Dealing with communal bin stores areas at a property can be a nightmare. Whether you’re a resident in an apartment block or business occupier in an office block, this can soon build up and cause issues if not dealt with quickly and effectively.
Any landlord or managing agent stuck with resolving this will know the issues then involved – not only time and frustration, but often cost to then have cleared and cleaned up.
Unfortunately, because you’re dealing with shared areas, not every individual takes the time and attention to look after these as they may do with their own area. Therefore the buck stops with the person looking after these shared areas.
However to help you keep on top of this, here are four key issues to consider, all beginning with the letter ‘d’:
1. Dumped Rubbish
Watch out for rubbish simply being dumped in the wrong places, and not enough in whatever areas you have allocated. It may take simple signage and communication to make this clear, along with making sure that there are sufficient sized areas for this.
If there isn’t, then the rate in which rubbish can soon be piled-up can rapidly increase, with everyone then tending to follow a similar pattern, and even the regular bin-cleaners not bothering to clear the main bins.
2. Different People
Check out who the culprits are, and who needs to know about how things should be correctly used.
Often this is down to the actual occupiers in the building, so maybe current tenants in flats, or the individual cleaner for each business taking items to the bin store.
Make sure they’re in the know, and try and identify who they are who are causing the build-up as all it may take is just an explanation of the correct way to do things.
3. Detailed Provision
In order to try and stop things building up in the first place, make sure you have a detailed way and procedure for keeping on top of it. Some good preparation now can save a whole lot of problems later on.
So, down to the practicalities of people having the right access to the area and any codes and keys, and making sure that the people taking the bins away can actually gain safe access.
Then, down to clear communication of how everyone is supposed to use this area, including what items are allowed and go where and what to do when things to go pear shaped. Often, it’s useful to hire a company such as idealcleaning.co.uk who provide communal area cleaning, which could encourage people to put more effort into upkeep.
4. Damage and Repairs
Watch out for anything needing to be repaired, whether just through wear and tear or through actual damage from people misusing the bin store areas.
These might be damaged doors and locks to the bin store areas, damaged bins and lids, and even blocked drains and broken lights serving the area.
Make sure everyone knows who to report this to, with contractors then on standby to easily resolve.
The Dreaded Messy Bin Store
So, if you’re managing communal bin store areas, or you’re an occupier needing to benefit from them, these are four important factors to consider in order to make sure they run smoothly and you’re not left with a sudden build-up of issues.
Remember that the key is often being proactive both in trying to stop the issues in the first place, and in quickly nipping in the bud afterwards if problems do occur.
And often this is working with many others in the process, with clear communication and everyone doing their part to keep areas nice and tidy.
Easy Cleaners are a local cleaning business with an active blog of cleaning tips and tricks.
