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I live in a townhouse and our HOA is forcing us to keep our trash bins inside our garage.
question is, how healthy can that be? I also have a baby that poops like their is no tomorrow. The heater draws in air from the boiler that sits in the garage.
therefore, is it me...or does this policy sound ridiculous? other than moving out....what else are my options.
I also live in a townhome and we have the same requirement...I just make sure everything is tightly wrapped and sealed up and it is fine...we have no other options in our community so had to find a way to make it work and I now totally agree with it.
I lived in a house for 10 years where garbage cans had to be kept inside. Just wrap the diapers in plastic garbage bags and it should be ok. We never got sick from it.
Wrap the diapers up real good in plastic and you won't have a problem. I know how you feel, one of my kids felt he needed to soil a diaper every 32 seconds I swear. I think that one kid went through 3 times the diapers the other 3 kids did combined. A "Diaper Genie" works well and they have a scented liner that really keeps odors down. A light sprinkle of powder carpet cleaner in the trash bin also helps keep the funk at bay.
I'm not saying the HOA is pushing the limit-
But, I'd check the exact wording in the covenants. In all of the developments I have built, the covenants stated that waste receptacles "can not be seen from the street". Which meant they could be out back, or behind a fence, etc. Which I'm sure would not apply in this case since you're in a t/house. And getting the receptacle from the back to the street for pickup may be futile at best. Which means that for the sake of convenience the garage is the best alternative- but not necessarily the letter of the law. Just a matter of interpretation.
Seeing how HOA Nazis can get a little over zealous.
I live in a townhouse and our HOA is forcing us to keep our trash bins inside our garage.
question is, how healthy can that be? I also have a baby that poops like their is no tomorrow. The heater draws in air from the boiler that sits in the garage.
therefore, is it me...or does this policy sound ridiculous? other than moving out....what else are my options.
Cloth diapers are much greener than the toss aways. I can't get over how many young folks think themselves so "green" yet when it comes to using old fasioned cloth diapers, they want nothing to do with them.
As for the rest of the garbage, why not try separating your organics and mulching them somewhere on the property. Propose to the HOA that a piece of the HOA land be designated for a mulch area and people who want good fertilized soil could draw it from the mulch pit. This would be great for potted plants and even in a community garden on the property.
So now you've eliminated the stink of human feces, the stink of rotting food, except meat, and if you have a recycle program, you have eliminated paper, cans, glass, and plastic. This doesn't leave much left to smell up the garbage, particularly if you have a dog for that left over meat/fat that you can't mulch.
If mulching in out of the question, then you will need good bags and a tighly sealed container. I agree with the HOA about garbage cans outside. I have seen racoons literally open them with their hands and tear them apart looking for food. But by all means, switch to cloth diapers you will never regret it.
I keep mine in the garage because of the wildlife where I live. EVERYTHING goes into "odor blocker" plastic trash bags because the heat here would make everything stink. STINK!! I wash the garbage can out with the hose every week after it's been emptied. Have had no problems.
Yes, just make sure everything is tightly wrapped and sealed up and it is fine. I also do that, I wash the garbage can out with the hose every week or every other day after it's been emptied.
How often the trash is picked up makes a difference. In FL we had twice weekly pickup, so it never became overwhelming to have the trash cans in the garage. In NJ it was once weekly, but for most of the year it wasn't that hot. We weren't required to keep the cans in the garage there, but did it because of the bears in our area. That is until the bears broke into the garage... then we kept them outside again.
No, the policy isn't ridiculous. Unless this HOA requirement just began, you've had the opportunity to know about it since you bought/rented the home, so no fair complaining.
I live in Southern Arizona (over 100 degrees for months on end) and I keep my garbage and recycle cans in the garage. I also keep my kitchen waste receptacle in the pantry. They're unsightly. You got plenty of good advice here. Mine: Get cans with tight lids and keep them closed. Keep the garbage in tightly closed plastic bags (those odor blocker bags are good but I prefer small bags that I take to the garage more often). I keep a dryer sheet at the bottom of every trash bin and I hose the the bins out often. To me, chicken is the biggest smell problem in our hot weather. I make a point to cook it only on garbage day. Keep the garage door open for awhile when you take the can outside for pick-up and keep some citrus-smelling air fresheners in the garage.
As for the baby, you have an incentive to toilet train him or her early.
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