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Starlings occupy small wooden bird table with slate roof

How to clean a bird table

Don't take an unkempt bird table so lightly because the longer you leave it, the harder it will become to pick up congealed bird food that stick to the bird table surface.

How you clean a wooden bird table in particular is with a hard bristle brush, which can be part of a dustpan and brush set. Utilize the brush to provide your bird table a soapy wash, whilst the dustpan can be used to pick up leftovers. Disinfect with a light vinegar solution while scraping off stubborn residue.

Certainly a bird table does have the potential to get on the messy side as bird seeds in particularly lay out on top of the surface for some time while simmering under the heat of the sun, or in the rain during wetter months.

With that, its vitally important to go out in your yard once in a while to move the bird food around, to prevent it from sticking to the bird table top surface like glue.

When it comes time to clean your bird table only then will any remaining leftover bird food be lifted up with no trouble at all.

How to clean a bird table only requires a soapy wash with a hard bristle brush used to scrub the top surface. Ideally you'd want to scrub between any crevices while continuing to focus on areas where bird food, and therefore food residue creeps into.

Rats can be attracted to bird tables and so to can other vermin, thus its vital to rid the bird table of rotten or old bird food as best as you possible can.

Bird tables are a very popular kind of bird feeder which attracts the most wild birds to it, due to it openness with no limits in place.

With that to consider, remember a bird table top will be stepped on more than any other type of feeder, with bird poop likely to fall around the outer rim - as well as directly on the bird food platform where the bird food sits.

Focus on cleaning up all leftover bird food on the surface before scrubbing it with a soapy bowl of water, while also remembering to clean the outer and inner rim surrounding the platform.

Scrub with soft soapy brush

While its certainly possible to put off cleaning your bird table too regularly, to do it once every two or three weeks should keep you motivated.

Point of never delaying cleaning and maintaining a bird table, or indeed any kind of bird feeder really, is to prevent the build up of what can be hard to remove, stubborn bird food residue which will stick to the bird table surface.

What you need then is a humble pan and brush set, this is the brush that comes with a dustpan to lift up the pile of filth after you sweep it up on the floor.

Head over to Amazon to check their availability of a dustpan and brush set if you don't currently own one - with only a cheap one needed under ten bucks.

Dustpan isn't needed for now so concentrate on a small, thick hard bristle brush that comes with the pan; you'd need to clean the bird table with a brush which doesn't risk falling apart due to heavy use.

Have yourself a bowl of hot soapy water to one side made up with a generic dish soap to clean the bird table, and that's it really.

What you can do is thrown some hot soapy water over the bird table top to allow it to soak for a few minutes, then continue to scrub for as long as it takes to remove any stains or residue build up.

Bear in mind you'll first need to sweep off any leftover bird food, thus the dustpan and brush can be used for what it was intended for.

On a safety note, this dustpan and brush set can now only be used for outdoor use, or primarily used to clean up after your backyard birds.

Go diligently on wood

Only after you've used a bird table with a mix of bird food over several weeks or months, will you realize some bird food must be put in a dish as opposite to allowing it to lay on what can be an untreated, open wooden grain bird table platform.

As you'll find out, the rotting or old bird food will leave a mark on wooden bird table surface, thus its vital to maintain the table by keeping the messiest of bird food directly off the platform.

Whilst most bird tables are made in wood, you will have to go diligently when cleaning a wooden bird table, to prevent scrubbing off the paint or stain finish.

Admittedly, paint or stain will be visible in the soapy water but you don't want to concentrate the wash in one area for too long, as it will become visibly bold. Scrub the area where the bird food is hard to lift up, while doing the same motion all over the table top.

If cleaning a made in what can only be metal - if it isn't a wooden bird table - then go harder by cleaning up the muck with an option to use a scour if need be.

Untreated bird tables can be cleaned without worrying about wiping off the finish, yet the wood grain will be hugely exposed to any rotten or old bird food bleeding in to it.

I recommend you to only use a bird table after its been treated or painted to make the process of cleaning it, much easier.

On a similar note, you can use a part 1/9 vinegar solution to disinfect a wooden bird table, though I highly advice against cleaning a bird table with bleach as the chemicals are much harsher - despite a weaker diluted solution - thus it will lift up any paint, stains or wood treatment, plus bleach can discolor the wood surface.

Rinse in clear water

As with any bird feeder cleaning routine it must always come to an end by rinsing off any kind of wash treatment with clean but boiling hot water.

And there you have it, with the best way to clean bird feeders with a simple soap dish in a bowl; proceed to follow that up a long scrub if need be by throwing over a bowl of clean water over the bird table surface.

Birds ingesting any soap residue left over which can dry up on the bird table surface - or indeed rolled up into the bird food - can cause them an upset which isn't good for their liver.

Cleaning the bird table with any soap or disinfect must be washed away with hot water.

Ideally you'd want to use a garden hose or a power washer, although to throw a bowl of water, or why not tip a hot pan of boiling water over the bird table top - can assure no soap residue remains.

Bird table specifically made in wood provide few ways to disassemble it that really matters, while a metal bird table could allow to you take it apart.

In which case do disassemble a metal bird table to clean all parts thoroughly, so you can rinse each part through clean water before re-assembling it all.

Conclude

Thankfully, of all types of bird feeders you can buy on the market today, this open to all bird table or platform bird feeder is the easiest to clean of the lot.

All it takes is for you to utilize a hard bristle brush as part of a dustpan and brush set, where you can scrub the bird table top, plus the sides with a simple soap dish solution.

Bonus is the dustpan can be used to mop up old bird food on the bird table top, for you to tip directly in the trash can via the bird table, with no trash bags required.

How you clean a bird table made in wood will require some improvisation mind you, as you'd want to sustain the bird table paint or stain for as long as you can - with a harsh cleaning solution certainly capable of wiping off the finish.

Regardless, a wooden bird table will need a fresh coat of pain, stain or treatment in a years time, and every year thereafter to protect the wooden bird table.

Spread elbow grease you put into cleaning over all corners of the bird table, to delay visible signs of bold patches on areas where the bird food is usually laid.

In the meantime any stubborn bird food that refuses to lift up off the surface, or indeed any residue that won't pick up can be moved when using a light distilled white vinegar solution to disinfect your bird table.

I would personally scrape off any hard to remove residue first with a flat wallpaper knife.

By the end of providing your bird table a thorough soapy wash, you'd want to remove any possible soap residue by throwing over clean boiling hot water.

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