Boil water & vinegar then soak in solution. Let sool then rinse well with warm water.

luckydogg..what is the purpose of the boiled water and vinegar? I don't have vinegar, but I do have bleach, would that work?

This surprises me Ive had to replace feeders before and after the initial change they may be a little hesitant but thats never lasted very long, when they are used to getting it at a certain spot. You might try to make the sugar extra sweet till they start using your new one.

The replacement bird feeder actually isn't new. I bought it and used it last year, but had it in a different location. I didn't get it out this year until last week when the old feeder on my kitchen window was leaking due to a crack in the bottom. But I've always had a feeder on my kitchen window...are those little birds that smart to notice that it is a different feeder than the one I had up earlier last week? The old one was solid red, about 10" tall, with 4 yellow "flowers" to feed from. The current one is a clear globe (kind of shaped like a hot-air balloon). Only the bottom is red, but it still has the 4 yellow flowers to feed from.

Bleach is probably not a good idea..Hummers are very fragile,and bleach could have some residual effect.Vinegar is sugested,as it is biodegradable ,and most likely is not as toxic to these lovely creatures

thanks luckydogg....I don't normally buy vinegar (can't stand the smell of the stuff) but I should buy some anyway since my coffeemaker does need a good cleaning lol

Was at my kitchen window just now, and there was a male hummer drinking from this feeder! I was so excited!!...I guess they finally got used to the new one?

OxyClean works well too, I use it to clean all my feeders and baths. Just a thought...I use it for the coffee maker too..although I only use it to soak the parts, and do not run it through the machine.

Please do not use bleach.
I had a Myna bird as a child and my mother cleaned it's plastic drinking cup by soaking it in bleach water. The next morning when I awoke for school my mother was sitting at the table crying. The bird had passed away during the night, and she blamed herself for the bleach cleaning solution. Maybe she had it too strong, and the plastic soaked it up? Vinegar is safe and non toxic.

Thanks for all the info about not using bleach. I'll definitely buy vinegar to clean my feeders from now on.