Every few weeks somebody in a Cincinnati neighborhood group asks the same question, usually right after the first real hot spell: is a garbage can cleaning service actually worth paying for, or should I just do it myself on a Saturday?
We have been cleaning cans around here since 2018, so we are obviously not neutral. But the honest answer starts with this: yes, you can absolutely do it yourself. Here is what that really looks like, and here is what $26 buys instead.
The driveway version
Doing it yourself means a long handled brush, gloves, something to clean with that you are comfortable having on a container your food touches, and a plan for where all that water goes when you tip the can over. Spoiler: it goes down the driveway and into the storm drain, and everything that was in the can goes with it.
Then there is the part nobody mentions. A garden hose runs somewhere around 50 to 60 degrees. The smell in a garbage can is not loose dirt sitting on the surface. It is a film of bacteria that has been baking onto the plastic all summer. Cold water and a brush mostly move that film around. They do not lift it and they do not sanitize anything, which is why a can you scrubbed in June smells great for about four days and then smells like a garbage can again.
Call it an hour of your Saturday, plus a trip to the store, plus the rest of the weekend deciding where in the garage to store a brush that has now seen things.
What $26 buys
A monthly plan for one can is $26. For that, our truck comes out on your garbage day after the garbage truck has already been through, or the day after, so your can is empty when we get to it.
The can gets cleaned by a 200 degree water jet. No chemicals, just high heat, which is the part a garden hose can never do. Then it gets an eco friendly sanitizer and a shot of fresh scent, and it goes right back where it belongs. Our system removes 99.99% of the harmful bacteria and germs on and in the can, including salmonella, E. coli, yeast, mold and staph.
You do not have to be home. You do not have to own a brush. You roll the can out exactly like you already do, and it comes back clean. If you are not satisfied, we give your money back.
When you honestly do not need us
Some people really do not, and we would rather say so. If you bag everything tightly, keep the can in the garage, and you can open the lid in August without flinching, save your money. You are already winning.
The people who call us are the ones who opened the lid in July, took one step back, and said nope. Usually there is a story involved. Sometimes there are maggots, which is its own kind of Saturday.
Why people stay on a plan
A clean can does not stay clean. Ohio summers, a full week between pickups, and one dropped bag of chicken scraps put you right back where you started. That is the whole reason we run routes instead of one time visits, and it is why folks in Mason and hundreds of other neighborhoods keep us on the calendar.
Since 2018 we have cleaned more than 110,000 cans across 284 neighborhoods and 59 ZIP codes in the Greater Cincinnati area, and our customers have left us 5.0 stars across more than 500 Google reviews. If you want to see the whole process, we walked through it start to finish here.
Ready to hand it off? Pick your plan here or order online in about two minutes. Keep your Saturday.