Cleaning plastic foundation "Soak & Save" its super easy & cheap 

Rob, you are most welcome, I'm glad it was a help to you.

Glad to help Jeffery, just make sure to rewax after cleaning..

It really makes it worth it, as all bee supplies are going up in price. I tried several ways to re-wax the foundation and the way that works for me is after cleaning and drying the plastic, I reinsert it back into the frame and over a pot that is half full of melted wax that the frame will fit into. I use a 4" short nap roller and press firmly to re-wax the excess wax drips back into the pot. You can reuse the nap roller several times just make sure you drill some "drain holes" in the roller outer plastic caps for the wax to drain out. Good luck and thanks for watching.......

You are welcome

I hope this helps and thanks for watching...

Your welcome. Just remember there is going to be thousands of the cell cups blowing out of those foundations and going everywhere.

I'm glad you found the video helpful and saved some money. I did reduce the Clorox to 1/2 a cup per tote which is just for bacteria and virus cleansing. The Dawn is the real workhorse the soaking water. Thanks for watching.

You are most welcome. I did start using only a 1/2 cup of bleach as a bacteria and virus killer in the tub. The Dawn is the real workhorse in the mixture. Thanks for watching..

Hi Geani, I got tired just thinking of taking care of your 2000 hives and 500 Nuc's. If I were you I would make up a holder that would consist of an upper and lower channel to hold and slide the foundation through with brackets on each side of the foundation connecting pressure sprayer heads . So as you push each foundation through it is getting cleaned on both sides at ounce as it is being pushed along, it will save you a lot of time. If you do make this up let me know and make a video.

Sir, we did clean before those foundasions with the brushes.We soak them in soap and water for 24 hrs.We never think about using power washers .We got 2 of them ....one electric and the other with honda engine.I have 6 employee here ,permanent and when I do extraction I get more help .We are working on a project to do something like that.Thanks for HELP!

Hi PM, You are very welcome, it was the soaking that provided the magic bullet to help remove the cell cups with the washer, Happy Cleaning........

Same here😂. I’ve scrubbed plastic foundation and it takes forever. I’m with you. Why didn’t I just use the pressure washer! Duh. Lol👋

Hello HoneyPollen, I'm glad to be of help to you, just use the new formula of 1/2 cup of Clorox and 1 cup Dawn detergent. The Clorox is the disinfecting agent but the real workhorse is the Dawn detergent. Canada is such a beautiful place, years ago I spent a week fishing on the Baskatong Reservoir and loved it.

@@jeffwillard2417 Thank you, Jeff! I was wondering about the Dawn detergent whether I could substitute it with another soap or not. By the way, another method to clean these frames would be placing them into the garden soil. Worms would eat the brood residue on these frames. I just dug out some portion of these frames which I used for the border. I was surprised to see these frames clean and lots of worms living on these frames. It is not an efficient method, but still a method. Never been to Quebec, someday, someday!

@@Larisa_beekeeper_in_Ontario_CA I'm sure another soap brand would work. Burying the foundation and wooden frames may work in the far North but down here in the South we have hungry termites, they will eat all untreated wood and sometimes poorly treated wood if exposed to the ground, the only thing that is not eaten would be the metal staples and plastic.. Kept your bees warm this winter.

@@jeffwillard2417 only plastic I'm talking about, bearing wood into the soil would damage the wood for sure. We still have warm weather in Ontario, something tells me that the winter is not going to be easy. Have a good winter as well!

Hello Mark, I'm glad you liked it and like you I threw out a lot of foundation before this idea came to me. The May your hives runneth over! made me smile, Thanks....

I'm glad it worked but sorry you had pump problems.

Hi Jennifer, Thank You, you peaked my curiosity about the mixing comment because I have doing this for awhile now without any problems and I wanted to find out more. What I found was that the mixing of ammonia and bleach is a dangerous mix it produces toxic gases called chloramines and that some dish soap have amines in them. I couldn't find any info about a water dilution factor when mixing the two. So my advice to be on the safe side would be to use any ammonia free dish soap, or do what I do and mix the two part solution in an open well ventilated area to remove any possible concern plus a warning "to use at your own risk" This what I like about You-Tube, which is the exchange of information in a large group of people and I always want everyone to handle anything like this safely. Thanks again for the info.

Also I would only use outdoors with plenty of ventilation.

Hi Joy, I found that you can cut the Clorox in half and it works just as well. The Clorox is to kill any bacteria or virus that maybe present on the foundation, good luck..

Hi Phillip, Good to hear from you and glad to help. I hope you and your bees are doing well.

Doing Fine Jeff, I hope the same for you. Keep up the good work!!

Hi Jonathan, Your welcome. I found that you can cut the Clorox amount in half its used more for a disinfectant to kill any bacteria or viruses, the Dawn does all the work in breaking down the beeswax for removal. Have fun blastin' that foundation........

You are most welcome Bryan....

That is a great idea Lenore. I'm glad it worked as well for you also...

You could try misting each frame with rubbing alcohol, shake off excess, then allow alcohol to rapidly evaporate.

I ended up making drying racks and setting them next to the wodd stove. Dries them overnight 48 at a time.@@paulchristu996

You are so welcome!

Your welcome and thanks for subscribing....

No just keep them loose fitting in the tub.

I don't know the amount of water, just fill it to the top. Add the detergent when it is almost full otherwise you have just soap suds. The Clorox is used for a disinfectant and I now use only 1/2 to 3/4 cup. To rewax the foundation I have used the dip method, brush and a foam roller, I found that a 4" wide 3/8" nap roller worked the best.

I'm glad you enjoyed it..

Thanks again...

I let mine soak for two weeks to really soften the wax. I also started to only use 1/4 - 1/3 cup of Clorox to kill any virus or bacteria that may be on the foundation.

Thanks for the reply!

Your Welcome

Hello Robert, It truly is an easy and cheap way to clean your foundation before re-waxing.

Thank you Cole's Farm..

It's better to remove the foundation, the wood and its steel fasteners really aren't meant to be soaked in water for several weeks. I'll usually just spray the frames with a water/Clorox solution in a garden sprayer and then rinse clean to kill off any virus or bacteria.

Hi Keith, I'm sure any grease cutting dish detergent will work, I only use 1/2 cup (120ml) of Colox now. I think any common household bleach would also do the job. Thanks for watching... I heard Varroa just reached Australia, watch this to help with your needed treatments.. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pzSS9XXYWU4.html

Your welcome, I'm glad it will help you..

Yes you have to, I found that a 4" wide roller with a 3/8" thick nap works the best.

Take the foundation out of the frames to clean but put them back in to rewax.

Your welcome

Hello Dfishman, This has really helped me to quickly clean up that nasty foundation, I'm sure it will work for you also.

I always scraped the foundation to get whatever usable wax I could that is around the darkened brood area. Without scraping I think it would be a lot messier with all that comb flying around but give it a try and let us know how it worked.

Thanks Michael, I try to make beekeeping easier for other people and myself. The cell caps popping out does make it a bit messy.

Thank you Misha...

👍

I wanted the solution to be strong enough to cut through the beeswax and a cup seemed to work, so I stayed with that amount. You can cut the Clorox in half, that was used as a disinfectant.

Hi Rajdev, Without softening the brood cell cup residue the brood residue is a whole lot harder to remove. You need the Dawn dish soap to soften the beeswax in the cell cups and the Clorox is to kill any Virus or Bacteria, I have started to use only one cup of Clorox instead of the two cups. Once dried and rewaxed the bees quickly built comb on the refurbished foundation. Good luck..

It would be ok, just reduce the Clorox to 1/4 or 1/2 cup, air dry and rewax with a 4" X 3/8" nap paint roller.

Hi Jim, Welcome aboard, after the foundation is in the tote add the Clorox and start filling with water when it is almost full then add the dish detergent, otherwise you'll have nothing but suds.

Hi Shreve, I am sure it will work as well for you as it did me..

I used a 58 qt tote, put the Clorox in first then fill it with water and just before its filled add the Dawn detergent otherwise you'll have a sudsy foaming mess. I only use one cup of Clorox now as the disinfectant I stopped using two cups. Your welcome for the tip....

Hi utuber, Yes this will clean off the diatomaceous on your foundation, even a good rain fall will make the diatomaceous earth on the ground around your hive almost inert. Do you think it was the diatomaceous earth for the hive die out or was it Varroa Mites? To re-wax the foundation I've tried the dipping in wax method, different brushes, foam rollers and I found that a 4" roller with short nap worked the best. Good luck..

@@jeffwillard2417 thanx for your reply. Yes it was the diatomaceous. I had no varroa mites, thank God, I have just had the bees for 4months and was feeding them sugar water and that brought out all the small black ants from all corners of the earth. in the night I had to go out and pour boiling water over the ground around the hive and over the trial and wipe the boxes down with a hot wet cloth. It would work for a few days. Saw a lady on you tube put diatomaceous on the ground. Im sure she lost her colony too. but yes it was diat. because I would see bees dive into it chasing there shadow in the day then return into the hive with in two weeks all the hive was dead. At the end of the 2week about 4pounds of bees and the queen was outside of the box in a pile dead. Broke my heart for two years, I said I didnt deserve any more bees, but a friend of mine asked me if I could rescue a colony of bees on a corner outside of a home of his friend that was going to kill them, friend said he would allow someone to save them If they come over this Tuesday the 18th. So ILL give myself another chance for the sake of the bees. And ILL never use diat. again for anything. So today ILL wash and clean the boxes very good and put new frames but it is nice to know that I can start soaking the contaminated frames for future use. In my area of Ca. our problem is wax moth and ants. I had a strong colony and was about to add a second brood box when I made this fatal mistake. Thanx again for sharing.

Hi hunter, Once my frames were cleaned I let them dry off and then recoat them with beeswax. So between the washing and letting the foundation dry off any smell will dissipate. The best way I found to recoat foundation was with the cleaned foundation in the frame and using a 4" wide with a 3/8 inch nap paint roller, I also tried brushes and a 4" foam roller. Dipping with 100% beeswax would probably work better if you had enough wax and a large melter, I tried the one dipping method on RU-vid using water with the melted wax on top and dipping slowly, lets just say I wasn't impressed on the way it came out.

@@jeffwillard2417 thank you for your knowledge is very helpful, God bless you.

Thank you.....

Hi Dianna, Just bring that nasty foundation over and we'll have a pressure washer cleaning party just don't forget to bring the beer.........

Hi Aj, Let them dry and air out for awhile, none of mine smell like Clorox. If you have little bits in the bottom of the cell cups it is OK because when you roll melted wax on the foundation it will cover it up and the bees will build over it.

Hi Mike, You know me, I like to make anything I do quick and easy. I'll email you to catch up.

The very first batch that I cleaned I let dry and aired out before I recoated with wax. The bees quickly started building comb on it. I did reduce the Clorox to a 1/2 a cup which is more than enough to disinfect the foundation while it is soaking, you could probably just use soap and get good results also.

Yes I did and the cell plugs didn't pop out as easily as when the foundation has been soaked in the dish detergent solution.

I bet we had the same size piles of dirty foundation. This is a time saver, happy cleaning......

Thank you and your very welcome...

Hello again Brian, Your getting way to technical for this poor old beekeeper but thanks for your idea.......

Sorry, wasn't tryin' to get technical - just happens I have one in my shop... I have friends come by to clean all kinds of odd things in it (some jet engine parts last week) - NOT sayin' run out and buy one! The pressure washer works fine. We use those for some pretty strange cleaning jobs as well :)

Hello s hayes, That is all I used bleach and liquid dish detergent soap nothing else. I put the foundation in the tote first and then added the bleach and next the soap, so the tote probably was half or more filled with water and the mixture. I used the 58 quart tote because that was what I had and it fit the frames, you could go larger or smaller to fit your needs. I think the bleach and soap could be a 1 to 1 mix, the bleach was to disinfect and the soap is to break down the bees wax inside the cell cups. Have fun ....

Thank you Sir Bless you !

With the melted beeswax I tried a 3" wide paint brush, a 4" foam roller and a 3/8" thick 4" wide nap paint roller and the 3/8" thick nap paint roller did the best job by far. Put the foundation back into the frame and roll the melted wax on the foundation over the pot of melted wax all the excess wax will run back into the pot of wax and as they say Easy Peasy........

Hi Blaine, Your welcome, the way Dawn Dish detergent breaks down grease was the magic ingredient, now I sound like a Dawn Dish detergent commercial. Have fun.......

Hi Kyle, Yes, the best way I found to wax recoat the cleaned and dry foundation was with the foundation in the wooden frame and using a 4" wide with a 3/8 inch nap paint roller, I also tried brushes and a 4" foam roller. Dipping with 100% beeswax would probably work better if you had enough wax and a large melter, I tried the one dipping method on RU-vid using water with the melted wax on top and dipping slowly, lets just say I wasn't impressed on the way it came out.

Hi Ivan, I originally used 2 cups bleach and 1 cup detergent. The bleach was to sterilize the foundation and the detergent is to loosen the wax on the brood cell cups. Try cleaning a foundation after a 1 week soak to see but I have found soaking a longer period is usually better.

Wow, this is great! Just to be sure... did you use any water in the tub or literally was it all bleach and detergent?

Hello, Just put the fondation in the tote add clorox and when it is almost full of water add the liquid soap, otherwise it will be all foam. Have fun.....

It's good to know that there is more good looking men out there like me :) :) :), I'm at 66 years and counting.....

Have the best Mr. Jeff!

Hi Desmond, I wouldn't, the soaking required is for two weeks or longer, this would have adverse effect on the nails, staples and also on the wood itself. You also need a huge container for the frames plus a large weight just to hold them down.

I hate to waste money and I use what I have on hand, besides I'm frugal, my 17 year old pickup truck states that.

A hundred sheet case of new 8-1/2" Rite Cell from Mann Lake is $90.00. I had well over 200 sheets that I had saved through the years waiting for an easy way to be to be cleaned. An electric pressure washer costs between $100.00 and $130.00 that you would use for years on various other projects, so for me it was cost effective. If you only had a few sheets to clean try soaking them and then use a scrub brush or a power nozzle for the garden hose, the soaking may loosen it up to be cleaned even by those two ways also but it would just take longer.

everybody has a pressure washer

Go to car wash if you don't have pressure washer.