Ditch Store-Bought Cleaners And Use This Handy Essential To Keep Your Birdbath Fresh

You can add an easy way to clean a birdbath to your list of surprising ways to use hydrogen peroxide in the home. That's right; rather than using store-bought cleaners, you can simply reach for the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) for a safe alternative to clean your backyard birdbath — and it doesn't even have to be in a pinch. An oxidizer like bleach, hydrogen peroxide offers comparable cleaning ability and is also antibacterial, though it takes a bit longer to work.

Maintaining a clean birdbath is essential for safeguarding the health of visiting birds to your backyard, as it prevents the proliferation of harmful bacteria, mold, and potential diseases. You also want to stave off the development of algae. Regular, thorough cleanings ensure a safe and attractive environment for avian guests. Further, such consistent upkeep not only preserves the birdbath's condition for prolonged use but also enhances the overall vibrancy and health of your backyard ecosystem.

To clean your backyard birdbath with hydrogen peroxide, and keep it fresh, simply combine equal parts of water and 3% hydrogen peroxide and then add the solution to the birdbath. Let this soak for a bit. As said, hydrogen peroxide is an effective alternative to bleach but it takes longer to work. For this reason, let the mixture soak for 15 to 20 minutes at least. After soaking, scrub the birdbath well with a brush or sponge. As an oxidizer, hydrogen peroxide will help to break down buildup in the birdbath, making it easier to scrub residue away. When done, rinse the birdbath thoroughly with water and then refill it with fresh water for your backyard birds.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hydrogen peroxide is known to be an effective disinfectant against bacteria, fungi, and spores (as well as yeast and viruses), so this method works not only to clean your birdbath at a surface level but at a microbial level, too. On this note, however, though hydrogen peroxide is safe for birds, it's critical you use nothing over 3% concentration. And in fact, 1% hydrogen peroxide can work for this cleaning hack, too. But keep in mind that, even at 3%, this hack calls for H₂O₂ to be diluted even further with water. This said, per Poison Control, it's unlikely you'll come across anything above 3% anyway as the bottles sold in stores are at that concentration.