Monica, I use a toothbrush to scrub my feeders. It really is OK to soak the feeders in hot water with a small amount of bleach, then rinse thoroughly. Just make sure the bleach is the old fashioned, pure bleach and NOT some of the new ones formulated for high efficiency washing machines. (The hummer/bird study group)

Hope this helps. It really is the most efficient way to clean feeders, IMHO.

Donna

With mold, simply wiping and rinsing isn't enough. The mold is a living organism and must be killed off. You may feel bad about using bleach, but the mold can be deadly. You need to disinfect these feeders. Clean like you have been and then soak them in a 10 parts water to 1 part bleach solution and let all parts of the feeder soak for 10 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly

For general cleaning I have used dish soap for a few years in my hummer feeders. I rinse them out for a very long time to make sure all of the soap is out.

I should have added that the bleach info came from a newsletter issued by the hummer study group.

Donna

Thank you both Donna & Chinam! I will start using the 10:1 bleach ratio to kill the mold. I just want to make sure what I'm doing is safe and not harming the birds.

If I were you I would also run the Hummzingers through the dishwasher--in the top. I do that at least once weekly and I never have mold. The Hummzingers are dishwasher safe and I have done mine many times. The diswashing will kill all mold spores and it does not leave any residue on the feeders.

If you do not want to use bleach you can use white vinegar full solution and let it soak for an hour or even overnight. Then rinse well if that doesnt get rid of the mold then you will have to use the bleach ratio mentioned above.

When I'm getting ready to clean feeders, I put a pot of water on the stove til it boils. Then i dip the parts in there for a bit, rinse in cooler water, dry, then fill. Never had a problem w/ any feeders, including hummzingers.

Vickie: The problem with the dishwasher is I am the dishwasher. LOL.

Homer: I've also tried the boiling water and I'm still getting mold. I think it has to do with the clear plastic bottoms that they just heat up so much more than my regular feeders.

Steve: You are always so informative. Thanks for the tip on the vinegar. I may try that out first and see if it keeps the mold away.

Donna: I use a toothbrush on my Wal-Mart feeders. They have these little yellow plugs in the flower that get mold easily and the toothbrush works great for getting in their to scrub out the mold.

I do rinse my feeders really, really well. In fact, Randy whines the entire time about the water bill. LOL!

Thank you once again for all of your tips! I really do appreciate the help!

monica

There seems to be no getting away from mold where sugar water and sunshine are connected. Over time mold will develop. One advantage bottle feeders have over saucer types is it is easier to spot mold formation in the bottle and if you have mold there it is also in the base . Even though with brushes you may be able to clean the mold from the bottle you still have to deal with mold in the base. Just my opinion, of course.

I belive that you'll get less mold in sunshine, especially with clear basin feeders likek the hummzinger. I rotate my feeders, and at any one time half of them are in direct sunlight. If you think about it, where does moss/mold grow? In the shade! Sure, having a feeder in the sun might warm up the mixture and make it more susceptible to bacteria growth, put perhaps the UV's from sunlight counters that. Why should we assume that the clear plastic in the Hummzingers block out the UVÂs? Sunlight is a great natural bleach.