Cleaning Plastic Feeder

[Swift Nick]

Does anyone have any tips for cleaning plastic English feeders, I have just taken them off & washed them, but they have some propolis and wax on them that it would be good to remove.
Thanks Nick

 

[enrico]

Dishwasher

 

[Swift Nick]

Unfortunately we only have the human dishwasher, me. I have a large plastic bath & a hot water boiler, would a soak in hot washing soda clean it up?

 

[wessexmario]

If you have a freezer big enough, leave them in the freezer overnight.
In the morning the frozen propolis will be brittle and much easier to chip/flex off.

 

[Swift Nick]

Thank you Mario, yes I do have a freezer big enough, so will give that a go.

 

[Wingy]

If you have a freezer big enough, leave them in the freezer overnight.
In the morning the frozen propolis will be brittle and much easier to chip/flex off.

Never tried this so open to be corrected but would freezing not make the plastic also brittle and likely to crack if chipping at propolis, wax etc?
Wingy

 

[Hachi]

Never tried this so open to be corrected but would freezing not make the plastic also brittle and likely to crack if chipping at propolis, wax etc?
Wingy

I think you're right, my feeders have a brittle feel about them at ambient temps let alone frozen.

 

[Beefriendly]

Does anyone have any tips for cleaning plastic English feeders, I have just taken them off & washed them, but they have some propolis and wax on them that it would be good to remove.
Thanks Nick

Why bother?
They will only add more propolis and wax next time you use them. Clean them as best you can, but expect them to never look pristine and new again.
Alternatively, you could buy in bulk and throw away after use.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Dishwasher

Throwing away the feeder and buying a new one is probably cheaper than doing the same with the dishwasher

Why bother?

 

[Millet]

Why bother?
They will only add more propolis and wax next time you use them. Clean them as best you can, but expect them to never look pristine and new again.
Alternatively, you could buy in bulk and throw away after use.

 

[ShinySideUp]

If you really want to shift the stuff use washing soda as propolis just falls off using that, but just wash it off to get rid of any pathogens and don't worry about the propolis. Once the bees get hold of something it never looks pristine again (although it's probably less infected with bacteria).

 

[Swift Nick]

If you really want to shift the stuff use washing soda as propolis just falls off using that, but just wash it off to get rid of any pathogens and don't worry about the propolis. Once the bees get hold of something it never looks pristine again (although it's probably less infected with bacteria).

Sound like a plan Shiny, I will give them a soak in washing soda, at £10 each x5 I won’t be throwing them away.

 

[For want of a better word]

If you really want to shift the stuff use washing soda as propolis just falls off using that, but just wash it off to get rid of any pathogens and don't worry about the propolis. Once the bees get hold of something it never looks pristine again (although it's probably less infected with bacteria).

Good soak in warm washing soda loosens off the propolis and adding bleach at a 5 % solution will also deal with pathogens.
try this stuff...

www.revivepowerpaste.co.uk.... magic and get a STIFFY brush to scrubb it in !!

Nos da

 

[domino]

I wait until the winter, on a cold weekend I take them in the shed and it scraps off no problems.

 

[Millet]

I wash the inside of the feeder out with the hose pipe in the garden and they are good to go for next year..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I just put a load of feeders on today, apart from a good blast with a hosepipe last November before storing, they were as I took them off the hives, some are many years old and, again just been given the hosepipe treatment.
Soon as they were on, bees were up there like a shot. They didn't seem to mind the odd spot of propolis.

 

[madasafish]

Warm water, washing soda and a dash of washing up liquid seem to do the trick.. (The WUL tends to prevent any warm wax settling elsewhere..)

 

[gbee]

For the propolis, isopropyl alcohol. Amazing solvent, poorly understood, maplins used to sell it but easy enough to get online. Dissolves it right off.

For the rest a scrub of thick bleach and water.