New bird bath

[Merlin5]

Hello guys. I just bought this new birdbath today from a garden centre for £38. Pretty heavy stone, nice and solid. I was considering pressure washing it to get rid of the brown 'rusty' looking dirt. Someone told me that people go to a lot of effort to get the same aged look. To me, it just looks dirty. What do you think, clean or leave it?

If I use my pressure washer on it to clean it, is it safe, i.e, without blowing chunks of stone off it?
Within 15 minutes of putting it in the garden, a robin christened it

 

[Mottie]

Leave it as it is. Oh, and chuck a drop of water on that grass!

 

[Merlin5]

Lol, it used to be a nice lawn. Pretty much just straw now! At some point I need to get it turned over, remove a ton of weed roots and then get some seeds or turf put down.

 

[lostinthelight]

and then get some seeds or turf put down.

Nows the perfect time to do it.

 

[Merlin5]

Nows the perfect time to do it.

Yeah, apparently autumn and spring are the best times. My worry is the preparation of the garden and if I'm able to do it. It's about 30 foot by 15, so not that big, but there's
been a network of weed roots for a long time, mostly in the front half of the area. Last week I cut down tons of very tall thorny weeds and stinging nettles. I don't know the best way to approach tacking it. The soil is very hard and I guess needs digging and turning over and then manually removing as much roots as possible. I'm not averse to working hard in the garden, but doing it manually with spades and forks might be too slow and backbreaking. I could hire a rotavator, but I believe they're unwieldly and tricky to use. I'm also not sure how big they are but I have no other access to my garden other than through my front door, down my narrow hallway, into the kitchen and out the kitchen door to the patio. What would be your advice?

 

[sodthisforfun]

Nice bird bath, bargain!
I'd say leave it, not worth cleaning. Will be covered in green algae and bird crud in next to no time anyway!

 

[JP_]

yeah, leave as is. You might want to find somewhere else to put the seeds if you're planning a nice lawn ... we had a bird feeder like that - the combination of bird poo + sees meant huge weeds growing under. Best put over a rockery / wood chippings with weed membrane below to control weeds easier.

 

[Merlin5]

Nice bird bath, bargain!
I'd say leave it, not worth cleaning. Will be covered in green algae and bird crud in next to no time anyway!

Yes, I thought it was a good price too! Mostly, stone bird baths are upwards of £60. Actually, I was told by a friend that the dirty look is intentionally built into the moulds when they cast it. ​

yeah, leave as is. You might want to find somewhere else to put the seeds if you're planning a nice lawn ... we had a bird feeder like that - the combination of bird poo + sees meant huge weeds growing under. Best put over a rockery / wood chippings with weed membrane below to control weeds easier.

Good point. Problem is that my patio areas are narrow and close to either my kitchen window or fences. Where the bird table is now keeps it at a good distance from the fences so squirrels can't jump onto the table.