How to properly clean a Hummingbird feeder
I applaud you for wanting to properly clean a hummingbird feeder as it can guarantee a hummers safety, while removing any potential buildup of bacteria or mold.
How to properly clean a hummingbird feeder will begin with a full disassemble. Easy as this can be, you can follow the original instructions if possible. Only after the feeder is dismantled, you can diligently comb through all parts with a sponge or fine brush. Focus on the flower port wells with a vinegar disinfectant.
Proper clean of anything will involve pulling every section apart, ready to be cleaned one by one - but it must begin with a long soak in boiling hot soapy water.
At this point you can use a 50/50 white vinegar to water solution to create a safe cleaning agent to disinfect the feeders of any bacteria.
Marks or grime can be seen on the plastic or glass bottle interior or exterior, thus to clean this bottle first you can avoid this being noticeable later.
Proceed to clean out any soap residue in the bottle by pouring clean water inside of it, and it helps to then wipe it with a clean cloth, while trying to avoid touching it with your bare hands.
Bottle is always needed of a proper clean, as nectar - which is sugar water - can create a cloudy bottle interior, that needs a little more of your time.
Continue to repeat this process with the biggest sections, then leave the flower port wells until last, to be sure they have had a longer soak in the bowl of soapy water.
Soak residue can be dangerous to hummingbirds, thus all parts must be clean of soap often left behind. You only need to run all parts through clean running water, or insert them one-by-one in a now bowl of clean water.
How often you clean a hummingbird feeder will be obvious of how grubby the interior gets, thus to clean it regularly any dangerous mold or bacteria will be killed off sooner.
Must fully disassemble
Never proceed to clean a hummingbird feeder unless you have disassembled it as best as you know how.
How to dismantle a hummingbird feeder can be helped if you kept the instructions for safe keeping in the first place, or else it can be a little tricky to begin with. But in the end its just a matter of twisting larger parts, while popping out smaller bits.
To properly clean a hummingbird feeder you must take it apart, in which can result in up to ten to twenty loose parts.
If it were a glass bottle hummingbird feeder with a top fill feature, you'd need to unscrew the lid, commonly in a counterclockwise direction - along with unscrewing the base that features the flower port wells, by also screwing it counterclockwise.
Bottom base must be pulled apart in a screw motion or snap it apart. Only then can the imitation flowers - in which act as the port wells - can be popped out of their holes.
Now proceed to soak the plastic or glass bottle container on its own, in a bowl of soapy dish soap water, making sure to rinse it out with clean water to remove any potential soap spots.
Once the nectar bottle is out of the bowl of water you can proceed to soak the rest of the parts, for up to ten minutes or more.
Diligently comb through feeder
Allow the most important section of any hummingbird feeder, namely the bottle that stores the nectar - to air dry, upside if you can to allow water to drain out.
On to the other parts, I would begin with the largest sections to clean in the bowl.
Take a small sponge or why not a tiny soft bristle brush to comb through all gaps, cracks and crevices, in which there are an abundance of them within the internal workings of a hummingbird feeder.
Focus on the internal walls to clean off any sugary water built up, but do put more effort in areas where nectar is more stubbornly hiding.
What you would then do is pull all large sections out of the boiling hot soapy bath, to then run it though clean water to remove any soap residue.
Do try your best to clear it completely of soap residue as it can be dangerous to hummers that ingest it.
What remains left in the bowl of soapy water would be several flower port wells to comb through, as you'd need to diligently comb all around these imitation flowers - whilst using a fine brush to poke in the port well holes if possible.
Focus on cleaning port wells
I will again bring your focus back to making sure you properly clean the hummingbird feeder port wells, as its here where hummer come into contact with their beak to feed.
Its easy to believe a soak in the boiling hot bowl of soapy water is all you need, when in fact hummingbird feeders can see mold developing on these flower heads.
Proceed to clean the hummingbird feeder port wells as instructed above, while taking more time to use a hands-on approach to be sure the port wells are thoroughly cleaned.
You can always remove these flower port wells to be cleaned so it is made easy on you.
To clean these flower port wells, you must try to at least poke a fine comb through the inner tube - as to wash off any bacteria present.
Its easy to focus too much on the inner part, when the outer part of these crucial sections of a hummingbird feeder need to be properly cleaned of any nectar build up, and therefore any leftover soap residue.
To remove soap residue in and around these ten to fifteen port wells, soak then in clean hot water, while pouring water through the tubes.
Strong dose of part vinegar wash
What you will now be left with is ten to twenty hummingbird feeder sections that have been thoroughly cleaned, with no compromise on the hummers safety.
It doesn't end there though, well not for many of you if you insist on only cleaning the feeder once in a while.
Hummingbird feeder is going to clean at this stage for sure, yet bacteria may still be present on the exterior, as well has the interior.
You'd now need to make up a bowl of boiling hot water, with 50% made up by white vinegar.
What this will provide you is an effective homemade bird feeder disinfectant agent.
Hummingbird feeders must by disinfected in a vinegar solution every time you clean a feeder, to kill off any signs of bacteria that can quickly develop between washes.
Soak all hummingbird feeder parts in the bowl of hot water again, with an option to use dish soap with the disinfectant solution - to avoid cleaning the hummingbird feeder twice over.
Finally, once again clean off any vinegar cleaning solution or dish soap residue by washing it off with clean, hot water.
To summarize
How to properly clean a hummingbird feeder would mean no cutting corners, thus a feeder must always be fully disassembled.
Feeders can be disassembled without need of the original instructions, if you need them but they are not in your possession, simply download a detailed copy on the manufacturer's web site - or watch a similar hummingbird feeder disassemble video.
What you will be left with is up to twenty hummingbird feeder parts. You'd need to begin with the important section of all at first, the plastic or glass bottle that stores the nectar.
Clean it in a bowl of boiling hot soapy water while allowing some time for it to soak.
Only after ten minutes or more should this section be removed, cleaned with a sponge, then finally cleaned out with clean running water, to prevent soap spots forming.
You can now move onto thoroughly cleaning the other large sections the same way.
Now its time to properly clean the hummingbird feeder flower port wells, as this is the sections hummers poke their beaks in to feed.
As hummers come into contact with these with their beaks, the chances of bacteria entering the feeder here is likely - with any possible mold developing in and around these many port wells, very likely.
Each port well can be popped in and clipped back in place, while doing so after a thorough clean, with a possible disinfectant used.
Why not finalize your thorough cleaning routine by throwing parts back in a bowl of 50/50 water to white vinegar solution. What would be a better option is to use this homemade cleaning solution at the beginning, as to not clean it all over again.
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