To decrease the spread of a variety of illnesses among birds, articles have been written stating that if you are going to feed birds, you must regularly clean the feeders. Over the years, I have used lots of different types of feeders and have found JCS Wildlife Platform Bird Feeders by far the easiest to clean. One just has to remove the tray, wash it with soap and water, spray it with a dilute bleach mix, wait 15 min. rinse, dry and replace. Easy as can be. Well worth the cost.