messy honey cleanup

[SleepyHollow]

Does anyone have a secret for cleaning up honey drips, little spills, ect after working honey , in the kitchen,on the table, the drainboard, the floor, the stove, the fridge, walls, and windows? I wash down everything with soap and hot water. The wife washes the floor on her hands and knees, even after two washes it still feels just a very little bit sticky. Is there something we can add to the hot water to clean it up better? By the way, I really enjoy watching a woman on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor.

[JohnK and Sheri]

We use Dawn dishsoap, and add a little bleach, but I know what you mean about everything still feeling sticky. I am sure the air itself gets sticky when extracting.
Sheri

[Bob Bee]

I use Joy and hot water but still find a spot or 10 on my elbows. All the door knobs in the house are the most complaint that I receive. I guess it's just the nature of the business.
Bobby

[Todd Zeiner]

I bought a mop bucket and mop from an industrial auction a while back. I use hot water and Dawn in the mop bucket. I have mopped and then still had sticky floors. I realized later the honey was on the bottom of my shoes. Dooooooh!!

The key is to keep things as clean as you can as you go along. That way you can stay a step ahead of the mess.

[Chef Isaac]

I have been thinking about the disposable covers you wold wear on your shoes that people wear in hospitals, etc.

[Fuzzy]

After your irate spouse has kicked your butt a few times an made you lick the floor clean you finally learn not to drip honey !!

Seriously, A blue tarp work area for ALL honey.
Along with a double sink, one side full of hot water, the other to rinse. A bucket of hot water & a mop, & a clean cloth. Clean up as you go. Do not leave drops on floor. Do not leave area without rinsing hands. It is wife's kitchen, I am expected to leave it as I found it.

I am not a neat freak, far from it. But I hate, with a passion, sticky crap.

[loggermike]

My motto(which everyone around here disagrees with) is 'embrace the stickiness'.Anyhow the best investment I ever made for cleaning up floors is a wet/dry shop vac.Slop it with a mop then suck it up with the shop vac.And I have cleaned up some really big spills(pump overflows while loafing on the internet).

[JohnK and Sheri]

We are pretty lenient with our extracting crew help, after all, we really depend on them! But the big NO-NO out there is DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING with sticky hands. Everyone has a hot water bucket and rag. They can get away with just about anything out there, but they better not open a door or flip a switch or answer the phone with sticky fingers. If the floor gets bad enought to track honey around, it is mopped. Still, even though the honey house is 100yds from my kitchen and you have to walk across the lawn, I have to mop the kitchen floor twice a day during extracting season.
I agree with Todd, the best way is to keep it clean as you go, but it is still an uphill battle. Nature of the beast, but unlike most farming, at least you can lick your fingers. smile.gif
Sheri

[odfrank]

my honey house is sloped to a floor drain. A good spray with hot water and its in pretty good shape. at the beginning and end of the season it gets a go over with the hot pressure washer

[tony350i]

I invested in a good wife that up to now has kept on top of the mess,

I got mine from ebay and it was money well spent. :D :D :D :D

Tony

[Mabe]

Something I learned while running flight kitchens for one of the airlines a while back...
Add a sploop of bleach to that hot soapy water - you're not wiping the germs around and you're a step closer to health department clean.

[Michael Bush]

Honey cleans up pretty easily with hot water and a mop. Propolis and wax are another matter...

[Dwight]

I put down a plaswtic tarp before I start and I keep a bucket of hot water handy to rinse my hands from time to time. When I finish I just role the plastic up and throw it away. No muss no fuss! BTW I use the cheap plastic painters tarps from the local hardware store which cost very little. Probably cheaper than the soap I would need to buy without the plastic.

[Pete0]

We use newspaper on the floor and keep a bunch standing by. Any drops spotted are covered with paper so not to be spread. At the end of the day it goes to recycle.

Pete0
Bena, VA

[SilverFox]

tony350i; You bought yours ;) I was given mine, your looking in the wrong places :D .
Plenty of clean rags and hot water for honey, keep using a clean rag every time you go to rinse one out, never use the same one twice. For propolis and wax one of those plastic pot scrapers or even an old plastic spatula or a razor blade hold at about a 45 degree angle and lightly scraped works. Too steep and you cut and not enough angle and you skim over the stuff. ;)

[ August 28, 2006, 03:31 PM: Message edited by: SilverFox ]

[Hanginin]

You can obtain for free from most funiture and appliance stores large pieces of cardboard to cover your working area after which you then roll up and recycle.

[gtbee]

My two labs take care of any spills and drips on the hardwood floors. After that, it's regular mopping.