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Do you clean and reuse plastic foundation or throw them away?

9K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  JConnolly 
#1 ·
Good news is my bees are going crazy this year.
I robbed some supers and did not put a couple back on the hives but cut the wax off back down to foundation for next year.

I was going to store them but noticed that mold set up in the foundation where pollen had been plus the bees started back up with the new flow.

What do you do?
Throw plastic sheet away and buy more
Run them thru the dishwasher and re-wax them for future use

If they clean up how would you rewax them at home?

Thanks,

jim
 
#2 ·
I don't even clean them up much. I've had some made very nasty by SHB and moths, I just scrape them off, and rub wax all over them. The bees finish cleaning them up and rebuild the cells.
My wax is reclaimed from cappings and in small blocks about an inch thick. I soften the wax with a torch, but not to the melting point.
 
#5 ·
Appreciate the info.

The Fat Bee Man said the same- Pressure Wash Them

Is that what you do to your suppers during the fall? Remove the wax, wash and store for the winter?
Last year I just let the bees clean up the frames and stored them in a plastic bag but did not have any pollen and such stored.
 
#9 ·
I have a basement sink with a sprayer. I have, in the past, used it to remove the fermented nectar and other nastiness.
Then I set it on the ground outside and the ants clean out any remaining biological matter. I have reused them in hives without issue.
 
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