Pinterest's Clever Alka-Seltzer Hack Will Leave Your Birdbath Squeaky Clean

Having a birdbath in your garden offers the delightful experience of observing various bird species as they drink and frolic. However, it's important to remember that birdbaths require regular maintenance. Consistent upkeep not only prevents the bath from becoming unsightly and grimy but also ensures that it remains a safe and healthy spot for your feathered visitors to stay hydrated, clean, and free from diseases. It's essential to avoid using chemical cleaners as they might leave harmful residues, and synthetic soaps can strip natural oils from birds' feathers. Fortunately, there's a safer alternative: Alka-Seltzer. Pinned away on Pinterest is an experiment by Carol Speake on her site The Gardening Cook where she cleans her birdbath with Alka-Seltzer and discovers that it's effective. Because of this, anecdotal evidence has shown that the ingredients in this fizzy tablet make it a great cleaning agent for freshening up birdbaths.

To clean your birdbath with Alka-Seltzer, first empty out the old water and rinse it off with a hose. Then, gently scrub the surface with a brush. Once the surface debris and algae have been removed, place two crushed Alka-Seltzer tablets on the birdbath's dry surface and continue scrubbing. The active ingredients in Alka-Seltzer will help lift away any remaining grime. Just keep on scrubbing and your birdbath will sparkle in no time. Finally, thoroughly rinse the surface to remove any remaining residue, then fill it with fresh water.

Most birdbaths are plagued with grime and algae when left alone for too long, and it's important to remove these stains and toxic substances as often as possible. Baking soda, an active ingredient in Alka-Seltzer, is excellent at removing organic stains and algae from pool surfaces, so many believe that it can do the same for birdbaths. Further, baking soda is used in a number of natural cleaning solutions around the home, proving its general effectiveness in freshening up surfaces.

If you're out of baking soda, using Alka-Seltzer is one of the easiest ways to clean your birdbath. Additionally, this medicine will also come with the added benefit of including citric acid, which can kill bacteria and help get rid of tarnish on copper birdbaths. However, while it's true that baking soda is often added to pools to balance alkaline levels, don't be tempted to leave Alka-Seltzer tablets in your birdbath's water. This is because the medicine can be toxic to birds if ingested. At the same time, its potential toxicity shouldn't stop you from using it to clean your birdbath, as the tablets likely won't leave enough residue to harm your feathered friends. Just be sure to rinse well after cleaning with this product.