Cleaning Frames
Scraping, soaking and washing
Pressure hosing is an easy first step. Loads of wax flies everywhere; in other respects, it is quicker and easier than scraping.
To scrape, I recommend using a plastic kitchen implement, wallpaper remover, or whatever works for you. I use a blunt chisel when the comb contains pollen and honey. Dark comb is often packed with pollen, so try to avoid removing frames in the autumn. Chilling makes wax brittle, but conversely, it makes scraping frames containing stores considerably more difficult.
Some people use a steel brush to remove more muck, it is a waste of time at this stage.
Brood frames become darker with age and may harbour disease. Given this, the comb should be replaced every three years. When removing the old frames, consider whether they contain honey the bees could draw down.
Reusing plastic frames is straightforward: scrape then pressure wash, or just pressure wash. Then soak, pressure wash, and re-wax. It is far easier to leave frames in a dark, warm space so that wax moths do the work for you.
Plastic – Scraping
Damage from over vigorous scraping
Wax and crud from 30 frames fill a GBpro container. Recovering clean wax from rendering dirty frames is difficult, so most people throw it away. Heating the dirty wax in water and pushing it through a sieve is quite successful. Note how well wax moths clean a frame.
After scraping, remove old wax with a pressure washer, although some people miss this stage. To prevent the frames from flying all over the place, put them on something like an off-cut of artificial grass, or just be careful to direct the jet perpendicular to the ground.
Hot soaking - NO!
Frames warp in hot water
Frame storage
Cold soaking
is like hot-soaking boxes but takes longer. Leave them for a long time. I’m not sure of the actual timing. One day makes a difference. Six days seems adequate for some frames. Someone on YouTube advocates six weeks, but he only scraped before soaking. Washing up liquid detergent helps a great deal. I’ve tried using using a good squirt or none.
Pressure Washing
A stubborn frame can take five minutes (with a 130 bar washer) to clean because it necessitates placing the tip of the pressure washer gun directly on the foundation and moving it back and forth like erasing pencil marks. Some frames take less than a minute. If you want to be speedy, buy a 170 bar washer. One that pumps at that pressure continuously. Your patio deserves it.
Let the bees clean them
This is what Bee Equipment recommends:
“After two seasons, use a wide scraper to clean the plastic foundation back to the rib, then place the box and frames back on the hive above a crown board with just one hole open. The bees usually clean the residue from the plastic frames, leaving the plastic foundation ready to use. If you think the frames need a more thorough cleaning, you can do it with a small steam cleaner or soaking them in soda and bleach”.
Pressure washers: 110 and 170 bar. The larger pump will blast old wax off the frames so that scraping is unnecessary.
Mouldy frames
If the frame does not smell of alcohol, expose it for a few days so it dries out, and then put it in a hive for the bees to clear. But be cautious; recycle the frame if it has the slightest whiff of fermentation. Chalkbrood and pollen can look mouldy. Pollen is friable.
Re-using wooden frames
Heat
Heat a drum of washing soda solution.
Punch the comb out of the frames.
Scrape to remove wax and propolis.
Tie some frames together and submerge them in the hot solution. After 5 minutes, the wax has melted off.
Rinse.
Tease the frames apart and remove the tangle of wires.
Assemble the frames and fix fresh foundation.
Soak — frames without foundation
Remove the comb and briefly pressure hose
Soak in washing soda solution
Scrub
Soak in cold water
Pressure wash if necessary
Dry
Tighten the wires
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