By Sherri Coner
Picture yourself walking outside on a hot, sunny day and finding a zillion bees swarming around your destination.
While swatting the bees away, you open the lid to add a bag of garbage and immediately gag.
“Trash cans can get pretty stinky, especially in the summer,” said Alex Scheidler.
His appreciation for squeaky clean trash cans began in 2021.
While vacationing with his wife, Mackenzie, Alex was enjoying an alcoholic drink, puffing on a cigar and relaxing.
But then a TikTok video about trash can cleaning caught his eye.
At the time, Alex was working as a roofer when he was not working at Greenwood Fire Department as a firefighter.
Logically, the idea seemed brilliant since most people have trash cans and few people, if any, love to clean them.
Plus, it was an opportunity to own a business that could accommodate his firehouse schedule.
“I did some research and found out that nobody in the Center Grove area offered that service,” Alex said.
When the budding entrepreneur shared the business idea with his wife, Mackenzie, her response was almost as unpleasant as a germ-filled trash can.
“She thought it was the dumbest thing she had ever heard,” Alex said with a laugh.
After a lot more thinking and some serious conversations, Mackenzie changed her mind.
She also agreed to help her spouse with the business.
Purchasing quality equipment to provide quality work for customers was their first step.
Alex hitched a trailer to his truck with a custom-made hopper, which made it possible to haul 525 gallons of clean hot water at a temperature of 200 degrees and 400 gallons of dirty water which is then dumped at weigh stations.
wife, Mackenzie with their children, Shay, 2, and Genevieve, 4 months.
“I do all the trash can cleaning and Mackenzie handles all the scheduling, information requests and quotes,” Alex said.
Though he grew up in Center Grove, Alex currently resides in Martinsville with his wife and their two young children, Shay, 2, and four-month-old Genevieve.
Inspired by fire rescues, the business is called Trash Can Rescue, with clients all over Johnson County and the Southside, as well as Martinsville, Plainfield and Mooresville.
“It has really taken off a lot faster than I ever thought it would,” Alex said of the business.
After working a 24-hour shift at the firehouse, this guy gets busy with nearly 50 trash can cleaning jobs every day.
“It’s a new market,” Alex said. “I don’t think anyone wants to clean their stinky trash can themselves.”
To learn more about Trash Can Rescue, visit trashcanrescue.com or call 317-961-7969.
