7 Step Guide to Cleaning a Concrete Bird Bath: Try Now!

Cleaning a concrete bird bath is an important task. When you attract birds to your back yard, you also need to take the right steps to ensure their safety and health. Unclean water, especially when contaminated by droppings, can make birds ill. It only takes one sick bird at the bath to spread sickness rapidly among bird populations. Besides looking unsightly, dirty water will start to stink. Stagnant water also attracts mosquitoes, which are vectors of many diseases. 

The National Audubon Society points to the importance of cleaning your bird baths regularly. By doing so, you eliminate harmful diseases, which can be a risk to birds and humans alike. Clean bird baths are the key to keeping visiting birds free from disease and death. 

Read on to learn the 7 essential steps to cleaning your concrete birdbaths.

Importance of Cleaning Your Birdbath

Bird baths are low maintenance, but they’re not maintenance-free. Over time, the water gets dirty with algae growth and other contaminants. In just a short amount of time, seeds, feathers, leaves, and other debris collect in the basin. This makes the perfect environment for bacteria, fungus, and mold to grow in.

Worse yet, your bird bath could be attracting other guests entirely. Stagnant, hot water invites insects like female gnats and mosquitoes to lay eggs in the bath. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises emptying and scrubbing containers that hold water. This includes bird baths, which can hold thousands of mosquito eggs. 

Mosquitos are notorious for being carriers of many viruses and diseases, with West Nile virus (WNV) being one of the most common. Mosquitos can spread WNV to many bird species. Birds can and quite often do die from WNV. People are susceptible to this pathogen as well. Mosquitos are also carriers of other disease pathogens that can make humans sick. Eastern equine encephalitis, Zika, dengue fever, and now malaria are good examples of mosquito-borne illnesses that affect Florida.

You should also consider aerating your birdbath water. This helps keep mosquitoes in check and appeals to many bird species. 

Discover how you can attract birds to your back yard with birdbath accessories and other methods.

Some of the same diseases that can be transmitted from dirty bird feeders can be found in dirty bird baths, too. Bacteria and diseases such as salmonella, trichomoniasis, and avian pox (avipoxvirus) are all too common in dirty conditions. These can be deadly to birds.

Cleaning your birdbath is one of the many ways you can preserve and protect Florida song birds.

Don’t despair. Cleaning a concrete bird bath and keeping a safe environment for birds couldn’t be easier. The impressive result will have you wondering why you waited this long. Wear something you don’t mind getting dirty, roll up those sleeves, and let’s begin!

Steps to Cleaning a Concrete Bird Bath

Gather all your cleaning materials in one area before you start cleaning the bird bath. You don’t want to leave in the middle of cleaning a concrete birdbath to look for forgotten items. Otherwise, you risk birds getting into the basin while it’s soaking in the bleach cleaning solution. Bleach is toxic to birds. High levels of chlorine are fatal to them. 

Here’s what you’ll need to assemble before you begin cleaning your bird bath: 

• Dishwashing gloves
• Large capacity measuring cup
• Regular household bleach (select a bleach that is between 5–9% sodium hypochlorite) 
• Mild dish soap
• Stiff nylon scrub brush
• Scrubby sponge 
• 33-gallon trash bag
• Old clothes (stray splashes of even diluted bleach can ruin clothing permanently)
• Old toothbrush (optional)
• Protective eyewear and mask (optional)
• 5-gallon bucket (optional)
• Old large pizza pan or something heavy to set on top of a trash bag if windy (optional) 
• Garden hose with a high-powered spray nozzle

Step 1: Remove Any Stones, Fountains, and Decorative Objects

Remove any unattached items from the bird bath before you start. For cleaning items like bubblers, water wigglers, and garden accents, refer to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. If you have any rocks in your bath, you can take them out and set them aside until step 5.

Step 2: Dump out the Water

Wild birds can carry disease, so put on rubber gloves to protect yourself. 

Concrete baths are heavy, so you may need some help emptying the basin. If the basin detaches from the pedestal, simply remove the basin and pour the water on the ground. If it’s one solid piece, carefully tilt it to the side (again with help) to pour the water out. Remove any remaining debris like leaves and twigs by hand.

Step 3: Spray, Scrub, and Rinse the Basin

Use a high-powered spray nozzle connected to a garden hose to spray the birdbath for about 20 seconds. This helps loosen debris, seeds, algae, and droppings. If you don’t have a high-powered spray nozzle, you can skip this part of step 3.

Next, fill the basin again with water and include a few drops of mild dish detergent. Scrub the bird bath with a stiff nylon brush to break apart algae and bacteria. This will also help remove any mosquito eggs that may be stuck to the basin walls. Clean the basin and rim, as well as any other areas where birds may perch or bathe. Pour this dirty water out of the basin.

Ensure you rinse out all traces of soap using clean water. Soap can strip feathers of their natural oils, making birds vulnerable to parasites, fungi, and bacteria. 

If the bath was particularly dirty, this step might not result in a noticeable change in appearance. However, this step shouldn’t be skipped. It helps the bleach in step 4 be more effective in getting rid of stubborn leftover debris.

Step 4: Refill the Basin with Clean Water and Add Bleach

Refill the basin with clean water until it’s nearly full. Fill it just above the depth of the algae and black stains on the inside. You can do this either with the basin on the ground or placed on top of the pedestal. Either way will work fine. 

Mineral deposits and algae can cause tough stains that remain, even after a thorough scrubbing. Some mineral deposits might even permanently stain the finish.  

Algae, including the red variety, is typically harmless to birds. But, it can make the bird bath water unsightly and can stop birds from using it. Enhance the bird bath’s visual appeal and make it more inviting to birds by targeting the algae. To remedy this, use regular household bleach. Carefully pour between 1 to 1 ½ cups of bleach into the water in the basin. 

It’d probably be wise to wear your mask and protective eyewear for this part. Using your rubber gloves and a scrubby sponge, dip the sponge into the bleach water and thoroughly saturate all areas that the bleach water doesn’t reach. If you had stones that you took out of your bird bath and set aside, now is the time to put them back into the basin to soak in the bleach water. Be careful not to splash bleach water on your face as you put them in. 

Step 5: Cover the Basin with a Trash Bag

Secure a black plastic trash bag over the bird bath. This will help heat up the water in the bath and make cleaning more effective. The trash bag will also keep birds out of the toxic bleach water. 

If you’re having trouble securing your trash bag, you can lay a heavy item on top of the basin to hold down the bag. A large, heavy metal pizza pan will work well. Allow the bath and stones to soak for about 20–30 minutes in the bleach water. Let it soak even longer if it’s been a long time since its last wash or if it has heavy algae growth and staining. 

Step 6: Scrub and Dump

Put your rubber gloves back on and remove any soaking stones. With the nylon brush, scrub the stones thoroughly and rinse them well with the hose. Ensure the inside walls and the bottom of the basin are scrubbed well. Give remaining stains and algae-filled areas extra attention. An old toothbrush can also be useful to get in grooves and remove stubborn grime. Scrub and clean the outside of the basin and the pedestal as well. 

Empty the bleach water out of the basin. When dumping the solution, make sure it doesn’t form pools on the ground that unsuspecting birds might get into.

Step 7: Rinse, Air-Dry, and Fill Your Clean Bird Bath with Fresh Water

Rinse the bird bath and repeat multiple times for 2-3 minutes, making sure all bleach residue is completely removed. Also, rinse stones if you had them soaking. If the smell of bleach is still strong in the bird bath, continue rinsing until the smell has subsided. Let the bath air-dry to allow any remaining residue to evaporate and break down the remaining bleach odor. 

When fully dried, it’s time to fill the bath with fresh water again.

Once dry, refill the bird bath with 2 inches of clean water. Smaller birds prefer shallow water to drink and bathe in. It keeps them safe from drowning. If your water is deeper, consider adding a few stones, if you haven’t already. If you already have stones, add them and any other items back now that you had before, such as solar fountains, drippers, or misters. This will be welcoming to birds, and they’ll come back in no time. 

Weekly Maintenance for Keeping Birdbaths Clean

To maintain a bird bath, regularly change the water and perform light cleaning a few times a week with deep cleanings every few weeks. The frequency may increase in hot, humid conditions or with heavy bird activity.

Light maintenance includes:

Regular water changes prevent organic matter from rotting, remove bird feces, combat algae growth, and deter mosquitoes. Another option to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs is keeping the water moving with devices like air bubblers or fountains. Alternatively, non-toxic mosquito dunks can be added to kill mosquito larvae. 

During the hot summer months, birdbaths can be a lifesaver for birds. Especially during these record hot Florida temperatures this year. Make sure there’s always water in the basin by regularly filling it with cool, fresh water. Regularly check the water temperature and consider placing the bath in partial shade to reduce water temperature, evaporation, and algae growth. 

Bonus: Do Copper Pennies Prevent Algae in Bird Baths

Perhaps you’re familiar with the advice of placing copper pennies in a birdbath to prevent algae growth. But does this actually work? To a limited extent, it might.

Placing 7 to 10 copper pennies in a bath may help prevent algae growth due to copper’s antimicrobial properties. When copper oxidizes, ions from the pennies inhibit algae formation, acting as a natural biocide. However, only pennies made between 1962 and 1982 with 95% copper content should be used. Post-1982 pennies have a higher zinc concentration, which, if leached, can harm birds. 

While pennies can slow algae growth and extend the time between cleaning a concrete bird bath, they won’t prevent algae entirely. Especially in temperatures above 90 degrees. Regular maintenance and water changes are still necessary.