The Importance of Keeping Water and Damp Items Out of Your Rented Skip Bin
Does the sight of a skip bin put you in the mood for swimming? Admittedly, if it happened to be filled with water, it could be a rather basic above-ground swimming pool. German-born architect Stefan Beese took this idea a step further by converting a skip bin into a permanent backyard pool. When you rent a skip bin, you are presumably not going to want to swim in it. So how do you stop your skip bin from turning into a swimming pool? This can involve keeping external water out and also by adequately preparing any wet items so that they don't dampen anything else inside the bin (potentially making it unsuitable for recycling), as well as not adding avoidable excess weight to the bin.
Damp and Waterlogged Items
When anything you plan to throw away is damp, paying attention to the weather forecast in the days before your skip bin arrives makes sense. For example, you might be throwing away garden waste that has been affected by rain (especially if extreme weather has led to plants and trees becoming garden waste). Waterlogged wood and foliage can be heavy, contributing extra weight to the bin. Spread it out as much as possible on a sunny day prior to the arrival of the bin and allow it to dry. Larger trees can be cut into small sizes to aid their drying. The same goes if you happen to be throwing out any water-damaged items from your home. Allow them to dry in the sun to reduce the amount of moisture. You should also pay attention to the anticipated weather forecast on the day that your bin arrives.
Rain in the Skip Bin
Obviously, rain has the capacity to fill the skip bin, turning it into an accidental pool and soiling the contents (not to mention possibly making it too heavy to collect). There are a few ways to stop this from happening if the weather seems like it might turn against you.
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When the skip bin hire company delivers your bin, ask about the location of the drainage hole. Some bins have a small open hole, but others have a drain that needs to be opened. This needs to be open before any rain starts to fall, and since it would be difficult to access the drain when the bin is full, it can be smart to open it before you start loading if there's the slightest chance of rain.
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Some bins come with a plastic lid on hinges. This will, of course, cause the rain to run right off the top of the bin. If your bin doesn't have one of these, cover its open top with plastic sheets. This is not an ideal solution, but it should keep most of the rain out.
Whether it's you or the rain clouds that might be allowing water inside the skip bin, it's important to prevent it from becoming a swimming pool.