Cleaning Bird Baths
Bird baths are a great addition to any backyard garden. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and styles. Some bird baths have pedestals, some are ground level basin types that sit directly on the ground and there are also bird baths that hang. Bird baths are not a set and forget type item and that must be remembered, there is some basic maintenance and troubleshooting that should be considered.
During the warm summer months, you will find that algae growth is accelerated, so is the growth rate of scaling. Both algae and scaling can prevent the hoses from transferring the correct amount of water when dealing with a bird bath fountain. It is not uncommon to see that the pump shaft gets clogged with both of these items and actually seizes up due to built up heat from an overworked pump.
You should start off by doing a pretty good hand cleaning to the bird bath. This involves a mild soap and a scrub brush with pretty stiff bristles. This is ensuring that all the loose algae and scaling is removed. You will then be left with the surface being covered by a light green to a dark green substance. Also, you will note that the scaling is a brown or white color. To get both of these cleaned and off of the bird bath, you should run a nice mix of vinegar through the system.
Never add harsh cleaners or chemicals to the bird bath for obvious reasons such as, the materials might outgas in to the water and you might actually damage the finish on the bath or basin itself. Remember, birds are extremely sensitive and will fall ill quite quickly.
Probably the best way to stop the bird bath from getting too scaly is to use a cleaning solution such as microbe-lift. You can use this every other cleaning cycle and that should treat the problem. I have tried the product many times over the years and similar products, and I must say it really does work and should be in any bird watchers arsenal for cleaning their bird bath. It does just an excellent job at removing scum, algae and scale.
Most people don’t change the water that often, or wait for the rain water to fill up the bird bath again. I personally recommend changing, or adding fresh water each day. You don’t have to be putting primo bottled water in here, just something from the hose will work.
Cleaning your bird bath is part of the responsibility that comes along with owning a bird bath. Many owners do not pay attention to this and really let them go to waste. Once the algae and scale buildup has gotten too far into its stages, its very hard to clean and actually ends up doing quite a bit of damage to the unit. Bird baths are quite a lot of fun and really make a nice addition to any garden, as long as you keep them clean!
Bill jamsen has been a bird watching and bird enthusiets for many years. Writing several articles about
solar bird bath fountains and general bird bath fountains best practices. You can view his site at
http://www.birdbathshut.com
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