Keeping your feeders clean is an important part of feeder maintenance. Clean feeders and fresh food help to keep your birds happy and healthy.

Feeders need to be cleaned and sanitized with a 10% bleach solution on a regular basis. This can be done every few weeks! Follow these steps to ensure your feeders are in tip top shape for your birds.

Before you get started make sure you have the following on hand:

• Gloves
• Tubs/Containers
• Dish Soap
• Tube Feeder Brush
• Scrub Brush
• Rag
• Bleach – regular household bleach
• Measuring Cup

Steps to Properly Clean Your Bird Feeder:

1. Discard old food and debris from the feeder
2. Fill tub/container with water and some dish soap (tip: hot water will help to dissolve debris and melt foods like suet- making it easier to clean) 
3. Disassemble feeders completely for thorough cleaning
4. Thoroughly scrub the feeder with brushes/rags (tip: ensure to use brushes designed for bird feeder cleaning to avoid scratching and scoring plastic feeders)
5. Thoroughly rinse all parts
6. Use a tub/container to create a bleach solution of nine (9) parts water to one (1) part bleach
7. Soak feeder for a few minutes rotating it to submerge all parts
8. Remove from bleach solution and thoroughly rinse all parts
9. Let the feeder dry completely
10. Refill with fresh food