By Tryharder
Essex,
United Kingdom 
Hi there all,
Lots of rain today, well needed in my area!!! Filled back up the water butts in no time (so it can stop now!)
I have a stone birdbath on a pedestal and the water keeps turning RED!! I brush it off every so often and refill but turns red again quite quickly...was wondering if I cleaned it up and dried it out I could give it a coat of masonry paint??
Would that be a good idea? Would hate to do harm to the wildlife in garden
10 Jun, 2019
Answers
I cleaned mine with bleach and it seems to have moved the discolouration. I left it for about half an hour with a cover over it so the birds couldn't drink the water and then I rinsed it off thoroughly. It seems to have worked.
10 Jun, 2019
It's probably algae & may be carried there by the birds so might reoccur after time. Pouring enough boiling water into it should kill the algae but it's probably not harmful.
Emptying, rinsing & refilling regularly will help avoid mosquito larvae too
10 Jun, 2019
Our friends keep a couple of old copper pennies in their bird bath. That seems to work for them.
10 Jun, 2019
I think its looks quite attractive actually. You can scrub the algae off but it will come back and it does no harm.
10 Jun, 2019
I scrubbed mine out with bicarb and it was effective for some time. I'm certainly going to try the coppers!
10 Jun, 2019
Thanks for all your comments
Think I'll try the copper pennies, sure I have some in a drawer!! Yes it is quite a nice colour and if it's not harming the birds that's ok with me so I'll see how it goes.
11 Jun, 2019
It may be that the copper is more harmful to the birds than the algae, which is totally harmless.
11 Jun, 2019
Previous question
« I can’t seem to post a photo with my question. Anyone else having trouble?
Mine turn a brown/red colour too? Hope someone knows how to stop this colour accruing x
10 Jun, 2019