How to start a trash can cleaning business

The short versionCheck that people near you will pay, register the business, get liability insurance, find out where your wash water is allowed to go, start with the cheapest equipment that does the job properly, price near the local middle, and build a route of monthly customers on the same trash days.

1. Check demand first

Before buying anything, find out whether people near you will pay. Search for bin cleaners in your area and see what they charge. Ask neighbors, post in a local group, or hand out 50 flyers with a price and see who replies. If nobody bites at a normal price, you've saved yourself thousands.

2. Pick a name and register

Pick a name that says what you do (try the name generator), then check it's free in your state's business registry. Many owners form an LLC. Filing fees vary a lot by state: for example, Texas charges $300 to form an LLC, Florida $125 plus a $138.75 annual report, and California $70 plus an $800 yearly minimum franchise tax. Also check whether your city or county requires a general business license.

If you're under 18, a parent or guardian usually needs to sign contracts, open accounts and hold the insurance.

3. Get bin cleaning business insurance

You'll be working on people's property with high-pressure water. General liability insurance covers damage and injuries. Insureon lists an average of $73 a month ($879 a year) for pressure washing businesses, and NEXT lists about $75 a month. If you drive a work vehicle, ask about commercial auto too. HOAs and businesses will ask for proof of insurance.

4. Learn the wastewater rules

This is the step new owners skip, and it's the one that brings fines. Wash water from dirty bins can't go into the street, gutter or storm drain. The EPA calls it an illicit discharge, and cities enforce it. You need a way to catch the water (a grey-water tank, a containment mat and a vacuum) and a legal place to empty it, usually a sanitary sewer connection where allowed. Rules are local, so call your city's stormwater or public works department and ask what they require for mobile washing.

5. Choose your equipment

• DIY start: a 4 GPM gas pressure washer ($1,099 to $1,979 listed), two 200 to 225 gallon tanks for clean and grey water (about $1,000 to $1,200 each), a rotating trash can wand (about $1,093) and a containment mat (about $494). Roughly $4,700 to $6,000 in main parts, before the trailer.
• Turnkey trailer: new trailers listed from $24,999 (cold water) to $70,000 (hydraulic lifts, hot water).
• Truck setup: pods and skids on your own truck listed from $27,999 to $40,000.

Mind the weight. Water weighs about 8.34 pounds a gallon, so 225 gallons is nearly 1,900 pounds, more than a light utility trailer can carry. Full details in the trailer cost guide.

6. Set your prices

In our survey of 33 US businesses, the typical 2-bin prices were $70 for a one-time clean and $30 a visit for a monthly plan, with extra bins at $10. Price near your local middle, make the monthly plan the better deal, and show your price everywhere. See the price guide and calculator.

7. Set up booking

Customers shouldn't have to text you to find out the price or the next open day. Give them one link where they enter their address and trash day, pick a plan and a day, and see the price. You can do this with Binly or any booking tool; compare them in our honest comparison.

8. Get your first customers

Start with one neighborhood that shares a trash day. Hand out door hangers the day after pickup, post before and after photos in local groups, set up a free Google Business Profile, and give every customer a referral reward. More in how to get customers.

9. Build a monthly route

Group customers by trash day so each day is one tight area. Push monthly plans, remind customers the day before, and ask for a review after every paid wash. When the route is full, that's when a bigger trailer or a second day makes sense. Check the numbers with the profit calculator and write it all down in the free business plan template.