Notes on bins
What we learn on the route
Summer smells, maggots, roaches, HOA rules, collection days, and what actually gets a cart clean. Written by the people who do the work, twice a week.
12 guides, written by the people who do the work.
4 min read
You Bought the House. You Also Bought the Bin.
The cart in the side yard came with the address, not with you. What the previous owner left in it, how to check, and why moving week is the worst time to find out.
4 min read
Your Recycling Bin Is Dirtier Than Your Trash Bin
Recycling carts collect the same juice, beer and sauce residue as the garbage — with none of the bags catching it. Why the clean-looking bin is often the worse one.
5 min read
What Trash Bin Cleaning Costs in South Florida
What bin cleaning costs here, why coming less often costs more per visit, and the small print that decides whether two quotes are comparable at all.
4 min read
Rats and Raccoons in Your Bin: What Actually Stops Them
Bungee cords and repellents treat the lid. In South Florida the reason animals keep returning to your cart is the smell coming out of it, not the latch.
4 min read
Can You Pressure Wash Your Own Trash Can at Home?
Yes, and it is a reasonable thing to try. Here is how to do it properly, the three mistakes that make it worse, and the honest limits of a consumer machine.
4 min read
Do Trash Can Cleaning Services Actually Work, or Is It a Gimmick?
A fair question, and the honest answer has two halves. Here is what the service genuinely does, what it cannot do, and who it is a waste of money for.
4 min read
How Often Should You Clean Your Trash Can in South Florida?
Monthly suits most households here, but the honest answer depends on four things — sun, food waste, diapers or pets, and whether anyone can smell it from the front door.
3 min read
How to Get Rid of Maggots in Your Trash Can — and Stop Them Coming Back
Maggots are fly larvae, and they appear fast in Florida heat. Killing the ones you can see is the easy half. The half that matters is removing what they hatched into.
4 min read
Roaches in the Trash Can: Why They Keep Coming Back
Spraying the bin kills the roaches you can see and changes nothing about why they were there. In South Florida the bin is not where they live — it is where they eat.
4 min read
What HOAs Actually Require of Your Trash Bins in South Florida
Most South Florida associations regulate where the bin lives, when it goes out, and what condition it is visibly in. Here is how to read your own rules — and what a violation notice usually means.
4 min read
What Is the Black Slime in the Bottom of Your Trash Can?
It is a biofilm — a colony of bacteria living in the liquid that collects at the base of the cart. Here is what it is made of, why it keeps coming back, and why bleach does not end it.
3 min read
Why Your Trash Can Smells So Much Worse in Florida
The smell is not the garbage. It is what the garbage left behind on the plastic — and Florida heat and humidity are what turn a film of residue into a problem you can smell from the driveway.