INT. The consigliere’s office — day
Everything people ask
Questions
The basics
What exactly do you clean?
The interior walls, the base where liquid collects, the rim, the underside of the lid and the outside shell — garbage carts, recycling carts and, on the commercial side, dumpsters and corrals.
Do I need to be home?
No. Leave the cart at the curb on your service day and we handle it where it stands. You get an email when the job is done.
When do you come, relative to my collection?
The same day — once the garbage truck has emptied the cart. Collection days vary by city and by route, so tell us your day when you book and we schedule around it.
What if my bin is still full when you arrive?
We come back on the next pass rather than charge you for a job we could not do properly.
How long does it take?
A few minutes per cart. The bin is left clean, treated and usable immediately — there is nothing to dry out or wait for.
The method
Why does the water need to be heated?
Because the problem is not loose dirt. Food waste leaves fats, sugars and proteins that bond to the plastic and dry into a film that bacteria colonize. Cold water at hose pressure pushes the top layer around. Heat breaks the bond so the pressure can actually carry it off, and it sanitizes while it does.
Will hot water or high pressure damage my cart?
No. Municipal carts are high-density polyethylene rated well above the temperature we use, and we work at a distance rather than holding the wand against the wall.
What do you use besides water?
A biodegradable sanitizing and deodorizing treatment applied after the wash. It is safe around children and pets once applied, and it leaves no chemical smell to wait out.
Where does the dirty water go?
Into a collection tank on our truck or trailer — nothing is left on your property. We bring our own water and clean up the area before we leave. South Florida's storm drains run into canals, rivers and the Intracoastal, which is reason enough not to rinse a bin into one.
Do you need my water or power?
No. Our truck or trailer carries its own water, heat and pressure. We need nothing from the property.
Scheduling and cost
How much does trash bin cleaning cost?
Between $30 and $65 a cleaning, and every price covers 2 bins. Monthly is $30 a cleaning for the two bins — $15 a bin — on a one-year plan paid $30 a month, or $324 for the year up front (10% off); every 3 months is $50 a cleaning, also a one-year plan — paid per visit, or $190 for the year up front (5% off) — and a one-time clean is $65. Each additional bin is $10. No contract, no startup fee.
How do I book?
Online, at thebinfather.com/book. Pick how often and how many bins, and the price shows before you send anything. Add your address and collection day, and we confirm the day with you. It takes about two minutes — not sure how often? The 30-second bin check on the site recommends a plan.
How often should I have it done?
Monthly suits most households, especially with children or a cart in full sun, and it is what we recommend. Every 3 months — once a season — can be enough for a smaller household that bags its food waste and keeps the cart in the shade. Households with diapers, pet waste or heavy summer use should stay monthly.
Is there a contract?
No. Recurring service runs until you stop it. Pause it for a trip, switch the interval, or cancel — there is no fee for any of it. The monthly plan is paid month by month, or the year up front with 10% off; every 3 months is paid per visit, or the year up front with 5% off.
What if I try it once and change my mind?
You are not locked in. Cancel after your first cleaning and that cleaning is charged at the one-time rate of $65 for two bins, with the rest refunded — so a two-bin year paid up front at $324 comes back as $259. Paying month by month, you have paid $30 for it, so the difference — $35 — is charged and the monthly payments stop (on every 3 months paid per visit, the difference is $15). There is no cancellation fee. Cancelling later in a plan is handled case by case — email [email protected] and we will sort it out with you.
Do additional bins cost the same as the first?
Every price covers two bins. Each bin beyond those two is a flat $10 per cleaning, on every plan and on a one-time clean, and the booking form adds it to your price as you choose.
Can I book at night or on a Sunday?
Yes — booking is online and takes about two minutes, at any hour, including holidays. You see your price before you send anything. The cleaning itself happens on the route Monday to Friday and on Sunday, but nothing about booking one has to wait for office hours.
Do you serve my city?
We cover Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — from Miami and Doral in the south up to Jupiter. Check the service areas page, and if your street is not listed, email [email protected] with the address, because we add routes regularly.
Do you have a referral offer?
Yes — for organizing your street. Get five or more of your neighbors to sign up with us, and once they have signed up and paid, your next cleaning is on us. There is nothing to sign up for: each neighbor just mentions your name when they book (the booking form asks who sent them). A street of clean bins is easier for us to serve than houses scattered across a city, which is why the offer exists.
Pests, smells and wildlife
Will this get rid of the maggots?
Yes, and more importantly it removes what they were feeding on. Flies lay eggs in the residue on the cart wall; in Florida summer heat those eggs reach visible larvae in roughly a day. Strip the residue and there is nothing to lay in.
Will it stop raccoons and rats getting into the bin?
It removes the reason they keep coming. Animals locate carts by smell, and a bin with no food residue baked into it is much less rewarding to work at. Paired with a lid that latches properly, it usually ends the problem.
There is standing water in the bottom of my bin. Does that matter?
It is one of the better mosquito breeding sites on a Florida property — warm, sheltered and undisturbed under a closed lid. We drain it, wash the interior and treat the surface.
My bin smells like fish. Can that be fixed?
Yes, with heat. Fish oils soak into the surface of the plastic, which is why rinsing seems to work and then the smell returns within the hour. Heated water breaks that bond and the deodorizing treatment handles what is left in the surface texture.
Doing it yourself
Can I clean my own trash can with a hose, bleach or vinegar instead?
You can, but it is worth knowing why the result does not last. A garden hose has neither the heat nor the pressure to remove the fats, sugars and proteins bonded to the plastic wall of a cart — it relocates the top layer rather than releasing it, which is why a hosed-out bin smells normal for about an hour and then does not. Bleach or vinegar will disinfect a patch you can reach and scrub, but neither breaks that bond across the full interior, base and lid of a full-size cart, and hand-scrubbing one is not a job most people repeat. Professional cleaning works because the water is heated well beyond what a garden hose can deliver, which is what actually releases the bond, and because the wastewater is captured rather than sent down the driveway. Light upkeep between visits is sensible; it is not a substitute for one.
How is The BinFather different from other trash bin cleaning companies?
Three things, all checkable on this site rather than asserted. First, published pricing: every plan states the exact cost per cleaning and the exact number of bins it covers — two — with each additional bin at a flat $10, instead of a low headline price that turns out to cover one bin. Second, the wastewater goes into a collection tank on our truck or trailer rather than being left on the driveway or run into a storm drain, which matters near the coast and the canal system. Third, no contract: recurring service can be paused, changed in frequency or cancelled at any time with no fee. We do not publish star ratings or review counts we cannot back up — when real, attributable reviews exist, they will appear here with names attached.
Still wondering
Book it, and put the question in the notes
- South Florida owned and operated. Not a franchise.