Cleaning Feeder (1 Viewer)

How do I clean the feeder? By that I mean what do I use, just hot water?

Every filling, flush the feeder with hot tap water; a bottle brush can be very helpful. Do not use soap - hummers apparently don't like the taste, but bleach will remove it if you have this problem. Visually inspect the entire feeder for black mold; a bleach soak (see the next paragraph) is the best way to remove mold. Discard any unconsumed sugar water. If the birds are not emptying your feeder between cleanings, it's unnecessary and wasteful to fill it completely. If the sugar solution in your feeder turns cloudy, it's spoiled and needs to be replaced. This can happen in as little as two days.

At least once a month, clean the feeder thoroughly with a solution of 1/4 cup bleach to one gallon of water. Soak the feeder in this solution for one hour, then clean with a bottle brush. Rinse well with running water and refill. Any remaining traces of bleach will be neutralized by reacting with the fresh syrup, and there's no need to air dry before refilling. Bleach is both safe and very effective.

These is evidence that bleach accelerates leaching of BPA (a chemical known to cause genetic damage in mammals) from polycarbonate plastic. No one, as far as I know, has studied its effects on birds. If you are concerned about BPA, use full-strength white vinegar instead of bleach.

See this link for more info:

http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html

Thanks very much

I do what DownWP said but also in between the bleach cleanings I use a toothbrush to clean the inside of the feeder bottle and bottom every time I refill it. You'll find it works well to get that black mold lose before it gets too bad.

Vicki

From the above posts I see that I'm going against the grain. I use Palmolive dish soap to clean my hummingbird feeders and occasionally I put them through the dishwasher too. The Hummingbirds don't seem to have any problem with how I clean the feeders. Just like anyone else, Hummers no different apparently, if you don't like the taste of soap, make sure to rinse it well. That's all there is to it.

Bart

Have used dish soap in the past, with seemingly no ill effect. Use glass hoppers, with plastic orifice. The hoppers are soaked in hot water/bleach (1gallon/1ounce), scrubbed with a bottle brush if I can see anything needing removal. The plastic orifice dispenser soaked and scrubbed with soapy water. All liberally rinsed.

BJY said:

From the above posts I see that I'm going against the grain. I use Palmolive dish soap to clean my hummingbird feeders and occasionally I put them through the dishwasher too. The Hummingbirds don't seem to have any problem with how I clean the feeders. Just like anyone else, Hummers no different apparently, if you don't like the taste of soap, make sure to rinse it well. That's all there is to it.

Bart

Click to expand...

That reminds me of the tv commercial I sometimes see with ducks from an oil spill being cleaned with dish washing soap. So I guess dish soap is safe

Soak in hydrogen peroxide when they get oozy. Otherwise, water and brush or soap and water.