The Best (and Worst) Ways to Clean Bird Droppings From Your Patio

On beautiful sunny spring days, bird droppings suddenly appear all over the terrace, railings and outdoor furniture. There are all sorts of suggestions on the internet about what you can use to remove the unsightly white spot after you’ve scraped off the hard part, but it’s not clear which ones work and which are just conventional wisdom passed down from grandparents to bloggers. I tested three commonly recommended stain removal methods (plus plain water to see if it makes a difference) and here’s what I found.

Cleaning bird droppings with seltzer water

Bubble water is the most recommended bird dropping stain remover on the internet, which is why it was first on my list. I followed Anga’s instructions , which said I should leave the stain on for a few minutes before removing it with a scraper. (I chose to use a durable melamine sponge instead of a brush, but an old toothbrush will work just fine.)

The seltzer water bubbles immediately frothed on my wooden surface, as if you had rubbed hydrogen peroxide on the cut. I left it alone for a minute, then wiped it off – and after a light pressure with a melamine sponge, there were no stains at all.

Conclusion: It works, but you still have to scrub a little after you pour in the seltzer.

Cleaning bird droppings with white vinegar

While I was letting the seltzer work on one stain, I poured some vinegar on another. Erasing the stain was not difficult; the vinegar has already dissolved it, unlike the seltzer. The only downside was that it stinks (and in the hot sun it stinks even more), but the smell goes away.

Conclusion: this is the best option, without a doubt. Almost no need to wash.

Cleaning bird droppings with dishwashing detergent

Dishwashing liquid is widely recommended everywhere from window companies to The Kitchn to the infamous University of Illinois stain removal resource guide . But I’ll tell you who doesn’t recommend it: me.

This method sucks, at least for my wood railing cleaning purposes. Firstly, the soapy water did nothing to dissolve the stain – I still had to scrub it afterwards, and for a while the white residue left was stained blue by the soap, which seeped into the crevices of the railing and was much harder. remove than vinegar or seltzer water. Unlike the other two methods, this one required a much more thorough rinse to get rid of the soap, which meant it took at least twice as long, plus I still had to scrub. Thumb down. See below for a soapy, slightly bluish mess that I had to fix.

Conclusion: No.

Cleaning bird droppings with plain water

Water was the control element in my experiment and did absolutely nothing with the stains. This made them looser so I could wipe them off, but it was nowhere near as easy as when I tried sparkling water or vinegar.

Conclusion: Don’t just use water. Even if you have to add dish soap, it will be more effective than water alone.