Kind folks,

I'm trying to make sure we recover appropriately from a bunch of moldy birdseed, not wanting to kill the birds.

We just moved into a rented house ... and then got a freak very fast storm. Our fence is scraping, or even, into the ground, acted like a dam, and I'd guess at least 6 inches of water went into our backyard (and some into two bedrooms, the living room, and the garage, but that's another story.)

Anyway, we had a brand-new "waterproof" stackable container of birdseed with 40 pounds of seed. My wife thought the top was clean; it wasn't. The birdseed started sprouting and molding in the feeder and in the container. It's a rather unfriendly smell.

I've gotten rid of the seed, putting it in plastic bags in our trash container, closing the lid, and dumping some bleach in to control the smell, mold and attractiveness to critters until the can is picked up (by automated machinery).

The big plastic container and the bird feeder itself are soaking in bleachy water. (Who woulda thunk one of those Glad kitchen bags could withstand ~100 pounds of water?) I plan to slosh 'em tomorrow, dump 'em, rinse them, air dry them, and start over.

Is there anything else I should do? I mean, is there anything that could survive that solution or its vapors? (Everything's soaking as best as I can, but of course the door and such are above water level.)

If we need to replace it all, I guess I can do that, but I'd rather not. =)