Always keep your letter polite and informative and never sound desperate. Mention existing commercial customers (with their permission).

The trick is to make your prospect think that everyone is having their bin cleaned except them. Everyone hates being in the minority.

Working with letting managers is great if you can get near them. But we bin cleaners aren't exactly famed for our smart suits and ties  Keep grinding them down with letters and suddenly a door will open, and then another ...

[Londoner]

Waste water must go down a foul drain and not a surface water drain.
 

Which means you cannot clean them on the road as you still see a few doing. You need  a specially adapted vehicle

[ian bloe]

Hi L.Casey
  Thanks for your advice, I will keep pestering, can I ask if you employ anyone to clean bins and has it worked out for you, I am pretty busy a lot of the time now, but I have been reluctant to employ anyone, is it worth the hassle or should I stay small? also I see some operators claim to clean a hundred bins a day is it really possible? I struggle with half that amount, I clean bins inside & out including lids & dry them as much as I can it takes between 3 & 5 minutes then returning bin and driving time, etc, am I being too fussy? & or greedy?
   
    cheers

   Ian
 

[Scoop]

Ian

A bit too much dialogue needed for a single post. I have emailed you.

Laurence

[g newton]

Hi guys, this is my first time on clean it up. I have a bin cleaning round in east sussex that has grown steadily over last 3 years, however I would like to do more commercial bin cleaning, has anyone got any tips on how to grow this kind of business, ie working with block managers, letting managers etc. cheers Ian. www.sussexbincleaning.co.uk   

nice set up there