by: Bill B. Carmel

Just like any other piece of outdoor equipment, your bird bath will need to be cleaned time to time. In order to prevent your fine feathered friends from becoming ill, be sure to clean your bird bath at least a couple times each season, especially if you regularly store you bird bath during the winter months. Also, it is critical you use bird-friendly cleaning products, as those used to clean pools or pond can potentially cause birds to become sick or even die due to the chlorine and other chemicals in these harsh cleaning agents. When cleaning your bird bath, follow these five easy steps to ensure the bath is clean and ready for your local birds to bathe and play.

1.) Empty the bath: Tip the bird bath to the side or remove the drain plug on the underside of the bird bath. Ensure you remove all dirt, leaves, and other debris that may be in the bath before continuing.

2.) Rinse the bath: Use a water hose (preferably one with a high-pressure nozzle) to spray the bird bath down. You may need to do this a couple times until the water draining from your bird bath is clear.

3.) Scrub the bath: Take a stiff brush and begin to scrub the bird bath. For algae or any stubborn stains, mix up a weak bleach solution. Mix three-fourths cup of bleach into one gallon of water, then scrub the bird bath well. Be sure not to use a stronger solution or any other chemicals or cleaners on your bird bath. Also, avoid using common dish soap to clean your bird bath, as any algae growing in the basin will not be killed.

4.) Soak the bath: If your bird bath is especially dirty or has a large amount of algae growth, let the bleach solution sit in the basin of the bath. Be sure to cover the bird bath with a piece of wood or plastic so that birds will not mistake the solution for water. After allowing the solution to sit approximately 15 minutes, scrub the basin again with the brush. If the basin is still not clean, repeat this step using fresh solution.

5.) Rinse the bath: After your bath is clean, be sure to thoroughly rinse the bleach solution from the basin. If any bleach is allowed to remain in the bird bath, the birds that bath from the basin may potentially fall ill. Many bird bath owners choose to keep their bird bath covered for a couple of hours so that fresh water can sit in the basin.

6.) Refill the bath: Once the bird bath is clean and thoroughly rinsed, refill the basin with clean, fresh water.