An outdoor fountain is a beautiful accent piece for any home. Unfortunately, they are not maintenance free. Without proper care, they can quickly go from being a point of attraction to eye pain. Nobody wants to spend more time than necessary cleaning their outside fountain. Here are some tips that will allow you to enjoy your fountain outdoors instead of spending all day scrubbing it.
If you’ve been wondering “how do I keep my outdoor fountain clean?” information can be difficult to come by. There are thousands of products and services available that can take care of the job.
We hope we can simplify the solution for you.
First of all, what is fouling your fountain?
Is mold growing on it?
Unsightly stains?
Or just fallen leaves and trash?
Each of them requires a different tactic.
The most common problem is mold. Anywhere there is water and sunlight, mold and algae will grow. A weak bleach solution can eliminate this. You don’t need to buy an expensive mold remover when all you have to do is pour a cap or two of bleach into the water. One word of warning, although bleach is toxic.
If your fountain attracts wildlife or if you have a pet that can drink from it, you’ll want to use bleach to clean, then drain the water and replace it with fresh, clean water. It is much cheaper than the vet bill!
Maybe you have hard water and it’s leaving unsightly stains in the fountain. You can use a frost remover to rinse off those stains. Look for a product that removes limescale and rust. There are many products on the market.
It is important to let the cleaner circulate throughout the fountain. This will remove any debris that has built up inside the tube. Keeping the pipes in their best shape will greatly extend the life of the pump. The same warning applies if you have pets or wildlife. This cleaner can be toxic! Once the fountain is clean, empty out the dirt and fill it with fresh water.
The last problem is how to get rid of fallen leaves and trash. This can be a real chore. If the pump absorbs a lot of dirt, it can burn it. Now you not only have a dirty font, but a broken dirty font. Your best option to prevent that from happening is to use a pool skimmer if you are a large fountain. For smaller jobs, a fine net like the one you would use to scoop a fish out of an aquarium or even a kitchen strainer will work. Just go over and over the sides and throw away the trash.
Keeping my outside source information clean can be hard to find. We hope this answers some of the main questions you may have. There are plenty of cleaning options available for whatever gets your fountain dirty and now that you have these tips, you can spend more time enjoying yourself and less time cleaning.
