This tip will save you so much time and effort that you are going to thank me forever.
When I take apart my hummingbird feeders, I never see a trace of black mold anywhere on the feeder. None in the well and none on the feeder ports. This is because black mold doesn’t grow on my feeders EVER!
I have had as many as sixteen feeders servicing thousands of hummingbirds. Each feeder has ten ports. I just do not have to time to clean 160 ports with a mascara brush every day, so I had to find a way to prevent that black mold from ever starting to grow in the first place.
I keep full strength vinegar in a spray bottle (JohnBee Empty Spray Bottles – paid link) right by the sink, and every time I take a feeder apart to fill it I spray the holes with the vinegar. If there any black mold spores, they are killed instantly. Now I know that vinegar does not kill all kinds of mold, but fortunately for us it does kill the black mold that tends to grow on hummingbird feeders. Also vinegar rinses off very very easily.
If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, you can use hydrogen peroxide (LEADER Hydrogen Peroxide 3% – paid link), which comes in little spray bottles that you can refill. But whatever you do, don’t mix the vinegar together with peroxide, because a chemical reaction occurs causing a corrosive substance that is dangerous for your lungs.
Now this doesn’t take the place of taking our feeders apart and cleaning them thoroughly inside and out, but if you do this little trick every time you take your feeder apart to refill it, then you’re not going to have to deal with that ugly black mold or the little mascara brushes ever again!
Relevant products in this article (paid links):
