Tips for Cleaning a Trash Can
While you might not think about it that often, knowing how to clean a trash can is imperative. If you operate a restaurant, you should be cleaning your trash bins regularly to prevent the spread of germs. While trash may be bagged in the trash bin, the inside and outside of the bin still can be contaminated by germs due to tears in the bag, which may cause leaks. Spills from food or beverages as they are being disposed of also dirty the outside of the trash can. Knowing how to clean a trash can helps keep both your guests and employees happy for not having to deal with a smelly, unsightly trash can.
A dirty trash can isn't a sight most guests want to see when visiting a restaurant, hotel, or any other establishment, making it crucial for your business to keep trash cans clean and deodorized. In addition to keeping your trash cans clean for guests, most health inspectors will check your trash can to ensure it is properly cleaned daily and that it has a liner or trash bag inside1. Below, we'll go over the best way to clean your trash cans.
Why You Should Clean a Commercial Trash Can
There are several reasons why you should know how to clean a garbage can, especially if you operate a foodservice establishment. Ensuring your trash cans are clean prevents them from smelling foul and grossing out your guests. Bacteria can even stick to trash cans that appear clean, so you should be cleaning your commercial trash can regularly.
As mentioned above, a dirty trash bin also can be a health hazard, harboring bacteria, mold, and mildew even if the trash can has a liner or trash bag. In hot, humid environments, such as a busy kitchen, mold can begin to form in your trash can in as little as 24 to 48 hours, making it extremely important that you clean trash bins in that environment daily. Properly cleaning and maintaining your establishment's trash cans can increase the can's lifespan, as unclean trash cans may lead to unwanted issues, such as mold and mildew growth. Using the right cleaning products is imperative in effectively cleaning a commercial trash can.
What do you need to clean your trash can properly?
Cleaning, sanitizing, and deodorizing are necessary for maintaining your trash can. Cleaning your trash can requires the use of dish soap or commercial cleaners, water, and a scrubbing brush. Sanitization is needed to reduce the amount of bacteria that may remain on the trash can after cleaning, while deodorizing is necessary to eliminate unwanted smells that may also linger in the trash can, even after cleaning and sanitizing. You can use the following items and cleaning solutions to clean, disinfect, and deodorize your trash can thoroughly:
- Rubber cleaning gloves
- Dish soap or a more abrasive cleaner for commercial trash cans
- Hose pipe
- Handled scrubbing brush
- Commercial disinfectant
- Baking soda
How to Clean, Sanitize, and Deodorize a Trash Can
Follow these steps on how to clean a garbage can to ensure you're effectively cleaning, sanitizing, and deodorizing your trash bin.
- First, equip yourself with cleaning gloves to protect your hands.
- Remove the trash bag and any leftover debris from the trash can.
- Take the trash can outside and hose down the interior and exterior.
- Then, fill close to 1⁄4 of the can with water.
- Add dish soap to the water. You may also use a more abrasive cleaner on commercial trash bins.
- Using a handled cleaning brush, scrub the inside and outside of the can.
- After scrubbing the trash can, rinse it off with water.
- To disinfect the bin, you can spray its surfaces with a commercial disinfectant.
- For deodorizing the trash can, you can liberally sprinkle baking soda on the inside.
- Leave the baking soda so that it continues to absorb odors.
- After following these steps, set your trash cans out to dry before adding a trash bag or liner.
