Cleaning a birdbath

I am continually washing out and refilling my birdbaths but find they get very stained by our hard water and need cleaning more 'deeply'. I wondered how you keep yours clean? I have seen people using bleach and also white vinegar but thought these might leave a smell or residue behind?

 

I just use hot water. I think all wild things are pretty good at fighting off bacterial problems from water. After all, without humans, they would just use puddles and other natural sources. If they needed filtered, chlorinated, fluorided supplies to survive, they wouldn't last long.

 

Perhaps refill with rain water not 'hard' tap water?

 

I imagine the cleaning is more about keeping it looking nice than what the birds need. Limescale leaves an ugly scummy greyish-white residue round the waterline where the water tends to evaporate (particularly when it's hot and dry). Soaking in vinegar might be more effective than just scrubbing but I don't know whether that would affect the birds.

The only way to avoid the limescale residue would be to use rainwater or water that's been through a filter jug that removes the limescale to top up the birdbath instead of straight from the tap.

 

I empty the birdbath, scrub it with a washing up brush, rinse it, then apply a kitchen surface spray containing bleach which I leave to dry for a few minutes. I then rinse, scrub and empty again to get rid of all the foam and residual bleach before refilling. If you do that every week, limescale and algae should be avoided. It sounds like a faff but doesn't take long. The birds seem to appreciate it .

 

I think the trick is probably do it regularly so it doesn't get too bad.
I have hard water, very chalky around here and I find its the green algae that is the biggest problem.
Ben my dog wont drink water from the tap, it has to mature, so I have a bowl outside for him, its the green stuff that forms that is the worst.
Often he just drinks out the pond or the watering can that I leave full at all times.

 

I use a galvanised scourer on mine.

 

Thank you to everyone that replied.
I refill the baths every day, sometimes twice a day as they empty out pretty quickly with all the splashing about that goes on in them! I clean them (scrubbing brush and water from the hose) as and when they need it, for instance after pigeons have been in my larger one as they leave an 'oily film' floating about (also, what is is it about pigeons loving to poo in them?) My hard water seems to leave an orange rusty look in them which is why I like to rinse them regularly.
It is a faff but we are rewarded with lots of amazing visitors to our baths.

 

@Meomye I use a stainless steel bowl which I scrub clean regularly and refill from the tap with a few drops of cider vinegar added. If it's good for our chooks I assume it's good for the birds too. No time for limescale to build up unless I go away a few days and Oh forgets to refresh. Then I use white vinegar to clean the bowl before rinsing and re-filling.

Just recently a couple of young magpies have taken to bathing in it and spalshing water everywhere so I've put out a second bowl with a stone in it to allow drinking but deter bathing. Working so far.